Fourth District: New Notice to Attorneys/Parties & New Administrative Order re: Agreed Extensions of Time

Last week the Fourth District issued a new Administrative Order regarding agreed extensions of time and an updated Notice to Attorneys and Parties. 

The Administrative Order regarding agreed extensions of time, Administrative Order 2016-01, can be downloaded HERE. The Fourth District's updated Notice to Attorneys and Parties can be downloaded HERE. 

The First District does not have an agreed extension procedure but the Second District, Third District, Fourth District (see above), and Fifth District do. The Second District's administrative order can be downloaded HERE (June 3, 2013); the Third District's administrative order can be downloaded HERE (amended June 30, 2015); and the Fifth District's administrative order can be downloaded HERE (March 8, 2013). 

2015 Amendments to the Federal Rules and Potential Changes in 2016

Last month, the Supreme Court sent to Congress amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. These Amendments will become effective on December 1, 2015, absent Congressional action blocking the changes. The Bankruptcy Rule change only impacts Rule 1007. The Civil Rule changes relate to Rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, 34, 37, 55, and 84, and the Appendix of Forms.

Much more interesting, in my opinion, will be the rule changes submitted next year and that will be effective on December 1, 2016. The entirety of the changes proposed for December 1, 2016, may be viewed HERE. The proposed changes include a reduction in the length of appellate briefs and the elimination of the 3 mailing days provided by the rules. 

The comments period has closed for the changes proposed for 2016. There are 61 comments to the proposed appellate rule changes, and much has been written on the subject. With regard to the proposed civil rule changes, there are only 13 comments.  I link to two specific comments, one from the United States Department of Justice and the other from the Solicitor General of the United States, but all are available at the following links: Civil; Appellate; Bankruptcy; and Criminal.

Florida Rules of Procedure Regarding Recall of Mandate Amended

The Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion today in In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration and Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure (SC13-1670) amending the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure and Florida Rules of Judicial Administration regarding the recall of a court’s mandate. On January 1, 2014, the changes below will be made. If you have comments, you must submit them to the Court within sixty days of today. 

Rule 9.340, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, will be amended to include the underlined text below. 

(a) Issuance and Recall of Mandate. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or provided by these rules, the clerk shall issue such mandate or process as may be directed by the court after expiration of 15 days from the date of an order or decision. A copy thereof, or notice of its issuance, shall be served on all parties. The court may direct the clerk to recall the mandate, but not more than 120 days after its issuance.

Rule 2.205(b)(5), will be amended as indicated below (underlined text is new):

(5) Issuance and Recall of Mandate; Recordation and Notification. The clerk shall issue such mandates or process as may be directed by the court. If, within 120 days after a mandate has been issued, the court directs that a mandate be recalled, then the clerk shall recall the mandate. Upon the issuance or recall of any mandate, the clerk shall record the issuance or recall in a book or equivalent electronic record kept for that purpose, in which the date of issuance or date of recall and the manner of transmittal of the process shall be noted. In proceedings in which no mandate is issued, upon final adjudication of the pending cause the clerk shall transmit to the party affected thereby a copy of the court’s order or judgment. The clerk shall notify the attorneys of record of the issuance of any mandate, the recall of any mandate, or the rendition of any final judgment. The clerk shall furnish without charge to all attorneys of record in any cause a copy of any order or written opinion rendered in such action.

Additionally, Rule 2.210(b)(4) will be amended as follows (underlined text is new):

(4) Issuance and Recall of Mandate; Recordation and Notification. The clerk shall issue such mandates or process as may be directed by the court. If, within 120 days after a mandate has been issued, the court directs that a mandate be recalled, then the clerk shall recall the mandate. If the court directs that a mandate record shall be maintained, then upon the issuance or recall of any mandate the clerk shall record the issuance or recall in a book or equivalent electronic record kept for that purpose, in which shall be noted the date of issuance or the date of recall and the manner of transmittal of the process. In proceedings in which no mandate is issued, upon final adjudication of the pending cause the clerk shall transmit to the party affected thereby a copy of the court’s order or judgment. The clerk shall notify the attorneys of record of the issuance of any mandate, the recall of any mandate, or the rendition of any final judgment. The clerk shall furnish without charge to all attorneys of record in any cause a copy of any order or written opinion rendered in such action.

