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4 verbatim requirements on continuances.
Eighth Judicial Circuit — DIVISION/CIRCUIT-WIDE - Civil only. Practices change without notice; the court's own published text controls. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Verbatim from the published source, captured 2026-07-24; whitespace normalised only. No OCR was used. • AO 3.02 (v1) Page 2 Circuit Court Mediation Program Effective: August 21, 2012 shall be removed from the trial calendar, if, at the time of the pretrial hearing, the parties have not concluded mediation of all contested matters or issues. II. MEDIATORS 1. Certified circuit court mediators shall be used in circuit court, unless the parties stipulate to the appointment of an otherwise qualified but uncertified mediator. Except in the case of a mortgage foreclosure suit concerning a homestead residence, compensation of the mediators shall be paid by the parties on a prorated basis, with each party to bear an equal share of the fees, unless otherwise ordered by the court or on a basis otherwise agreed to in advance and in writing by the parties. In the case of a mortgage foreclosure suit concerning a homestead residence, compensation of the mediators shall be paid by the plaintiff, unless otherwise ordered by the court or on a basis otherwise agreed to in advance and in writing by the parties. In the context of a mortgage foreclosure suit concerning a homestead residence, “plaintiff” means the individual or entity filing to obtain a mortgage foreclosure on a homestead residence. 2. A mediation session is one (1) hour and additional sessions consist of a subsequent hour or hours or parts thereof. The applicable party or parties shall be directed by the court to make payment within ten (10) days of the billing date. A private mediator shall be paid for all reasonable preparation, session(s) and drafting time. In the event payment for services is not made within ten (10) days of the billing date or if either party does not provide sufficient notice of cancellation (forty eight [48] hours notice of cancellation to the mediator, for good cause), and upon motion by the mediator, the court shall issue an order to show cause why the court should not assess costs to the responsible party. 3. On behalf of the Chief Judge, the Office of Court Administration shall maintain a list of qualified mediators who have been certified by the Supreme Court, who have registered for appointment in this circuit, and are willing to serve the Eighth Judicial Circuit area for circuit court mediation purposes. • AO 3.05 (v3) Page 5 Preliminary Proceedings Under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act Effective: July 1, 2016 5. The Court may seal any portion of the application and the record of any proceeding under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, which is exempt, or confidential and exempt, from section 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and section 24(a), Article I of the Florida Constitution. The Court may also seal any such record or proceeding pursuant to F la. R. Jud. Admin. 2.420. 6. Unless a claimant requests an adversarial hearing, upon a finding by the Court that (1) the requirements of section 932.703(1)(a), Florida Statutes, have been met , and (2) that probable cause exists for the seizure, the forfeiture may proceed as set forth in the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act. 7. Scheduling and Notice of Adversarial Preliminary Hearing – Upon receipt of a timely written request for an adversarial preliminary hearing, the attorney for the seizing agency shall immediately contact the assigned judge’s office and schedule a date and time for the adversarial preliminary hearing. The hearing shall be scheduled so that it is held within ten (10) days after the request for hearing was received by the seizing agency, or as soon as practicable thereafter, as contemplated by section 932.703(3)(a), Florida Statutes. The seizing agency shall serve, in the manner required by Rule of Civil Procedure 1.080, a copy of a notice of hearing on those persons entitled to notice of seizure, or their counsel in the forfeiture action, if any, and file the original notice with the Clerk in accordance with Rule 1.080(d). The hearing shall be scheduled and notice served in a manner calculated to give reasonable notice in advance of the hearing. 8. Presentation of Evidence at Adversarial Preliminary Hearing – At the adversarial preliminary hearing, in addition to the verified supporting affidavits, the seizing agency and the party contesting probable cause may offer other affidavits, testimony and documents in support of and in opposition to a finding of probable cause for forfeiture under the Act. Witnesses may be cross-examined as deemed appropriate by the Court. 