Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Pasco and Pinellas Counties Filing Rules

The court will not hear or consider boiler-plate motions in limine.

Anything the judge will need for the hearing must be provided five days before the hearing.

Orders submitted for court consideration must identify the request-sent date, response-due date, good-faith-letter date, and state that no response was received.

The cover letter must be copied to all parties, including represented, pro se, and defaulted parties, and the copy list must reflect those recipients.

An objection must be submitted as a proposed order rather than by telephone, email, or letter alone.

The pretrial conference is to be scheduled according to the trial judge's practice preferences.

Foreclosure final judgments are due no later than 4:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the hearing.

The notice of hearing may not be filed until JAWS sends a confirmation email showing that the hearing has been scheduled.

Electronic exhibits must be submitted seven days before the evidentiary proceeding.

All case law anticipated to be argued must be emailed to section9@jud6.org three days before the hearing.

Do not file the Notice of Hearing until a confirmation email is received from JAWS.

Inquiries ordinarily receive a substantive response within one business day; delayed responses are acknowledged with an expected-response time and an alternate contact for immediate assistance.

The judicial assistant may be emailed to combine adjacent time slots for 30-, 45-, or 60-minute hearings.

The Judicial Assistant will not forward or present emails that attempt to address the merits of a case to the judge.

For hearings of one hour or more, parties may email the Judicial Assistant for available times, must copy all parties, and must attach the already e-filed motion and any response.

Each party must serve its case-in-chief deposition designations no later than 25 days before the pre-trial conference, subject to the paragraph 7 exception.

When a pro se party is present, the moving party must mail the order to that party.

A self-represented party who has not consented to email service must receive all pleadings and orders by U.S. mail.

Photos and videos may be sent by email or Drop-Box, but thumb drives will not be accepted.

A notice of cancellation must be immediately filed and served on opposing counsel and any self-represented litigant.

A Foreclosure Summary Final Judgment may not be submitted through JAWS.

Agreed-upon orders must be submitted exclusively through JAWS in PDF format.

Pro se litigants may email their proposed order to the judicial assistant and copy opposing counsel.

Plaintiff's counsel is responsible for uploading the proposed trial order to JAWS.

A copy of an emergency motion must be submitted to the court by email, hand delivery, or regular U.S. mail.

Three days before the hearing, the parties must deliver the evidence and witness list to the St. Petersburg Judicial Building in filing-ready, redacted binders; digital delivery requires court permission and emailed items are not accepted.

Orders containing blanks are prohibited from JAWS submission, will be rejected there, and must instead be mailed to the judge.

The subject line of an email submitting courtesy copies must identify the case number and the motion or matter to be heard.

A proposed case management conference order must be redlined or annotated with comments identifying the parties' disagreements.

Orders must be submitted through JAWS in PDF format.

The parties may extend a deadline by submitting an agreed order or may file a motion under Rule 1.200(e)(3)(A)-(D) to extend a deadline, modify the Order, or alter the projected trial period.

When changing a case-management deadline would affect downstream dates, parties must move to amend the case management order rather than extend only the one deadline.

A continuance motion must specifically state the basis and timing of the need, whether it is opposed, the actions and dates needed for readiness, and the proposed ready date and whether all parties agree to it.

Continuance motions are disfavored and require good cause; successive continuances are highly disfavored, and lack of due diligence does not support granting one.

A continuance motion must specifically state the basis and when it became known, whether it is opposed, the actions and dates needed for readiness, the proposed ready date, and whether all parties agree to that date.

The party setting the hearing is responsible for providing the required courtesy copies, and failure to comply may result in cancellation of the hearing.

A courtesy copy of the notice of hearing must be emailed to the judicial assistant within 24 hours after the date and time are secured.

Courtesy copies may be mailed to the judicial office.

If documents, including memoranda with exhibits, exceed 20 pages, a hard copy or binder must be provided to the court by U.S. mail, FedEx, UPS, or hand delivery.

A courtesy copy of the Notice of Cancellation of Hearing should be sent to the Judicial Assistant.

Pre-filing conferral is not required when either party is pro se or for the enumerated categories of motions, including default, summary judgment, specified dismissal motions, judgment enforcement, possession, section 51.11 actions, and motions not requiring notice.

Summary-judgment motions must be filed and served at least 60 days before the Pre-Trial Conference and heard before it.

A motion requesting a hearing lasting one hour or more requires a short case management conference.

Before filing a motion to compel or for a protective order, counsel must confer in good faith with opposing counsel to attempt resolution and file a certification of that conference and the unresolved dispute.

Withdrawal of counsel requires a motion and hearing unless the request is accompanied by a stipulation signed by the client and all counsel.

Sensitive information should be redacted before the hearing and before submission to the clerk.

Before the hearing, the motion, any response, and highlighted case law must be sent to the court in an organized submission by mail or courier.