11th Circuit Reduces Requirements For Record Excerpt Program In Most Appeals

Today, the Eleventh Circuit reduced the requirements for its pilot record excerpt program. The program began as a pilot program in February 2006 in the Southern District of Alabama. Since that time, the program had slowly expanded to include other district courts within the jurisdiction of the Eleventh Circuit.

In March of this year, an email was sent to attendees of the Eleventh Circuit Appellate Practice Institute requesting comment on the pilot record program. At that time, the email stated, "it appear[ed] possible that we might be on the precipice of a modification — if not an elimination — of the program." For now, it seems the program has not been eliminated. However, it has certainly been modified. Thanks to Chet Kaufman for emailing news of the change.

Earlier today, the court posted a notice on the top of its website that states:

Reduced Requirements for Record Excerpts Now in Effect for Most Appeals. Please see Electronic Records on Appeal Program for additional information.

The page linked above, the Electronic Records on Appeal Program page, is copied below as it currently looks:

Most of these documents are in .pdf format. If you would like to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader, please visit adobe.com Problems downloading our .PDF files? Help files: .PDF or HTML format

In February 2006, with General Order 32, the Court implemented a pilot program in the Southern District of Alabama to determine whether the Court could conduct its business efficiently and without additional cost, while relieving certain district courts of the burden of providing paper copies of the record on appeal. Since that date, the program has been modified and expanded with General Order 33. At the present time, and upon request by the respective district courts, the Court has approved participation by all district courts in the Court’s Electronic Records on Appeal Program, either as an on-going program or a pilot program: Southern District of Alabama – for appeals filed on or after April 1, 2006 Middle District of Alabama – for appeals filed on or after November 1, 2007 Northern District of Alabama – for appeals filed on or after October 1, 2008 Northern District of Florida – for appeals filed on or after October 1, 2009 Middle District of Georgia – for appeals filed on or after October 1, 2010 Northern District of Georgia – for civil appeals filed on or after January 3, 2012; for criminal appeals, and appeals in cases filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, filed on or after November 1, 2012 Southern District of Georgia – for appeals filed on or after April 1, 2012 Southern District of Florida - for appeals filed on or after February 1, 2013 Middle District of Florida - for appeals filed on or after April 1, 2013 Parties in appeals where the district court is now filing only an electronic record on appeal must file an appendix in conformance with the “Appendix on Appeal” Requirements (June 2013) attached to General Order 39. In addition, parties will find more detailed information, including checklists and samples, in the Instructions for Preparing an Appendix (June 2013).

ELECTRONIC RECORDS ON APPEAL PROGRAM INFORMATION General Order 39 “Appendix on Appeal” Requirements (June 2013) Briefs Checklist - Electronic Records on Appeal Program (Revised June 2013) Instructions for Preparing an Appendix (June 2013) Appendix Checklist – Civil / Summary Judgment Cases (June 2013) Appendix Checklist – Criminal Cases (June 2013)

Florida Supreme Court Adopts New Rules On Professionalism For Lawyers

The Florida Supreme Court released a unanimous opinion today addressing the issue of professionalism. In Re: Code for Resolving Professionalism Complaints (SC13-688), the "Supreme Court of Florida Commission on Professionalism has requested that the Court adopt a Code for Resolving Professionalism Complaints which would include a structure to provide a process to more critically address professionalism issues in Florida." 

The Court noted the importance of professionalism and that "[s]urveys of both lawyers and judges continue to consistently reflect that professionalism is one of the most significant adverse problems that negatively impacts the practice of law in Florida today."


The Court agreed with the Professionalism Committee that additional measures need to be taken and stated that "While we continue our educational the Professionalism Commission concluded that further integrated, affirmative, practical and active measures are now needed. We agree."

