Judge Thomas

The Honorable Cheryl K. Thomas

Circuit Civil, Division A

Edgecomb Courthouse800 E. Twiggs St., Room #525
Tampa, Florida 33602
Courtroom #506
Judicial Assistant: Dorothy Gross
(813) 272-6993
gencivdiva@fljud13.org

Zoom Meeting ID: 935-5357-4539
Password: Not required Court Zoom Link Administrative Orders Judicial Biography

Forms
Schedule
Procedures & Preferences
Circuit Civil, Division A

Forms

Differentiated Case Management Process Forms and Orders

Uniform Order Setting Trial and Pretrial
Amended Circuit Civil General and Extended Differentiated Case Management Order
Uniform Stipulated Motion Establishing Good Cause for Entry of Amended Differentiated Case Management Order
What your legal assistant and paralegal need to know about Differentiated Case Management (“DCM”) process in the Thirteenth Circuit

Schedule

AT A GLANCE SCHEDULING

UMC's

15 Minute Hearings

30 Minute Hearings

Discovery Docket

Setting Trials in JAWS

Schedule in JAWS

See UMC

Schedule in JAWS

Set PTC in JAWS.

for additional "At a Glance" preferences Click Here

JURY Trial Dates- 2026	Pre-Trial (See JAWS TO SCHEDULE)
TWO WEEKS DOCKET BEGINNING (Monday) June 1, 2026 (10 days)	May 20, 2026 (Wednesday)
TWO WEEKS DOCKET BEGINNING (Monday) July 6, 2026 (10 days)	June 17, 2026 (Wednesday)
ONE WEEK DOCKET BEGINNING (Monday) August 3, 2026 (5 days)	July 22, 2026 (Wednesday)
TWO WEEKS DOCKET BEGINNING (Monday) August 31, 2026 (8 days)	August 19, 2026 (Wednesday)
TWO WEEKS DOCKET BEGINNING (Monday) October 5, 2026 (10 days)	September 16, 2026 (Wednesday)
TWO WEEKS DOCKET BEGINNING (Monday) November 2, 2026 (9 days)	October 21, 2026 (Wednesday)

Email or voice mail inquiries regarding trial dates not listed on the court’s website will be deleted without a response.

Trial weeks are published when officially opened.

Circuit Civil Division A Preferences - The Top Ten

Important Notice Regarding Administrative Order S-2024-046:

Administrative Order S-2024-046, promulgated by the Chief Judge of the Thirteenth Circuit and applicable to all Circuit Civil divisions, establishes requirements that apply to your case. Please familiarize yourself and your office staff with this order.

Steps to Upload a Proposed Order to the Florida ePortal

Division A encourages the use of remote appearances by ZOOM. Jury Trials are in person; all other matters, including pretrials and evidentiary hearings, are on Zoom, unless specifically designated as in-person. Please be prepared to attend by audio and video. Here is a link to the Division A Zoom hearing room:

The Court’s ZOOM link is https://zoom.us/j/93553574539 and ZOOM Meeting ID number is 935 5357 4539

No password is required; you will be admitted from the waiting room. To call into a zoom meeting, the phone is 1-786-635-1003 or 1-470-381-2552 and then use the same meeting ID number referenced above.

Parties who want an in-person hearing may contact the JA at gencivdiva@fljud13.org to request the same for non-jury trials or lengthy evidentiary matters.

INCLUDE ZOOM INFORMATION ON NOTICES OF HEARING.

ALL hearings appearing via Zoom must be scheduled on the Court’s Zoom link below: The Court’s ZOOM link is https://zoom.us/j/93553574539 and ZOOM Meeting ID number is 935 5357 4539.

If joining the hearing via telephone, call 1-786-635-1003 or 1-470-381-2552 and then use the same meeting ID number referenced above. No additional password is required for attendance. The ZOOM App is available for free for IOS and Android devices, and it may also be accessed via desktop computer. This is a free service. The ZOOM Help Center is at https://support.zoom.us. Counsel/parties do not need to be together to use ZOOM and all parties and counsel should plan to appear separately.

Please input your actual name for the video conference or change the name of your device. Please input the case number of the case for which you are appearing along with your name so the Court is able to identify participants in each scheduled case. Testimonial evidence may be introduced by videoconference. Please make sure any testifying witness has a photo ID available to present over the videoconference.

Counsel may agree to submit motions and briefs by email for the Court’s review and ruling in lieu of a hearing. If an in-person hearing is requested, please contact Judge Thomas’ assistant, Dorothy Gross, at gencivdiva@fljud13.org to discuss scheduling an in-person hearing. Please do not submit briefing notebooks; submit your motions and memoranda by email if your hearing is not in-person.

10 and 30 minute hearings are to be set by attorneys through JAWS. Pro Se litigants may email the JA for hearing availability. Anyone requesting a hearing of longer than 30 minutes must contact the JA for availability. gencivdiva@fljud13.org

UMC hearings are set via JAWS, this is a multi-case docket for uncontested matters that can be heard within 10 minutes

Proposed Orders must be uploaded in pdf. Proposed Orders uploaded in WORD are rejected by the e-portal. Parties must ensure they are associated to the case in JAWS and have selected recipients for rejection notices. Uploading Orders & Exhibits to E-Filing Portal - provides instructions for uploading documents through the E-Portal for Electronic Signature.

