AN Divisional Instructions

Amended As Of October 31, 2024

Division "AN" Zoom Information

Scheduling of Hearing in Division "AN"

Hearings including but not limited to Uniform Motion Calendar, Case Management Conference, and Special Sets in Division "AN", shall take place via Zoom Conference, unless an objection to utilizing Zoom is filed with the Clerk of Court in a timely manner prior to the scheduled hearing. ALL BENCH TRIALS AND JURY TRIALS ARE HELD IN-PERSON IN COURTROOM 10 H AT 205 NORTH DIXIE HIGHWAY, WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, 33401. Division "AN" utilizes the Online Scheduling System to set hearings such as DCM Case Management, Uniform Motion Calendar, and Special Sets. DCM Case Management Conference (approximately 5-10 minutes for each case), Uniform Motion Calendar (approximately 5 minutes per side), as well as, special set hearings for 15, 30 and/or 60 minute increments are available on the online scheduling system. If you are seeking a hearing time that exceeds 60 minutes, the requesting party shall make a written request to the court, including the name and file date of the Motion(s), the amount of time being requested, whether said hearing will be evidentiary in nature and a list of availability dates within the timeframe that the party seeks to have the hearing. Please send these written requests for hearing time in excess of 60 minutes to CAD-DivisionAN@pbcgov.org. Once Parties coordinate a special set date received from the Judge or Judicial Assistant, they must submit the standard Order Setting (located under AN Forms and Orders) in Word format through the online system under "Proposed Orders" with the Motion attached in PDF format. Only a signed Order Setting may reserve special set time on the court calendar.

Online Scheduling System

NOTE: If any counsel, or party is not registered with the court's online scheduling system, than the written request shall be sent manually by U.S. mail to the court's attention with copy to all counsel/ parties of record.

Uniform Motion Calendar

Uniform Motion Calendar in Division "AN" is scheduled for every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of every week, exclusive of legal holidays and the court's suspension dates. UMC hearings must be non-evidentiary in nature and can be heard in approximately 5-10 minutes. Matters that do not fit the requirement may not be heard and ultimately be removed from the calendar. UMC begins promptly at 8:30 a.m. and will continue until 9:30 a.m. The court has increased the number of available slots on the system to allow for additional attention to non-evidentiary matter(s) that may be heard in the allotted time. Adding additional matters onto a full UMC is NOT permitted unless otherwise instructed by the court. All UMC hearings are conducted remotely using zoom technology, unless litigants agree that in person appearance is necessary. A link to the zoom Meeting for Division "AN" MUST be included within the Notice Setting UMC Hearing.

Upon entering the UMC via ZOOM, please mute your audio (located at the bottom of your ZOOM screen) until your case is called by the Judge Kerner (at which time you will unmute your audio). All counsel/parties who scheduled their hearing on the UMC through the court's online scheduling system are expected to be in attendance and shall wait for their case to be called in the ordinary course of UMC.

The following matters SHALL NOT be noticed for UMC, but MUST be specially set for hearing:

• Post-Judgment collection matters
• Motions to Dismiss
• Motions for Contempt
• Motions for Sanctions
• Motions for Attorneys' Fees
• Motions for Rehearing and/or Reconsideration (these motions are only set upon approval of the court)
• Contested Motions for Summary Judgment
• Motions to Approve Settlement of Minor's Claim
• Any motions requiring evidence to be taken, or findings to be made by the court, unless expressly permitted herein.
• Any hearing of any nature reasonably requiring more than five (5) minutes per side to argue.

Please note: The court does not allow the act of "piggy backing" Motions onto UMC. This consists of adding a multitude of Motions for a case on one UMC date; which does not allow for other cases to have adequate time to have their matter heard. No more than one Motion for each scheduled case may be heard at a particular UMC date.