The Court did not, however, "attempt to create an entirely new code of 'professional' or 'unprofessional' conduct " and agreed it should not "at this time, attempt to codify an entirely new 'Code of Professionalism.'” Using the following existing rules and guidelines, the Court created one integrated place to look for professionalism rules and guidance: "(1) the Oath of Admission to The Florida Bar; (2) The Florida Bar Creed of Professionalism; (3) The Florida Bar Ideals and Goals of Professionalism; (4) The Rules Regulating The Florida Bar; and (5) the decisions of the Florida Supreme Court."

Further "The Chief Judge of every circuit shall create a Local Professionalism Panel to receive and resolve professionalism complaints informally if possible. In the discretion of the Chief Judge, the Circuit Committee on Professionalism may be designated as the Local Professionalism Panel. The Chief Judge of each circuit is responsible for activating the respective committees."  

The Rules adopted by the Florida Supreme Court are found at Exhibit "A" to the opinion below.

In Re Code for Resolving Professionalism Complaints (SC13-688)

Mandatory E-Mail Service In All Florida Civil Cases & eserve.cc

Last month, the Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion requiring email service of all filings in all civil cases effective September 1, 2012. The opinion, available HERE, includes specific requirements for the service of all pleadings and filings and what must be included in the email. Generally, service of documents is now governed by Florida Rule of Judicial Administration Rule 2.516. The subject of the email must contain certain words in all capital letters; the attached filed cannot be over 5mb; and the body of the e-mail is required to contain specific information.

[Update: I have not removed the post below but the domain is no longer active.]

To try and make it a bit easier, with the guidance of a friend, I created a simple website for users to insert information which will open up a new email in the preferred email editor (Outlook, etc.) including the required subject and text. If you go to www.eserve.cc you will see the first page copied below. It is not an extremely difficult process but look below for an explanation of the two step process.

Florida Legal Blog's E-mail Service Form - www.eserve.cc

The first page asks for the information below (the email addresses are created by me as an example---hopefully not real):

The second page simply asks you to click the "Open Email" prompt shown below:

Finally, an email that look something like the image below will open in your preferred email editor:


Don't forget to attach the file you are serving….

Fourth District Allows For Filing Of Stipulation For Extension Of Time (As Opposed To Motions)

Effective February 1, 2012, the Fourth District will allow the parties to stipulate that they have agreed to an extension of time to file briefs. The court's administrative order is below:

Admin. Order No. 2011-2 (In re: Agreed Extensions of Time for Briefs)

Southern District of Florida Amends Local Rules (Effective Dec. 1, 2011)

The Local Rules for the Southern District of Florida have been amended, effective December 1, 2011. The new rules are below and followed by the order implementing the rule change which shows the changes in the rules.

Southern District of Florida Local Rules (December 1, 2011) Southern District of Florida Order Amending Local Rules 2011-100

Voluntary Electronic Filing In The Eleventh Circuit Begins Jan. 1, 2012

The Eleventh Circuit has the Public Notice copied below on its website indicating that voluntary electronic filing will begin on January 1, 2012. According to the Pacer Service Center, "Beginning December 1 you may register for electronic filing with the 11th Circuit through the Appellate ECF application at http://www.pacer.gov/reg_ap.html."

---

INFORMATION

The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will begin VOLUNTARY electronic filing on January 1, 2012.

Pursuant to Section 4.4 of the ECF Guide, the electronic filing of a Certificate of Interested Persons (CIP) in ECF does not relieve an Attorney Filer of the requirement to also complete and keep updated the web-based CIP on the Court's web site. To complete the web-based CIP, counsel must obtain from the clerk an Eleventh Circuit password that is independent of PACER and ECF passwords.

Reference Information:

Registration and Updating Your Account
ECF Filing Standards

Florida Supreme Court Amends Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure

[The opinion discussed below was corrected on November 23, 2011. The Corrected Opinion is now below.]

The Florida Supreme Court released an opinion today amending the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure. The opinion is below:

sc11-192

Fourth District Enters New Administrative Order Regarding E-Mailing Filings

The Fourth District recently issued Administrative Order 2011-01, titled "In re: E-mailing Filings to the Fourth District Court of Appeal." The Order is effective October 1, 2011. All briefs (and appendix if applicable) are required to be submitted in .pdf or Microsoft Word format to the court. The court also references the fact that they may begin emailing orders to parties and counsel. The entire order is below:

Fourth District Administrative Order No. 2011-1

Florida Supreme Court Amends Form Final Foreclosure Judgment

The Florida Supreme Court released the opinion below this morning amending the form foreclosure final judgment.  The court stated:

Because, unlike the other amendments, the amendments to form 1.996(a) had not been published for comment prior to adoption, the opinion adopting the amendments provided a sixty-day comment period with regard to the amendments to that form.  Several comments were filed, and the committee filed a response.

Upon consideration of the comments and the committee’s response thereto, we adopt two further amendments to form 1.996(a).  First, in recognition of assertions in the comments that flat rate attorneys’ fee agreements are common in mortgage foreclosure cases, we amend the attorneys’ fee provisions of the form to accommodate this option.  Second, in order to ensure that the provisions of the form are not contrary to the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-22, §§ 701-704, 123 Stat. 1660-62, we delete the sentence from paragraph six of the form stating, “If any defendant remains in possession of the property, the clerk shall without further order of the court issue forthwith a writ of possession upon request of the person named on the certificate of title.”

In Re Amendments To The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Form 1.996 (Final Judgment of Foreclosure)

Florida Supreme Court Amends Residential Foreclosure Rules Of Civil Procedure

The Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion today amending the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure with regard to residential foreclosures.  The consolidated opinion in IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE (SC09-1460) and IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE - FORM 1.996 (FINAL JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE) (SC09-1579) can be viewed HERE.  The changes are below:

With regard to SCO9-1460, the first amendment was:

Rule 1.110(b) is amended to require verification of mortgage foreclosure complaints involving residential real property. The primary purposes of this amendment are (1) to provide incentive for the plaintiff to appropriately investigate and verify its ownership of the note or right to enforce the note and ensure that the allegations in the complaint are accurate; (2) to conserve judicial resources that are currently being wasted on inappropriately pleaded "lost note."

Second:

The new form is meant to help standardize affidavits of diligent search and inquiry and provide information to the court regarding the methods used to attempt to locate and serve the defendant.

Third, the process server must now state:

I inquired of the occupant of the premises whether the occupant knows the location of the borrower-defendant, with the following results: ________.

Next, the court amended the form to incorporate the provisions of section 49.041, Florida Statutes which "sets forth the minimum requirements for an affidavit of diligent search and inquiry." 

For the final change,  the court stated:

Finally, we adopt the Task Force’s proposed Motion to Cancel and Reschedule Foreclosure Sale as new form 1.996(b). The Task Force recommended adoption of this new form in which the plaintiff would provide the court with an explanation of why the foreclosure sale needs to be cancelled and request that the court reschedule the sale."

With regard to case SC09-1579, the court stated:

First, to conform to current statutory requirements, a notice to lienholders and directions to property owners as to how to claim a right to funds remaining after public auction is added to the form. See § 45.031(1), Fla. Stat. (2009). Additionally, to conform to current statutory provisions allowing the clerk of court to conduct judicial sales via electronic means, the form is amended to accommodate this option. See § 45.031(10), Fla. Stat. (2009).

Other amendments are as follows: (1) in order to provide greater clarity and prevent errors, paragraph one of the form is amended to set out amounts due in a column format; (2) paragraph two is amended to allow for the possibility that there may be more than one defendant, and out of concern for privacy interests, the lines for an address and social security number are deleted; (3) paragraph four is amended to conform to existing practice and require a successful purchaser to pay the documentary stamps on the certificate of title; (4) paragraph six is amended to accommodate the possibility that there may be multiple defendants, to adapt to the requirements of section 45.0315, Florida Statutes (2009), stating that the right of redemption expires upon the filing of the certificate of sale, unless otherwise specified in the judgment, to recognize the potential survival of certain liens after foreclosure as provided in chapter 718 (the Condominium Act) and chapter 720 (Homeowners’ Association), Florida Statutes (2009), and to allow a purchaser to obtain a writ of possession from the clerk of court without further order of the court

Southern District of Florida Amends Local Rules - Effective 4/15/2010 - Administrative Order 2010-05

On January 26, 2010, Southern District of Florida Chief Judge Federico A. Moreno entered Administrative Order 2010-05.  The order amends the Local Rules of the Southern District of Florida, effective April 15, 2010. The order with the amended rules is below:

S.D. Fla. Admin Order 2010-05 -- Amendments to Local Rules

New Electronic Brief Filing Procedures In Eleventh Circuit

There are new electronic brief filing procedures in the Eleventh Circuit.  The CM/ECF page for the Eleventh Circuit can be found at THIS link.  The Court's EDF Login page can be found at THIS link.  The EDF page notes:

Please note the following:

To File a Web-Based Certificate of Interested Persons:

All attorneys are required to complete the web-based CIP. They must either enter the stock (ticker) symbols of all publicly traded corporations on the paper CIP or declare that they have nothing to enter. You will need your EDF ID and USCA Docket Number to enter this website. Once you have that information, click the button marked "CIP" above.

If you are submitting a brief:

You are required to complete the Attorney Registration. During that process you will set up a password which you will use to log in. If you have already completed the Registration you may proceed directly to Briefs. After completing the Attorney Registration, you may Login by clicking the "Briefs" button and entering the EDF ID you were sent by the Court and the password which you created during the Registration process.

If you need technical support, you may call the EDF Hotline at (404) 335-6399 or click the link below.

Eleventh Circuit Electronic Filing Instructions

You can view the Eleventh Circuit Rules and Internal Operating Procedure (Dec. 1, 2009) at THIS link.  Additionally, the Briefing & Filing Instructions page can be found at THIS link.

Proposed Amendments to Local Rules of the Southern District of Florida - Admin Order 2009-61

The Southern District of Florida released Administrative Order 2009-61 titled "In Re Amendments to the Local Rules-Notice of Proposed Amendments of Opportunity for Public Comments and of Hearing to Receive Comments."  The order is below:

Proposed Amendments to Southern District of Florida Rules - 2009-61 (12-7-2009)

Proposed Changes To Rules of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

The Eleventh Circuit has released proposed rule amendments.  The Notice can be found here; a table of the proposed changes can be found here;  a redlined version of the new rules can be found here.

Middle District of Florida Amends Local Rules

In In Re: Amendments To Time Calculations In The Local Rules, entered on November 19, 2009, the Middle District of Florida amended its local rules in order to "conform to the amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure adopted by the Supreme Court, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2072."  The order can be found here.

Southern District of Florida Bankruptcy Court: "Notice of Entry of Bankruptcy Administrative Orders 09-6, 09-7, 09-8 & Notice of Amended Federal Rules"

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a "Notice of Entry of Bankruptcy Administrative Orders 09-6, 09-7, 09-8 & Notice of Amended Federal Rules."

You can view the Notice here and the new rules at the links below:

09-6;

09-7; and

09-8.

Southern District of Florida Enters Administrative Order 2009-51 Regarding Deadlines

The Southern District of Florida sent an email to all registered CM/ECF users this morning stating:

Substantial changes to the manner in which dates are calculated in various Federal Rules of Procedure will go into effect on December 1, 2009. These changes in the Federal Rules impact the calculation of many time deadlines. The Court has entered Administrative Order 2009-51, which adopts these changes effective December 1, 2009 on an interim basis, pending formal revision of the Southern District's Local Rules. To obtain a copy of Administrative Order 2009-51 and the attached table of interim changes to the Local Rules, please visit the Court's website at: http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/

The new order, Administrative Order 2009-51 replaced Administrative Order 2009-34 in its entirety.  The now vacated 2009-34 was discussed here.  Administrative Order 2009-51 becomes effective on December 1, 2009, the same day the statutory amendments discussed here become effective. Administrative Order 2009-51 is below:

09-51