JUDGE ADRIAN G. SOUD
Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of the State of Florida
Division CV-E
Duval County Courthouse
501 W. Adams Street, Suite 7206
Jacksonville, Florida 32202
Lee Ann Ball, Judicial Assistant
Email: [email protected]
(904) 255-1218
Chambers 740
Website: HTTP://www.jud4.org/ex-parte-procedures-and-dates
Division CV-E (CIVIL PROCEDURES)
I.
EX PARTE HEARINGS:
A.
Ex parte hearings are only for uncontested matters that can be heard
and addressed by the Court in five minutes or less.
B.
Ex parte will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on certain, identified
dates. Ex parte dates are posted on the website above, as well as outside
Chambers 740.
C.
Given the nature of ex parte hearings, telephonic appearances will be
allowed only for out-of-town counsel/parties. The local counsel
attending ex parte must have a direct-dial phone number for out-of-town
counsel, which will be called at the time of the commencement of the ex
parte hearing.
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D.
II.
If all counsel plan on attending the ex parte hearing by phone, please
contact the Court to schedule a time-certain hearing.
SETTING CASES FOR TRIAL (JURY AND NON-JURY):
A.
When the case is at issue, a party may file a Motion to Set Case for Trial.
B.
The movant may obtain ex parte dates from the Court’s website and
coordinate with opposing counsel which date is best for all parties. Ex parte hearings
do not need to be coordinated or scheduled with the Court.
C.
The movant then must file a Notice of Ex Parte Hearing for the agreedupon date. Courtesy copies of the uncontested Motion and Notice of Hearing do not
need to be provided to the Court.
D.
At the ex parte hearing, the movant must present to the Court a fully
completed Division CV-E Trial Set Memorandum form. The form can be found
on the Court’s website and in Chambers. As noted on the form, please include
telephone numbers and email addresses for counsel AND for e-filing.
E.
The Movant shall be responsible for providing addressed, stamped
envelopes for parties not receiving pleadings and orders via the e-Portal.
Further, the Movant shall provide a blank, stamped envelope for the appointed
mediator (if the mediator is not using e-Portal). Envelopes are not necessary for all
individuals or entities using e-Portal.
F.
The Court will prepare the Order Setting Case for Trial.
G.
If a case settles, the parties must immediately contact the Court to have
the case removed from the calendar/trial docket.
III.
SETTING HEARINGS FOR PENDING MOTIONS:
A.
The party requesting the hearing may call the Court with the assistant(s)
for opposing counsel on the line (at the time of the call). Be prepared to provide the case
number, the motion(s) to be set for hearing and how much time is being requested.
Alternatively, the party requesting the hearing can email the Court at [email protected] and
copy the assistant(s) for opposing counsel and provide the same information.
B.
The Judicial Assistant will “Reply to All” with available hearing
dates/times. PLEASE NOTE: HEARING DATES/TIMES PROVIDED ARE NOT HELD
AND MAY BE GIVEN TO OTHERS. HEARING DATES/TIMES ARE NOT SECURED
UNTIL CONFIRMATION IS SENT FROM THE COURT.
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C.
If out-of-town counsel would like to telephonically attend a hearing
scheduled to take fifteen (15) minutes or less, counsel may do so without further
Order of the Court. Please notify the Court of counsel’s intention to appear
telephonically at the time the hearing is scheduled.
D.
Should counsel wish to telephonically attend a hearing scheduled for
more than fifteen (15) minutes, counsel must seek leave of Court by filing a written
Motion and providing a courtesy copy of the Motion and proposed Order to the Court
via electronic mail.
E.
Telephonic appearance is a privilege. Counsel must call the Court’s
office at the number above promptly at the time of the hearing. If multiple
attorneys will telephonically appear at a hearing, please have all counsel on the line
prior to calling the Court’s office. Any difficulties may require the Court to not allow
future telephonic appearances.
IV.
HEARINGS OF MORE THAN ONE (1) HOUR
Any Motion for which counsel is seeking more than one hour of hearing time
must be scheduled with the Court during Ex Parte (See Section I, supra).
V.