If cancelling a UMC hearing is necessary, it is incumbent upon the movant to prepare and file a Notice of Cancellation with the Clerk of court and provide a copy of the notice to all parties of record. Second, the parties MUST log in to the 15th Judicial Circuit's Online Scheduling System, select "Uniform Motion Calendar 'UMC' Scheduling;" select "Cancel Hearings" and follow the directions on the screen. If you receive a message that you are unable to cancel the hearing, you are in the wrong place. Please go back and follow the instructions above. Then, kindly provide the Judge a notice of the cancellation at CAD-DivisionAN@pbcgov.org.

Special Set Hearings

15-minute time slots are made available on the online scheduling system. The court will not accept any proposed Order(s) Setting that are estimated to surpass the requested amount of time for hearing. All special set hearings shall be conducted via ZOOM CONFERENCE, unless a prior agreement is made between the Parties and consent is given by the court to appear in-person with a signed Order. When preparing an Order Specially Setting outside of the online system with a date provided by the court, please utilize the AN Order Setting template provided under AN Forms and Orders. Upon completion, please submit the proposed Order Setting through the online system for review. Only a signed Order Setting may reserve special set time on the court calendar.

The scheduling party shall be responsible for ensuring that all interested parties are able and have access to the Zoom hearing by including the ZOOM ID/PASSWORD to the Order Setting, giving extra attention and care to persons not registered with this court's online scheduling system.

All motions, papers and/or case law upon which the parties intend to rely for their scheduled hearings must be filed with the court with HARDCOPIES delivered to the Judge in care of his Judicial Assistant, at least 5 DAYS in advance of the special set hearing. ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO THE COURT SHALL BE COPIED TO ALL COUNSEL/ PARTIES OF RECORD (including electronic correspondence).

For evidentiary hearings and non-jury trials, the parties should stipulate to the admissibility of evidence for which the admissibility is not reasonably contested. Division "AN" participates in the electronic submission of litigants exhibits. If the parties are unable to utilize this technology, the party shall provide hard copies of all intended exhibits, evidence or demonstrative aids to the court five (5) days in advance of trial (unless otherwise determined by the court). All exhibits should be pre-marked using the Circuit Civil pre-marking guidelines/ label template at www.mypalmbeachclerk.com.

If witnesses will be called to give testimony, the court requires that such appearances be pre-arranged with appropriate instructions and protocols to join the hearing as displayed on the singed Order. Oaths for any evidentiary hearing or non-jury trials shall be administered remotely in accordance with Supreme Court Administrative Order AOSC20-106.

If cancelling a Special Set Hearing, you may submit a proposed Agreed Order for the court's consideration. Special Set Hearings are set by Court Order and cannot be cancelled except by further Order of the court.

Providing Judge Kerner with the Hearing Materials

Special Set Hearings:

HARDCOPIES OF ALL motions, responses, replies, briefs, memoranda and case law or other legal authority for special set hearings MUST be provided to the Judge's Judicial Assistant, at least FIVE (5) BUSINESS DAYS prior to the scheduled special set hearing. A failure to timely provide the information to the court may result in a cancellation or delay of special set hearing.

Uniform Motion Calendar:

All notices of hearing, motions, responses, replies, briefs, and memoranda must be filed with the court. The court will print up to twenty-five (25) pages of hearing materials that are sent by e-courtesy to the court for Uniform Motion Calendar. If the number of documents exceed the limit of twenty-five (25) pages, then hardcopies the materials MUST be provided to the Judge's Judicial Assistant at least FIVE (5) BUSINESS DAYS prior to the scheduled Uniform Motion Calendar.

Suspension Calendar

The court's docket is suspended for the following dates: Suspension Calendar

Submission Of Proposed Orders/Agreed Orders

Proposed Orders should be provided by the drafting attorney/party, either orally or in writing, to the opposing attorney/party for approval. In response, the opposing attorney/party should communicate promptly any objections to the drafting attorney/party. Upon submission, the drafting attorney/party should state whether the opposing attorney/party agrees or objects to the form of the order. See Palm Beach County Bar Associations' Standards for Professional Courtesy and Civility. A failure to provide this contextual information to the court may result in the deletion of the proposed Order without notice. Please submit your orders in Microsoft Word format. It is preferred that you DO NOT use tables or macros.