Only Proposed orders that are agreed upon by the parties are to be uploaded through the portal in PDF format. Please include a reminder of the date of the hearing in the cover letter, and if the Order is agreed to by the parties.

In the case of orders NOT agreed to, please submit via email to the JA at gencivdiva@fljud13.org copying opposing counsel, along with a cover letter which describes the differences in the Orders, a reminder of the hearing date, and WORD versions of the competing orders for the Court’s review and editing; the Court will upload and sign an order on the hearing.

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

MyFLCourtAccess.com

E-Portal Help Desk 850-577-4609

Please email the JA at gencivdiva@fljud13.org and copy all other parties with your request or message. The JA will respond as efficiently as possible.

Please email courtesy copies to the JA at gencivdiva@fljud13.org. Please ensure the email includes the case number and hearing date and time. Documents that are viewable in the court file do not need to be provided. Hearing binders should be provided as bookmarked pdfs. Documents cannot be accepted via share file links. Hearing binders are not required for documents that are viewable in the court file.

After the motion is filed with the clerk and properly flagged as an emergency pursuant to Administrative Order S-2024-046, Paragraph 19 (B), please email the JA with a courtesy copy so the Court is aware of the need to act on the Motion. Emergency Motions that are not properly filed with the clerk will not be treated as an emergency. gencivdiva@fljud13.org

Canceling hearings within 24 hours of the hearing: Please email the JA a copy of the notice of cancellation; if it is moments before the scheduled time of the hearing, please also phone the JA, Dorothy, at 813-272-6993 so we know not to expect your attendance at the hearing.

If you are cancelling more than 24 hours in advance and the hearing was scheduled through JAWS, you may cancel it also through JAWS. If you scheduled it by emailing the JA, please email a notice of cancellation to her at gencivdiva@fljud13.org.

You may not cancel a pretrial or trial unless the matter has been completely settled. If so, please file the voluntary dismissal, and also email the notice of settlement, NVD or other paperwork to the JA to confirm the cancellation.

In all notices of hearing, please include the date filed and docket number of the Matter being called up for hearing.

Trial Exhibits Memorandum for Jury/Non-Jury trial exhibits. https://hillsclerk.com/Court-Services/Circuit-Civil Exhibits for Evidentiary hearings should be uploaded via the e-portal: proposed documents, exhibits

The Court uses the Circuit Civil Uniform Order Setting Case for Trial and Pre-Trial (revised Apr. 30, 2021) and the Uniform Pre-Trial Conference Order. Please refer to the forms page for additional documents and Orders. https://www.fljud13.org/Forms.aspx

Additional Procedures

Pretrial will occur via Zoom. At least one trial counsel per party must appear at the pretrial conference.

Cases will be reviewed prior to the DCM hearing. Parties will be responsible for uploading the agreed upon Circuit Civil Uniform Order Setting Case for Trial and Pre-Trial (revised Apr. 30, 2021) by the Wednesday before the DCM hearing. Uploading the signed trial order will excuse parties from the DCM hearing. Parties who do not agree on a trial order within the six (6) month trial periods listed on the website must attend the DCM hearing.
Prior to the DCM hearing parties may agree to the trial being set on or before the presumptive period in the Differentiated Case Management Order if agreed to by all parties. A Circuit Civil Uniform Order Setting Case for Trial and Pre-Trial (revised Apr. 30, 2021) entered by the Court will excuse parties from the DCM hearing.

Parties may submit proposed Orders on Motions to Compel Discovery- Without a hearing.

The parties may agree that the Court may rule on the pleadings for particular motions. If the parties agree, e-file motions and responses and advise the judicial assistant via email to gencivdiva@fljud13.org of the title(s) of the specific motions you want the Judge to resolve without a hearing. Parties should submit proposed orders in accordance with the “Submitting Proposed Orders” instruction.

Judge Thomas

The Honorable Cheryl K. Thomas

Judicial Biography

The Honorable Cheryl K. Thomas

Year appointed to the Bench: 2002

Assignments:

Education

Professional Activities

Community Involvement

Forms

Schedule

Circuit Civil Division A Preferences - The Top Ten

Additional Procedures

Informational Links

Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida

Judge Thomas

The Honorable Cheryl K. Thomas

Forms

Schedule

Circuit Civil Division A Preferences - The Top Ten

1. Remote Appearances

2. Scheduling Hearings:

3. Submitting Proposed Orders: See Administrative Order S-2024-046, Paragraph 13

4. Communication with Office:

5. Courtesy Copies (See Administrative Order S-2024-046, Paragraph 12(c)(v))

6. Emergencies: (See Administrative Order S-2024-046, Paragraph 19)

7. Cancellations: (See Administrative Order S-2024-046, Paragraph 12(f)

8. Notices: (See Administrative Order S-2024-046, Paragraph 12(c)(iv) & (v))

9. Exhibits: (See Administrative Order S-2024-046, Paragraph 16)

10. Forms:

Additional Procedures

11. Pretrial: (See Administrative Order S-2024-046, Paragraph 15)

12. Set Case for Trial:

13. Motions to Compel Discovery: Administrative Order S-2024-046, Paragraph 11 (B)

14. In Lieu of a Hearing: