AMEND. TO RULES OF APP. PROC., CIV. PROC.

• Decision Date: 30 September 2004
• Docket Number: No. SC04-1139.,SC04-1139.
• Citation: 887 So.2d 1090
• Parties: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE, THE FLORIDA RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, THE FLORIDA RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, THE FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RULES OF PROCEDURE, THE FLORIDA RULES OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE, AND THE FLORIDA PROBATE RULES.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

887 So.2d 1090

AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE, THE FLORIDA RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, THE FLORIDA RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, THE FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RULES OF PROCEDURE, THE FLORIDA RULES OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE, AND THE FLORIDA PROBATE RULES.

No. SC04-1139.

Supreme Court of Florida.

September 30, 2004.

John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director, the Florida Bar, Tallahassee, FL, for Petitioner.

PER CURIAM.

The Florida Bar's Appellate Court Rules Committee, Civil Procedure Rules Committee, Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, Family Law Rules Committee, Juvenile Court Rules Committee, and Probate Rules Committee (collectively, "Rules Committees") collectively propose amendments to their respective bodies of rules based on a request from this Court to examine the rules and suggest emergency amendments to them in light of the 2004 Florida Legislature's amendment of various Florida Statutes to redesignate "magistrates" as "trial court judges" and "masters" and "general or special masters" as "general or special magistrates." See ch.2004-11, §§ 2-103, Laws of Fla.¹ The legislation will take effect on October 1, 2004. See ch.2004-11, § 104, Laws of Fla.

The Rules Committees propose amending various rules of procedure and forms to change references from "magistrates" to "judges" and "masters" to "magistrates" in order to conform the rules of procedure to the new legislation. The Rules Committees further propose amending the instructions to four of the Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms. The proposals were published for comment in the August 1, 2004, edition of The Florida Bar News. No comments were received.

Having considered the Rules Committees' report, we adopt the amendments as proposed. We hereby amend the following rules of procedure and forms: Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.200, Pretrial Procedure; Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.490, Masters; Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.111, Providing Counsel to Indigents; Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.120, Committing Magistrate; Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.121, Arrest Warrant; Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.125, Notice to Appear; Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.130, First Appearance; Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.131, Pretrial Release; Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.133, Pretrial Probable Cause Determinations and Adversary Preliminary Hearings; Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220, Discovery; Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.852, Capital Postconviction Public Records Production; the Committee Notes to Florida Probate Rule 5.150, Order Requiring Accounting; Florida Probate Rule 5.697, Masters' Review of Guardianship Accountings and Plans; Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.060, Discovery; Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.625, General Provisions for Hearings; Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.190, Judicial Review of Administrative Action; Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.200, The Record; Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.015, Family Law Forms; Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.200, Case Management and Pretrial Conferences; Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.490, General Masters; Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.492, Special Masters; Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, Section II, Family Law Forms, Commentary, and Instructions, General Information for Self-Represented Litigants; Family Law Form 12.920(a), Motion for Referral to General Master; Family Law Form 12.920(b), Order of Referral to General Master; Family Law Form 12.920(c), Notice of Hearing Before General Master; and the Instructions for Family Law Rules of Procedure Forms 12.920(a)-(c).

With regard to the Rules Committees' proposed amendments to the Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms, this Court maintains responsibility for reviewing, revising and maintaining these forms, and these forms have been removed from the standard rule-making procedure. See Amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure and Family Law Forms, 810 So.2d 1, 14 (Fla.2000). We have reviewed the Rules Committees' proposals to amend these forms, and we accept the proposed changes. Accordingly, we hereby amend the instructions to the following Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms: Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.921, Notice of Hearing (Child Support Enforcement Hearing Officer); Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.923, Notice of Hearing (General); Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.960, Motion for Civil Contempt/Enforcement; and Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.961, Notice of Hearing on Motion for Civil Contempt/Enforcement.

In summary, we amend the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Florida Probate Rules, the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure as reflected in the appendix to this opinion. New language is indicated by underscoring; deletions are indicated by struck-through type. The committee notes are offered for explanation only and are not adopted as an official part of the rules. The forms are adopted as set forth in the appendix to this opinion, fully engrossed. The amendments shall become effective October 1, 2004, at 12:01 a.m. This opinion and the forms discussed herein may be accessed and downloaded from this Court's website at www.flcourts.org.

It is so ordered.

PARIENTE, C.J., and WELLS, ANSTEAD, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANTERO and BELL, JJ., concur.

APPENDIX

RULE 1.200. PRETRIAL PROCEDURE

(a) Case Management Conference. At any time after responsive pleadings or motions are due, the court may order, or a party by serving a notice may convene, a case management conference. The matter to be considered shall be specified in the order or notice setting the conference. At such a conference the court may:

(1) schedule or reschedule the service of motions, pleadings, and other papers;

(2) set or reset the time of trials, subject to rule 1.440(c);

(3) coordinate the progress of the action if complex litigation factors are present;

(4) limit, schedule, order, or expedite discovery;

(5) schedule disclosure of expert witnesses and the discovery of facts known and opinions held by such experts;

(6) schedule or hear motions in limine;

(7) pursue the possibilities of settlement;

(8) require filing of preliminary stipulations if issues can be narrowed;

(9) consider referring issues to a mastermagistrate for findings of fact; and

(10) schedule other conferences or determine other matters that may aid in the disposition of the action.

(b) Pretrial Conference. After the action is at issue the court itself may or shall on the timely motion of any party require the parties to appear for a conference to consider and determine:

(1) the simplification of the issues;

(2) the necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings;

(3) the possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of documents that will avoid unnecessary proof;

(4) the limitation of the number of expert witnesses; and

(5) any matters permitted under subdivision (a) of this rule.

(c) Notice. Reasonable notice shall be given for a case management conference, and 20 days' notice shall be given for a pretrial conference. On failure of a party to attend a conference, the court may dismiss the action, strike the pleadings, limit proof or witnesses, or take any other appropriate action. Any documents that the court requires for any conference shall be specified in the order. Orders setting pretrial conferences shall be uniform throughout the territorial jurisdiction of the court.

(d) Pretrial Order. The court shall make an order reciting the action taken at a conference and any stipulations made. The order shall control the subsequent course of the action unless modified to prevent injustice.

Committee Notes

1971 Amendment. The 3 paragraphs of the rule are lettered and given subtitles. The present last paragraph is placed second as subdivision (b) because the proceeding required under it is taken before that in the present second paragraph. The time for implementation is changed from settling the issues because the language is erroneous, the purpose of the conference being to settle some and prepare for the trial of other issues. The last 2 sentences of subdivision (b) are added to require uniformity by all judges of the court and to require specification of the documentary requirements for the conference. The last sentence of subdivision (c) is deleted since it is covered by the local rule provisions of rule 1.020(d). The reference to the parties in substitution for attorneys and counsel is one of style because the rules generally impose obligations on the parties except when the attorneys are specifically intended. It should be understood that those parties represented by attorneys will have the attorneys perform for them in the usual manner.

1972 Amendment. Subdivision (a) is amended to require the motion for a pretrial by a party to be timely. This is done to avoid motions for pretrial conferences made a short time before trial and requests for a continuance of the trial as a result of the pretrial conference order. The subdivision is also amended to require the clerk to send to the judge a copy of the motion by a party for the pretrial conference.

1988 Amendment. The purpose of adding subdivision (a)(5) is to spell out clearly for the bench and bar that case management conferences may be used for scheduling the disclosure of expert witnesses and the discovery of the opinion and factual information held by those experts. Subdivision (5) is not intended to expand discovery.

1992 Amendment. Subdivision (a) is amended to allow a party to set a case management conference in the same manner as a party may set a hearing on a motion. Subdivision (c) is amended to remove the mandatory language and make...