CANCELLATION OF HEARING:
A.
When cancelling a hearing, please call the Court with opposing counsel’s
office on the line. You may also email the Judicial Assistant and copy opposing counsel
notifying the Judicial Assistant of the cancellation.
B.
DO NOT assume the hearing is automatically removed from the Court’s
calendar. If you do not receive a telephone call or email confirming the cancellation,
please try contacting the Judicial Assistant again. A Notice of Cancellation that has
been e-filed with the Clerk is not sufficient notice of a cancellation.
Cancellation of a hearing MUST be confirmed with and by the Court.
VI.
MOTION TO COMPEL OR MOTION FOR SANCTIONS FOR FAILURE
TO PRODUCE DISCOVERY
Once a Motion to Compel or a Motion for Sanctions is scheduled on the Court’s
calendar, it will not be removed for any reason, even if agreed to by counsel
for the parties. The only exception is if the case is completely resolved and settled by
the parties.
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VII.
EMERGENCY MOTION/MOTION FOR REHEARING/MOTION FOR
NEW TRIAL:
The Motion should first be e-filed with the Clerk of Court. The movant must
provide the Court a courtesy copy of the Motion by mail, hand delivery or email.
However, any large documents (more than 20 pages, including attachments) must NOT
be
emailed.
If
any
party
requests
a
hearing
set
on
the
Motion, that party should contact the Court consistent with the instructions above (See
Section III). The request for hearing may or may not be granted.
VIII. PROPOSED ORDERS AFTER A HEARING:
A.
follows:
Proposed orders after a hearing are to be timely submitted to the Court as
1.
If there is an unrepresented party involved in the case not using ePortal, the proposed Order must be submitted to the Court in writing, with
sufficient copies for an original to be entered by the Court and a copy for each
party not using e-Portal. Further, the party presenting the proposed Order, shall
be responsible for providing addressed, stamped envelopes for parties not
using the e-Portal;
2.
If all parties before the Court are using e-Portal, the proposed Order
may be emailed to the Court in Microsoft Word format; and
3.
The proposed Order service list must contain e-filing addresses for
opposing counsel/unrepresented party. If an unrepresented party does not
receive e-filings, counsel must immediately mail or hand deliver to the Court an
addressed, stamped envelope.
B.
ALL PROPOSED ORDERS PRESENTED FOLLOWING HEARING,
whether submitted to the Court in writing or via email as contemplated supra, MUST
INCLUDE A COVER LETTER INDICATING:
1.
What the Order is for (i.e. the case, the motion heard, including
date and time, the title of the Order, etc.); and
2.
That all opposing counsel/unrepresented parties have been
provided with the same materials being provided to the Court, and whether the
parties agree with the language of the proposed Order.
C.
All counsel and unrepresented parties must be copied on the
cover letter, including any proposed Order, at the same time provided to the
Court. If counsel does not have an email address for an unrepresented party, counsel
must mail or hand deliver the proposed Order and letter to the Court consistent with the
instructions above.
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NOTE: Any complex proposed Orders should be submitted in Microsoft Word
format via email to the Court with a cover letter consistent with the instructions above.
IX.
PROPOSED ORDERS WITHOUT A HEARING:
A.
Proposed Orders without a hearing may be submitted to the Court with a
cover letter, which must be copied to all opposing counsel/unrepresented parties. A
courtesy copy of the motion, joint stipulation, etc. related to the proposed Order must be
provided. The letter must state that opposing counsel/unrepresented party has been
provided with the same materials being provided to the Court and whether opposing
counsel/unrepresented party agrees with the language of the proposed Order. The
service list on the Order must contain e-filing addresses for opposing
counsel/unrepresented parties.
B.
If counsel does not have an email address for an unrepresented party,
counsel must mail or hand-deliver the proposed Order, cover letter and all attachments
to the Court consistent with the instructions above. If an unrepresented party does not
receive e-filings, counsel must immediately mail or hand deliver to the Court an
addressed, stamped envelope for that party.
C.
All consent Orders shall include the word “Consent” or “Agreed” in the
caption of the proposed Order.
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