All proposed orders including Agreed Orders shall be submitted through the court's Online Services system. Proposed Orders should NEVER be uploaded, nor submitted to the court prior to the scheduled hearing unless in the form of an agreement which should be clearly stated in the body of the proposed Agreed Order. Moreover, the submitting party may NOT SUBMIT duplicate copies of a proposed Order, absent the court's approval.

All parties must be registered with Online Services and in full agreement to submitting court documents and orders via the online system. If any party is not registered with the court's Online Services, court documents and orders must specify the complete name and mailing address of each person who is to receive copies to ensure that all non-registered parties are properly served.

If the parties are submitting a proposed Order of Dismissal, Order Specially Setting Hearing, Ex Parte Orders, Orders of Substitution of Counsel, and/or other orders which require the court to review additional documents, such shall be attached thereto (when submitting the Order online)

ALL ORDERS MUST INCLUDE THE COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS AND EMAIL ADDRESS OF ALL PARTIES FOR SERVICE. See Administrative Order 2.306.

No order or judgment shall contain a signature page that does not include a portion of the text of the order or judgment. Please check and preview your documents before submitting your orders online and/or otherwise. See Administrative Order 3.204.

If cancelling a Special Set Hearing, you may submit a proposed Agreed Order for the court's consideration. Special Set Hearings are set by court Order and cannot be cancelled except by further Order of the court.

Setting Your Case for Trial

When a case is "at issue", please file the Notice of Trial with the Clerk of Court and send a courtesy copy to: CAD-DivisionAN@pbcgov.org ONLY if all parties are registered for online services with the court. Please ensure the Notice of Trial includes the estimated time for trial, whether the trial is to be by a jury or non-jury, and whether the trial is on the original action or a subsequent proceeding. See Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.440.

If there are "pro se" parties involved in the case and/or if any of the parties are not registered for online scheduling system, you must mail a copy of the Notice of Trial including the self-addressed stamped envelopes for those parties to the court by U.S. Mail (not by e-mail). Further, all Notices of Trial must include the mailing address, email address, and telephone number for each party.

Division "AN" is currently setting trials for the following docket period:

Orders implementing Differentiated Case Management Plan, designating case to a track, order setting e-calendar call and case management conference and directing further procedures

Pursuant to the 15th Judicial Circuit's Administrative Order 3.110 cases filed after September 1, 2023 will receive one of the three attached Default Orders which directs them to the Divisional Instructions.

1. Order Implementing Differentiated Case Management Plan, Designating Case To The General Track, Order Setting Calendar Call And Case Management Conference And Directing Pretrial And Mediation Procedures (DCMGJT)
2. Order Implementing Differentiated Case Management Plan, Designating Case To The Streamlined Track, Order Setting Calendar Call And Case Management Conference And Directing Pretrial And Mediation Procedures (DCMSNT)
3. Order Implementing Differentiated Case Management Plan Designating Case To The Expedited Track, Order Setting Calendar Call And Case Management Conference And Directing Pretrial Procedures (DCMENT)

Upon receipt of one of the three above Orders, please review Division AN's Instruction provided below pertaining to:

Scheduling, Continuances and Pretrial Deadlines:

DIVISION AN requires the submission of the Case Management Conference/E-Calendar Call form(s) on the date provided in the latest DCMGJT, DCMSNT, DCMENT Order(s). Each Case Management Conference/E-Calendar Call due date has a designated Trial Period in which the case(s) will be heard.

