GOVERNING ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
Thirteenth Circuit Administrative Order S-2024-046 governs Circuit Civil operations. Please review it which can be found here: S-2024-046 (fljud13.org)
MOTIONS
Good-Faith Conference. Movants must comply with paragraph 11(A) of Administrative Order S-2024-046, which requires the movant to “confer with the opposing party or opposing counsel in a good faith effort to resolve the issues raised by the motion.” Failure to confer and certify the appropriate statement with the motion—with the detail required by the Administrative Order—will result in the motion being denied without prejudice and any hearing cancelled.
Motions to Compel. Motions to compel should describe with specificity the relief sought. The
motion must comply with the good-faith conference certification requirements of Rule 1.380(a)(2) and paragraph 11(A) of Administrative Order S-2024-046. Motions that do not comply will be denied and hearings cancelled. Judge Ellison expects parties to undertake true, good-faith efforts to resolve discovery disputes before filing a motion to compel.
Motions to Compel without a hearing. Paragraph 11(B) of Administrative Order S-2024-046 allows the Court to issue orders compelling discovery without a hearing in certain circumstances. Parties should read the administrative order closing before submitting a proposed order.
Non-Evidentiary Pretrial Motions Without a Hearing. Paragraph 11(C) of Administrative Order S-2024-046 allows the Court to rule on certain motions without a hearing. Parties must comply with the administrative order before the request will be considered.
Emergency Motions. After Motion is filed with clerk, email JA to notify
HEARINGS
Notices of Hearing. Notices of hearing should have all the information you need to attend your hearing. Parties scheduling hearings must ensure that the notice of hearing is timely filed and contain all information necessary to access the hearing. Evidentiary hearings must be noticed as such. A courtesy copy of the notice of hearing should be emailed to the division email circivdivk@fljud13.org. Please review paragraph 12(D) of Administrative Order S-2024-046 before filing a notice of hearing.
Hearings Using Communication Technology. Non-evidentiary proceedings 30 minutes or less may be set on Zoom, but evidentiary hearings or any hearing scheduled for more than 30 minutes must be set in person. Please see Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.530(b) for the process to deviate from this in-person requirement. If the parties are in agreement with holding an evidentiary hearing of less than 30 minutes via Zoom, please upload through the ePortal an Agreed Order with a cover letter indicating all parties are in agreement to the relief sought.
Differentiated Case Management Conferences are held on Zoom.
Pretrial Conferences will be held as IN PERSON Appearances Only.
The ZOOM meeting link for Judge Marlewski’s courtroom is https://zoom.us/j/923-3319-0791
In-Person Hearings. Pretrial conferences, jury trials, non-jury trials, and all hearings over 30-minutes will be conducted in person.
Differentiated Case Management Conferences (DCMs). DCMs are held on Zoom. DCMs will be cancelled if all parties have been served and the Court issues a Uniform Order Setting Trial & Pretrial. The parties are encouraged to upload to the ePortal a Uniform Order Setting Trial & Pretrial with a cover letter indicating “This case is set for a DCM on x. However, the parties are in agreement with the trial dates as outlined in the DCM and have uploaded a proposed Uniform Order Setting Trial & Pretrial for the Court’s consideration.”
UMC Dockets. Paragraph 12(A) of Administrative Order S-2024-046 governs the Uniform Motion Calendar. UMCs are reserved for hearings that should take less than 10 minutes. As a general rule, any evidentiary matters and dispositive motions (including motions for summary judgment, to dismiss for failure to state a claim, and to strike affirmative defenses) are not appropriate for a UMC docket, unless the issue is exceedingly narrow. If the hearing exceeds 10 minutes, it may be summarily cancelled and rescheduled to accommodate the other parties who are patiently waiting to be called. The Court will not hear contempt matters or testimonial matters during a UMC docket. All UMC Hearings are held by Electronic Zoom Appearance.
Unilateral notices of hearing. Hearings may be unilaterally noticed with a minimum of 60 days’ notice, and only due to a lack of cooperation. A notice of a hearing set unilaterally due to a lack of cooperation must describe, in detail, the efforts made to reach agreement on the hearing date. A single email, letter, or ultimatum is insufficient. Unilaterally set hearings that do not describe efforts to agree on a hearing date may be cancelled without notice.
Cross-noticing. Cross-noticing hearings is absolutely prohibited. If the parties agree to add certain motions to a hearing, they should file an amended notice of hearing after clearing the addition with Judge Marlewski’s chambers. Motions unilaterally cross-noticed will not be heard and may be denied without prejudice.