9. Entry of Order after Review of Application for Probable Cause Determination or Adversarial Hearing; Service of Process after Finding of Probable Cause – Following review of the application for determination of probable cause or ex parte motion, and the adversarial • AO 3.09 (V3) Page i Standing Case Management Order in Civil Cases Effective: January 20, 2026 IN THE EIGHTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA STANDING CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER [Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.200] THIS ACTION is before the court for case management pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.200. Therefore, it is ADJUDGED that: 1. This case is provisionally designated as a general civil case. 2. TRIAL DATE: This Order establishes a projected date for a non -jury trial on the first regular trial term taking place one year from a) the date of initial process on the last defendant or b) 120 days after commencement of the action, whichever occurs first. This Order establishes a projected date for a jury trial as the first regular trial term taking place eighteen months from a) the date of initial process on the last defendant or b) 120 days after commencement of the action, whichever occurs first. The presiding judge will enter an order s cheduling pretrial conference and trial for a date certain after scheduling a case management conference. The trial term dates for each civil division are published on the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court website at https://circuit8.org/court-calendars/master-calendars/. In county court cases, any case redesignated by the trial court as a streamlined case, in cases where the parties request it, or in any other case the trial court deems it appropriate, the trial date may be adjusted to take place sooner. Judges shall apply a firm continuance policy allowing continuances only for good cause shown. 3. SERVICE OF COMPLAINTS : Service of complaints should be completed within 120 days of filing. See Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070(j). 4. SERVICE UNDER EXTENSIONS: For good cause shown, deadlines for extensions to serve process upon defendants shall be at the discretion of the trial judge. See Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070(j). • 75 of 83 PARAMETERS FOR PROVIDERS OF MANAGED MEDIATION SERVICES Purpose: To define the parameters of managers directing mediation services for parties involved in residential mortgage foreclosure litigation. A. Characteristics of Program Manager 1. Compliant with ADR principles as promulgated by the supreme court, and ADR statutes and rules; 2. Non-profit entity or associated with a reputable organization of proven competence, autonomous and independent of the judicial branch; 3. Capable of efficient administration of large case loads; 4. Sensitive to cultural, diversity, and Americans with Disabilities Act issues; 5. Politically and professionally neutral; 6. Knowledgeable of court procedures, current trends, laws, rules, and regulations affecting residential foreclosures; 7. Fiscally transparent and accountable; 8. Quickly adaptable to a dynamic and rapidly evolving legal environment; 9. Financially stable; 10. Capable of sustained operation without fiscal impact on the courts; 11. Capable of effectively implementing information technology systems and web-based programs; 12. Alert to ethical and confidentiality issues; and 13. Agreeable to acting as manager for voluntary pre-suit mediation. B. Services to be Provided by Program Manager 1. Receive mediation referrals and, within designated time limits, schedule and coordinate mediation conferences: date, place and time; reserve and provide venues for mediation and caucus; manage continuances and re-scheduling; 2. Maintain financial books and records to insure transparency and accuracy of receipts and expenditures;
AO 3.02 (v1) Page 2 Circuit Court Mediation Program Effective: August 21, 2012 shall be removed from the trial calendar, if, at the time of the pretrial hearing, the parties have not concluded mediation of all contested matters or issues. II. MEDIATORS 1. Certified circuit court mediators shall be used in circuit court, unless the parties stipulate to the appointment of an otherwise qualified but uncertified mediator. Except in the case of a mortgage foreclosure suit concerning a homestead residence, compensation of the mediators shall be paid by the parties on a prorated basis, with each party to bear an equal share of the fees, unless otherwise ordered by the court or on a basis otherwise agreed to in advance and in writing by the parties. In the case of a mortgage foreclosure suit concerning a homestead residence, compensation of the mediators shall be paid by the plaintiff, unless ot
Reviewer note: Source sha256: 4b93e7e3d291007d302a934cc3dbceda06de1a670f65abfd92a07792566b0f5c, ac3e7cf6d141b10a31b47d1b1d74f1df4a6776652bad73ebd7aa53cedcf6dc99, d98a958cd8ed7e324482d6b8bdfe03c25efa2cd38f58649a122e570a003f00ea, 291bb7c1dfae3c0170ab72f16d8b5bb579978f5a5e572c68c7e36c13cc153824, a682f808c320cfbe8f585891ccded4f24b100ff8791bf166c13f8ea0e7ec7614. Corpus categories: SCHEDULING_OR_CANCELLATION, CONTINUANCES | CASE_MANAGEMENT_OR_TRACK | SCHEDULING_OR_CANCELLATION | FILING_OR_SERVICE, CONTINUANCES. Operative status as recorded: MEDIA_LIBRARY_ONLY_UNVERIFIED, CURRENT_DIRECTORY_CURRENT_VERSION, CURRENT_DIRECTORY_CURRENT_VERSION_COMPANION, RESCINDED_PUBLISHED_ARCHIVE. Published during the 2026-07-24 completeness pass.
Florida follows the federal summary-judgment standard. The motion must be served at least 40 days before the hearing; the nonmovant's response is due no later than 20 days before the hearing.
How Florida procedural deadlines are computed: exclude the trigger day; count every day for periods of 7 days or more; for periods under 7 days, skip intermediate weekends and legal holidays; roll forward when the last day is a weekend or holiday.
Judge Siperstein requires every motion to be set within 5 days of filing and heard within 60 days, or it may be deemed abandoned.