In Division O, all Pretrial Conferences, Jury Trials, Non-Jury Trials, all hearings on discovery matters, and evidentiary hearings, will be conducted in person.

All matters longer than 30 minutes will be in person.

All other matters will be on zoom unless otherwise directed.

**The Court strongly prefers in person hearings. Upon agreement by parties, any matter may be set in person.

The Court’s Zoom link ishttps://fljud13-org.zoom.us/j/6413809174?omn=87039325112

Zoom Meeting ID is 
641 380 9174

Password is not required. 

Non-Evidentiary Hearings - UMC, 15- minutes, or 30-minutes

These hearings are scheduled through JAWS. All dates are posted in JAWS. Please check periodically for any cancellations or updates. 

Non-Evidentiary Hearings More than 30 Minutes 
These hearings are scheduled by emailing the JA at  circivdivo@fljud13.org and providing the following information:

• Case number
• Case name
• Title, date, and docket number of the Motion or matter for hearing
• Amount of time needed

Evidentiary Hearings

These hearings are scheduled by contacting the JA at circivdivo@fljud13.org and providing the following information:

• Case number
• Case name
• Title, date, and docket number of the Motion or matter for hearing
• State you are requesting an Evidentiary Hearing
• Amount of time needed

Non-Evidentiary Pretrial Matters

A non-evidentiary pretrial motion may be ruled upon without a hearing, pursuant to the procedures in AO S-2024-046

All Motions to Compel Discovery are conducted in person. Do not schedule on a UMC hearing docket. 

All discovery motions need to be noticed for hearing on the court’s monthly in person discovery docket in JAWS. All cases are set at 9:00AM in person for all discovery motions.
If you need more information regarding our discovery docket, please reach out to the Judicial Assistant.

*Please make sure that parties have conferred PRIOR to setting these matters. A good faith conference is essential for scheduling these matters. If the motion does not contain a good faith conference, the hearing will be automatically canceled. 

Proposed Agreed Orders

A proposed agreed Order, along with a cover letter, can be uploaded, only as a PDF, for Judge Ward’s review and consideration through the Florida ePortal. Be sure Circuit Civil Division O is selected.

Proposed Orders NOT Agreed Upon by the Parties

Competing Orders - If parties do not agree with the form of the Order, each party may email the JA a proposed Order as a Word Document, along with a cover letter detailing the conflicting issues. The competing Order must be received within 3 days. 

No Response - If after 5 days of service a response is not received by opposing counsel, a proposed Order, as a PDF, may be uploaded to the Florida ePortal, along with a cover letter detailing the service and no response, for Judge Ward’s consideration.

Proposed Orders Following a Hearing

A proposed agreed Order, along with a cover letter, should be uploaded, as a PDF, to the Florida ePortal within 5 days of the hearing unless otherwise directed by Judge Ward during the hearing. If the parties do not agree with the form of the Order, competing Orders, along with cover letters, must be sent to the JA, as Word Documents, within 5 days of the hearing unless otherwise directed by Judge Ward during the hearing.

Cover Letters
A cover letter must accompany each proposed Order and should state:

• Title, filing date, and if applicable, hearing date of Motion
• Date the proposed Order was provided to opposing counsel
• Opposing counsel agrees to the Order OR opposing counsel failed to respond after 5 days OR opposing counsel indicated they object and will be submitting a competing Order

If a party is pro se and does not have an email address associated with the case, the attorney will be responsible for mailing copies of the Order to pro se parties.

How to upload Orders to the E-Portal for Electronic Signature

MyFLCourtAccess.com
E-Portal Help Desk 850-577-4609

When emailing the division at circivdivo@fljud13.org please include the case number and name in the subject line.

The judicial assistant is not authorized to answer questions about anything other than scheduling and preferences.  You are always welcome to call the office, but kindly review the preferences before calling the office.

After reserving time in JAWS, please send the Court (circivdivo@fljud13.org) an efiled copy of the Notice of Hearing and Motion scheduled to be heard (Do not attach all exhibits.).
Hearing binders are most useful if they are indexed, tabbed, and provide five days in advance of the hearing. 
Provide the Court an efiled copy of ALL NOTICE OF CANCELLATIONS.

Emergency Motion: After an Emergency Motion is filed with Clerk AND properly flagged as an EMERGENCY, email JA an efiled courtesy copy.

Cancelling Hearings within 24 Hours of Hearing: Email JA a copy of the FILED Notice of Cancellation AND call the JA to advise of cancellation. Leave a message if necessary and then follow up with a Notice of Cancellation. 

Cancelling Hearings Prior to 24 Hours of Hearing: Scheduling party must cancel on JAWS and email efiled Notice of Cancellation to the JA. 

Cancelling Trial and Pre-Trial: If case has settled, one of the parties must email the JA an efiled documentation; however, this does not cancel the Pre-trial or the Trial. A dismissal is needed to cancel the Pre-Trial Conference or the Trial. 

Notices of Hearing. Parties scheduling hearings must ensure that the notice of hearing is timely filed and contains all information necessary to access the hearing.
Please follow the procedures in AO S-2024-046 when Cross-Noticing a hearing or adding an additional motion to be heard at the already scheduled hearing. 
The notice of hearing should include the following information:

• The motion or matter to be heard;
• The amount of time reserved;
• Whether the hearing is in person or remote (see answer to Question 1 above);if the hearing is remote, instructions for remote appearances; and
• Whether a court reporter has been ordered.

Pre-Trial Conferences are held IN-PERSON. 
Parties may agree to a trial date as provided on the Court’s calendar. Once you agree to a trial date, please notify our office to have an Order Setting Trial entered and the case set in JAWS for pre-trial and trial.
To schedule a Non-Jury Trial, please contact the judicial assistant.

Contact the Clerk’s Office for instructions on the numbering and marking of exhibits for trials and in person hearings. Any questions about this process should be directed to the Clerk’s Office at (813) 276-8100.