TRIAL CONTINUANCES: If a case cannot be ready for trial by the E-Calendar Call despite all good faith efforts, a motion to continue trial must be set for a Differentiated Case Management (DCM) Conference as described in the 15th Circuit's Administrative Order 3.110 (as amended). Any motion to continue the trial must comply with Fla. R. Civ. P. Rule 1.460, including verifications signed by the client(s). The Motion must be filed and the DCM Case Management Conference set no more than 30 DAYS from the last defendant being served or as soon as circumstances giving rise to the need for a continuance becomes known and only for good cause. Every motion for a continuance must include a proposed Amended DCMO resetting each pretrial deadline that remains applicable and indicating the month the case can be ready for trial.

DCM CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES: DCM Case Management Conferences are scheduled through the Circuit's Online Scheduling System under DCM- Case Management Conference Scheduling. No less than ten (10) days in advance of the DCM Conference the parties must file with the Clerk a Joint Status Report that: 1. Concisely updates the court on the status of the case, and 2. Identifies pending motions and other matters the court needs to address, and 3. If applicable, provides a proposed revised pretrial schedule. The parties must upload the Joint Status report at least 7 days in advance of a DCM Conference through the e-courtesy feature of the Circuit's Online Scheduling System. The parties are to be prepared at the DCM Conference to address the topics listed in Rule 1.200(a) and for the court, at its discretion, to hear or set for hearing any pending motions.

* The DCM Case Management Conference Dates become Available at the beginning of every other month, allowing for scheduling prior to the DCM Case Management Date.

E-Calendar Call Forms

The E-Calendar Call Forms are attached below by hyperlink. Please be sure to send the completed form through email to CAD-DIVISIONAN@PBCGOV.ORG by 9:00 a.m. on the due date for the assigned trial docket.

Exhibits

Pre-mark all exhibits in accordance with the instructions of the Clerk and Comptroller. Civil Evidence Guidelines

Foreclosure Matters

Effective July 1, 2019: Section 45.031 and Section 45.032, Florida Statutes have been amended with corrective language as to Final Judgment, Publication of Sale, and Disbursement of Proceeds. See also Administrative Order 3.316-12/17.

All Motions to Cancel and/or Reschedule a Sale Date are set for hearing on UMC Calendar and must be set prior to the scheduled date of foreclosure sale. See Administrative Order 3.301-5/21. Sale dates will be provided at the time of the hearing. Plaintiff or Plaintiff's attorney must prepare a Notice of Sale and send a copy to all parties on the case. This step is not required to be conducted in the courtroom. Notices of Sale may be emailed to the designated newspaper for publication. The original must be filed with the Clerk of Court. Notices should include sale date, billing information, signature of Plaintiff or Plaintiff's attorney, sale location (i.e. palmbeach.realforeclose.com), time of sale and all other information as required by F.S. Section 45.031(2).

All contested Summary Judgments in a Foreclosure Matter MUST be specially set for hearing.

Appointment of Guardian Ad Litem/ Administrator Ad Litem: The court utilizes a wheel system for appointing pre-approved attorneys. DO NOT send any orders with names of attorneys who are not pre-approved attorneys. When preparing the Order, the section for appointment shall be blank for the court to insert a name, address, and telephone number upon appointment.

Original Promissory Notes and Mortgages are routinely filed as exhibits in foreclosure trials, and Plaintiffs are usually required to either present the original promissory note (and mortgage) at trial, or if otherwise alleged in the Complaint, re-establish the lost note. If the original note (and mortgage) is in the court file, please email CAD-DivisionAN@pbcgov.org at least 5 days prior to the trial date to notify the court to make the request to the file clerk (for the court file) in advance of the trial date. See also Administrative Order 3.311-04/12 regarding disposal of foreclosure trial exhibits.

Civil Differentiated Case Management Plans

At the direction of the Florida Supreme Court and the 15th Judicial Circuit, Division "AN" will be implementing Differentiated Case Plans, which plans apply to cases pending as of April 29, 2021 and cases filed on April 30, 2021 or later, and which requires parties to civil cases to confer and agree on a case track and certain management deadlines and model timeframes.

