Notice Regarding Residential Foreclosure Trials and Summary Judgment Hearings Set Before Senior Judges in Courtroom 4A
All trials and Motions for Summary Judgment hearings will go forward in person. Parties do not submit any evidence prior to trial or the hearing; evidence must be pre-marked and submitted to the case manager in open court for review and presentation to the Judge (see below for further instructions). If the original note and mortgage was filed with the Clerk prior to the trial/hearing date, please send an email to CAD-SRJDTrials@pbcgov.org with at least 5 business days' notice to request the file from the Clerk (do not overnight it to the Clerk's office). Plaintiff's counsel must appear in person to provide the Court with the necessary documents at the time of trial/hearing and are not permitted to appear via Zoom.
If you have an uncontested or slightly contested (2 hours or less) residential foreclosure case that you would like to be heard by a Senior Judge, please email a copy of the Notice for Non-Jury Trial to CAD-SRJDTrials@pbcgov.org so that it may be set for trial. Remember to attach and file any Notices of Unavailability that will impact the scheduling of trial.
If you have a residential Foreclosure Trial or special set uncontested Summary Judgment Hearing set before the Senior Judge in Courtroom 4A, please read the following information carefully.
Motions for Summary Judgment
This is a special set docket before a Senior Judge; it is not a UMC docket. If this hearing needs to be canceled for any reason, parties must obtain an order from the divisional Judge prior to the special set hearing date; a Notice of Cancelation if not sufficient to remove the case from this docket.
This MSJ docket is for uncontested cases, only. If an attorney represents the Defendant, the MSJ should be set in its respective division. Parties should only schedule MSJ's with the expectation that the case will take 15 minutes. Cases requiring more time should be set in the division.
The Court has the expectation that every case is at issue, prior to being scheduled. At issue means, all parties have answered, been defaulted, dropped or disposed. All dispositive motions must have a corresponding order and/or be disposed prior to the MSJ hearing.
Similarly, to the trial dockets, no other motions will be heard at this hearing. All other motions should be set before the divisional Judge prior to the MSJ hearing dockets.
The Plaintiff is responsible for filing a Notice of Hearing and should ensure notices state the correct time (1:30pm), date, Courtroom (4A) and utilize the correct ADA language set forth in Administrative Order 2.207.
The Plaintiff is responsible for bringing all necessary documents in person, including mailing envelopes for the Clerk, see Fla. Stat. §45.031(1)(c), and the original note and mortgage.
Zoom Appearance
Defendant's and/or Defendant's Counsel, who do not have any evidence or documents to submit in open court, may appear via Zoom. Bank representatives and witnesses may also appear via Zoom. Please send an email to CAD-SRJDTrials@pbcgov.org to request the Zoom information, at least 3 business days in advance. If you choose to appear via Zoom video, you will need a computer or smart phone to attend (you may have to download the app in advance). If access to video capability is limited, only self-representing parties may appear telephonically using the phone number and Meeting ID number provided in the email from the case management team. Telephonic appearance is discouraged, as you will waive the right to see and view any evidence or documents submitted. Please be advised, if there are no requests for Zoom on a given day, the Court will not set up the technology for that day.
Note that multiple cases are scheduled for the same time; thus, all parties are requested to dial in at the scheduled time to avoid interruptions, and mute all lines until their case is called. The Court will call the docket and organize the hearings. The Court may ask the parties to call back at a different time as to not make it necessary to remain on hold while other hearings are being heard. If asked to call-in at a later time during the day the Meeting ID number will be the same. Please be patient and continue to hold on the line until your case is called.
Evidence
All evidence must be pre-marked and originals submitted with any responses and papers upon which the parties intend to rely for their scheduled hearings. The Pre-marked Evidence/Hearing Notebooks and/or Final Judgment package must submitted in open court on the day of trial or the hearing. Packets are not to be mailed in advance of the trial or hearing date. Do not electronically submit Final Judgments to the Court.
A complete copy must be sent to all parties in the case either electronically or by U.S. mail.
If the hearing will result in the entering of a final judgment of foreclosure, the packet will be submitted in open court in the following order:
- Summary Judgment Foreclosure Checklist (download), include an attachment of adding machine tape.
- Updated completed Final Disposition Form - Florida Rules of Civil Procedure Form 1.998 (updated 1/1/2020) – with Final Judgment amount filled in and marked "Disposed by Non-Jury Trial".