Locating hearing time. All available hearing times up to 30 minutes are listed on JAWS. If you have questions about availability or need more than 30 minutes for your hearing, please contact chambers via email to circivdivk@fljud13.org and please be sure to include all parties.
Cancellations. Parties must notify chambers as soon as hearings are cancelled. File a notice of cancellation on the public docket and email a copy to the divisional email at circivdivk@fljud13.org. Paragraph 12(F) of Administrative Order S-2024-046 describes how hearings must be cancelled.
EXHIBITS OR LEGAL AUTHORITY FOR HEARINGS
Please do not submit any hearing binders or other documents to Chambers. If you have the capability to submit your briefs with embedded cases, you may email that to the Division at circivdivk@fljud13.org at least two business days prior to the scheduled hearing. Otherwise, do not send any paper documents to Chambers. All authority or other documents you would like the Court to consider must be filed in JAWS no fewer than two business days prior to the hearing or as specifically required by the Rules, whichever is earlier. Material received after that deadline will not be considered.
No briefs should exceed ten pages without good cause or requesting leave of Court.
PROPOSED ORDERS
Proposed orders must be submitted in PDF format through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.
Proposed orders following a hearing should be submitted within 5 days, but may be submitted within 10 days in some instances. See Admin. Order S-2024-046 para. 13(B). Failure to timely submit a proposed order may result in denial of the motion without prejudice or a rehearing. As required by paragraph 13 of Administrative Order S-2024-046, the party charged with submitting the order must consult with all parties within 3 days of the hearing and make a genuine effort to agree on the language of the proposed order.
Cover Letters. Proposed orders should be accompanied by a cover letter identifying the hearing date (if any) and stating whether all parties agree to the form of the order. It is not sufficient to state that the proposing party has not heard back from others, unless 5 days have elapsed without a response. The cover letter must affirmatively state whether the other parties object or do not object to the form of the order. Any party objecting to the form of an order must notify chambers immediately and submit a competing order within 3 days. (See below.)
Agreed orders. Proposed orders on agreed relief or relief sought jointly by the parties should begin with “Agreed Order” in the caption. The first paragraph of the order must state that the parties agree to the relief afforded by the order, and it must identify the stipulation or motion providing the basis for the relief. Except in rare circumstances, agreed orders that are not preceded by a motion or stipulation will be rejected. See also Admin. Order S-2024-046.
Competing proposed orders. If, following a hearing, the parties disagree about the form of an order, they may submit competing orders. Competing orders should be submitted in Word format to the division email (gencivdivk@fljud13.org) with the words “Competing Proposed Order” in the subject line. The email may briefly describe why the party’s proposed form is correct, but additional legal argument is prohibited. Transcripts or excerpts may be submitted, if appropriate.
DIFFERENTIATED CASE MANAGEMENT
Controlling documents. Our case management obligations and processes are governed by rule and administrative order. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.200; Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.250, 2.545; AOSC21- 17 Amendment 3 (Fla. Jan. 8, 2022); 13th Cir. Admin. Order S-2024-085 found here: S-2024-085 (fljud13.org).
Requirements. All requirements for case management are listed in the relevant rules, administrative orders, and differentiated case management orders issued by the court. Read them carefully. It is the parties’ obligation to ensure their case contains an active and effective case management and trial order. Failure to timely submit proposed case management orders may result in the court setting your case for trial on the earliest possible calendar without further notice.
TRIALS
Forms. Judge Marlewski uses the Circuit Civil Uniform Order Setting Case for Trial and Pre-Trial (revised Apr. 30, 2021) and the Uniform Pre-Trial Conference Order. They can be found here. Pretrial orders should be customized to the needs of the case. Please be sure to contact the judicial assistant by email for a pre-trial conference time before uploading your trial order.
Summary Procedure. All trials using the summary procedure afforded by section 51.011 of the Florida Statutes must use the Circuit Civil Uniform Order Setting Case for Trial and Pre-Trial, but the dates may be customized to the needs of the case.
PROFESSIONALISM
All attorneys and individuals appearing before Court should maintain the highest standards of professionalism, candor, and preparation in her courtroom. Any attorney or party displaying conduct unbecoming of the proceeding may be subject to sanctions without notice.
Please take time to review the Guidelines for Professional Conduct – The Florida Bar. These have been approved and adopted by both the Circuit and County Judges’ Conferences and all attorneys are expected to adhere to these Guidelines.
A link to the Florida Bar’s Rules for Professional Conduct can be found here: 2025_06 (DEC) Chapter 3 RRTFB 12-30-24 (floridabar.org)