In accordance with this directive, Cases filed before September 1, 2023 and cases that are currently not designated onto civil differentiated case plan must submit the proposed Order Approving the Agreed Case Management Plan in Word format and attach the DCM Agreed Case Management Plan in PDF format. The DCM Agreed Case Management Plan and the DCM Order Approving Case Management Plan are filed as two separate documents in the court file (hence two separate concurrent submissions to the court for consideration and entry through the court's online services system prior to processing). See Administrative Order 3.110 and Administrative Order 3.108. See also AD Forms and Orders If you have any questions on Differentiated Case Plans after reviewing the posted directives and complement documents on Civil Differentiated Case Management Forms & Orders, you may direct your concerns and questions to CAD-CircuitcivilCM@pbcgov.org for further guidance from the office of the Office of the 15th Judicial Circuit on implementing Civil Differentiated Case Plans per the direction of the Florida Supreme Court.

Miscellaneous

Local Rule 4

The court expects strict compliance with Local Rule 4. Prior to setting a matter for hearing, the party or attorney noticing the motion/matter shall attempt to resolve the matter and shall certify the good faith attempt to resolve. All notices of hearing for matters scheduled for hearing shall set forth directly above the signature block, the below certifications without modification and shall designate with a check mark or other marking the specific certification which applies:

Counsel has conferred with all parties who may be affected by the relief sought in the motion in a good faith effort to resolve or narrow the issues raised.

or

Counsel has made reasonable efforts to confer with all parties who may be affected by the relief sought in the motion but has been unable to do so.

Judicial E-Service

Please note that the filing of a "Notice of E-Mail Designation" does not automatically register parties for Judicial E-Service. Persons must register his/her primary and secondary email addresses with the 15th Circuit through Online Services to participate in the Online Scheduling System and Judicial E-Service. Failure to register may result in orders being sent by default to (an) the email address on file with The Florida Bar. Do not add a party's email to documents if he/she is not registered for Online Services (e.g. pro se parties) unless he/she has opted in or registered with the court for online services.

If a party is not registered on the Online Scheduling System, parties are required to submit all proposed orders via U.S. Mail with sufficient copies and self-addressed, stamped envelopes for all parties to be properly served; unless that non-registered party has filed and registered a written designation for e-service of all court documents. See Administrative Order 2.310. If a party is no longer involved in the case, he/she shall immediately update his/her profile and follow the necessary steps to remove his/her email from the Clerk and the court's systems.

No Ex-Parte Communications

The court cannot and will not accept any ex parte communication/ personal correspondence on a case. If you have a matter to bring to the court's attention, please file the proper Motion with the Clerk of Court, and provide/serve a copy of said Motion to all parties and/or counsel in the case. Pro Se Litigants may go to www.mypalmbeachclerk.com to seek information on locations of Self-Help Centers and other resources to assist him/her in understanding the court's procedures and in obtaining proper forms and information on filing the proper motion.

Changes to Redaction of Confidential Information Now in Effect

As of July 1, 2021 all filers of circuit civil, county civil and small claims court documents are now solely responsible for ensuring that confidential information is redacted or is identified for redaction. See the Florida Supreme Court amended Rule 2.420. See also Changes to Redaction of Confidential Information Now in Effect.

Formatting of Recorded Documents

All documents that need to be recorded in the public records (e.g. final judgments (consent final judgments, default final judgments, summary final judgments, and amended final judgments), orders of dismissal, voluntary dismissals, orders vacating final judgments, orders cancelling sales, orders setting aside, amending or vacating certificates of title, writs of garnishment) must comply with Rule of Judicial Administration 2.520 to accommodate recording space.

These documents must have a 3" by 3" space at the top right hand corner on the first page and a 1" by 3" space at the top right hand corner of subsequent pages. Additionally, all documents filed with the Clerk of Court must have a 1" margin on all sides to accommodate the Clerk's date and time stamp.