- Final Judgment (format to comply with the requirements for recorded documents with 3 x 3 space and Florida Rules of Civil Procedure Form 1.996) – the first copy of the Final Judgment is to have a tab sign here sticky on the page of the sale date and the Judge's signature page.
- Original Note and Mortgage with a Notice of Filing as cover sheet (see directions below if already filed with the Clerk's office)
- Plaintiff's Notice of Hearing
- Payment History
- Affidavit of Indebtedness (including loan payment history)
- Affidavit of Attorneys' Fees
- Affidavit of Costs
- Opposing Affidavits (if any) [see FRCP 1.510]
- Four sets of self-addressed and stamped envelopes with return address:
Clerk & Comptroller
Palm Beach County
P.O. Box 4667
West Palm Beach, Florida 33402-4667
Original Promissory Notes and Mortgages
If the original note (and mortgage) was previously filed in the court file, please email CAD-SRJDTrials@pbcgov.org at least 5 days prior to the trial/hearing to notify the Court that the originals are in the court file. Case management will request the file from the Clerk to send to the Judge. If the originals were not previously filed with the Clerk, please add the original note and/or mortgage to the Final Judgment packet (do not overnight it to the Clerk's office). See Administrative Order 3.311 regarding disposal of foreclosure trial exhibits.
Agreed Orders
Agreed Orders canceling/continuing trial or the Motion for Summary Judgment hearing must be submitted timely to the CAD-SRJDTrials@pbcgov.org. Agreed Orders to cancel/continue will not be entered by the Senior Judge.
Motions for Continuance
The divisional Judge must hear all Motions for Continuance prior to the date of trial or the MSJ hearing. An Order is required to remove a case from the trial or MSJ docket. If a matter is continued, please email a copy of the Order to CAD-SRJDTrials@pbcgov.org.
Witnesses
If your witness is appearing via Zoom, make sure your witness has a device to attend the hearing and an appropriate location to sit during the hearing, free of distractions. Test your set up ahead of time to ensure there is no echoing or other technical issues. The Court can administer the oath pursuant to: AOSC20-16.
Advise the witness of courtroom procedure and Zoom etiquette such as, but not limited to:
- Witness shall not communicate with anyone during their testimony. This means no texting or chatting on any devise or talking to anyone physically in the room.
- Reinforce that even though the hearing is being conducted virtually, it is still a courtroom subject to the penalties of perjury or contempt.
- Rule of Sequestration. Advise the witness that if the rule is invoked, the witness will either be asked to log into Zoom when it's their turn, or to sit in a Zoom "waiting room" while the hearing is proceeding. Explain the rule.
- Please remind your witness that proper attire must be worn. They must be in a distraction free environment. No multi-tasking will be allowed. Remind them to turn off ringers and alerts that make noise. Make sure Zoom displays the witness's proper name.
- Let the attorney or Judge finish speaking before answering questions. When an objection is made, stop talking and let the Judge rule on the objection. Mute microphone when not being addressed.
- Procedure for disconnection. Advise the witness to attempt to re-enter the meeting if they are inadvertently disconnected and instruct the witness to contact you by phone or e-mail for further instructions if they are unable to rejoin the Zoom hearing.
This above information is only for Circuit Civil foreclosure trials and Summary Judgment hearings set in Courtroom 4A with the Senior Judges. Do not attempt to use the call-in/Zoom meeting information for any other hearing type. Please continue to check the 15th Circuit's website for updates on this page.
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the enforcement of a mortgage lien by judicial sale of the property. A mortgage lien is created when there is a loan contract for money borrowed under a note. This loan is secured by the mortgage lien upon real property. When the debt is not paid according to the loan contract terms, or when other contract terms are violated, the lender can pursue its lien on the property.
To enforce its mortgage lien, the lender must first file a foreclosure suit, prove its case, and obtain a final judgment. After entry of the foreclosure judgment, the note is cancelled and the lender is entitled to have the property sold and the proceeds applied to the foreclosure judgment. Upon issuance of the certificate of title, the purchaser acquires the right of possession which is enforceable by writ of possession.
Division AW was dissolved in 2017. All of the pending foreclosure cases (open and reopen cases) were redistributed to the other Circuit Civil Divisions. See Administrative Order 3.302. If your case is in a closed status, it will be reopened upon receipt and docketing of any motion. The Clerk will randomly reassign the case to one of the other Circuit Civil divisions upon reopening. Please contact the Clerk of the Court if the case remains in a closed status after the motion has been docketed into the file.
Resources
| Foreclosure Sales Information from the Palm Beach County Clerk | |
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Foreclosure Summary Judgment Checklist |