Judge Kimberly Sharpe Byrd Judicial Practice Preferences Section G, J2 & J6

Transcription

1 Judge Kimberly Sharpe Byrd Judicial Practice Preferences Section G, J2 & J6 Judicial Assistant: Shannon McGrady (727) Office Telephone Number (727) Hearing Line Number Mailing address: 7530 Little Road, Room 214, New Port Richey, FL Overnight mail should be sent to room 201 (Court Administration) instead of room 214 Hearing address: 7530 Little Road, Hearing Room 2L, New Port Richey, FL TABLE OF CONTENTS I. SPECIAL SET HEARINGS II. UNIFORM MOTION CALENDAR III. UNCONTESTED ON-DEMAND CALENDAR IV. CANCELING, RESETTING OR CROSS NOTICING A HEARING V. TELEPHONIC INSTRUCTIONS VI. MOTIONS CONSIDERED WITHOUT A HEARING VII. EMERGENCY HEARINGS VIII. EMERGENCY MOTIONS IX. COURTESY COPIES X. PROPOSED ORDERS XI. ING MATERIALS TO THE JA XII. CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES XIII. CIVIL JURY TRIALS, CIVIL NON JURY TRIALS AND FORECLOSURE TRIALS XIV JURY TRIAL DOCKETS

2 I. Special Set Hearings Prior to setting hearing, read sections II and III to determine if the matter can be addressed on a UMC or UOD calendar. To obtain hearing dates and times, please CrCivW1@jud6.org. Prior to confirming your hearing date and drafting a notice of hearing, you must clear the hearing date with all interested parties and have previously filed the Motion with the Clerk s office. Until the Motion(s) appear as filed on the Clerk s Docket, you cannot set the matter for hearing. At the time of the hearing, the party who scheduled the hearing is responsible for providing copies of the following documents. You may mail these to our office prior to the hearing if you prefer. If the moving party is appearing telephonically, you will need to submit these by mail prior to the hearing. (1) Notice of Hearing (2) Motion and pertinent documents or case law (3) Proposed order, sufficient copies for all parties and one extra for the clerk and stamped addressed envelopes to your service list. II. Uniform Motion Calendar Uniform Motion Calendar is for short hearings (5-10 minutes). Attorneys can give reasonable notice of the hearing to the opposing counsel or party and show up on select Wednesdays on a first-come, first-served basis without coordinating with the judicial assistant. Due to the high volume of foreclosure cases, UMC is intended to provide faster access to the Court for short matters if one party is willing to attend in person. Unfortunately, the Court cannot accommodate telephonic appearances if both sides want to appear by phone. If it is reasonably foreseeable that the hearing will be uncontested and the moving attorney does not want to appear in person, please see the Uncontested On-Demand Hearing instructions. Hearing Times: 2018: Select Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. (check website for cancelations) 2019: Select Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. (check website for cancelations) Do NOT coordinate with judicial assistant. Simply notice the hearing and show up with required documents. Check website 2 days prior to hearing to confirm Court s availability. Procedures: There will be a sign-up sheet in the 2nd floor hearing room waiting area.

3 UMCs are handled on a first-come, first-serve basis. At least one side must appear in person. If one side wants to appear telephonically, they must give written notice ( ) and a direct telephone number to the party who is appearing in person. Please be sure that the attending attorney understands this procedure and will be ready to provide the phone number to Judge at the start of the hearing. Must coordinate if there is opposing counsel and give reasonable notice of hearing. Seven days notice will likely be reasonable. Attorney appearing in person must bring: (1) Contact information for party appearing by phone (if applicable) (2) Copy of Notice of Hearing (3) Copy of relevant pleadings/motions (4) Proposed orders and postage-paid addressed envelopes III. Uncontested On Demand Calendar Uncontested On-Demand Hearings are designed for the Court to sign orders on uncontested matters without requiring the appearance of the moving party, while still providing a hearing time in case there is any opposition. For cases where no one shows up to oppose the motion, the Court will consider the motion and sign appropriate orders without requiring the moving party to appear. If anyone shows up to oppose the motion or if the Court has any questions, the Court will initiate a call to the moving party for the hearing. The moving attorney must be available during the hearing time to take a call from the Court if necessary. Procedures: Determine if hearing is appropriate for this calendar: Is this matter likely uncontested? Choose an available date on the website. ( Serve notice of hearing. Note: Certificate of service must be dated at least 2 weeks prior to hearing date. The Court must receive packet at least 7 days prior to the hearing date with: (1) Cover letter with a. Uncontested On-Demand Hearing - bolded b. Date and time of hearing bolded c. Name of attorney handling hearing

4 d. Direct phone number to attorney for Judge to call if anyone appears to oppose the motion (2) Copy of the notice of hearing (3) Copy of the motion (4) Proposed order (5) Correct number of copies of orders (6) Postage-paid, addressed envelopes Designated attorney must be on stand-by from 10:00am-10:45am (starting in 2019, 10:30am- 11:15am) to receive a call from the court if necessary. IV. Canceling, Resetting or Cross Noticing a Hearing In addition to filing a notice of cancelation, notify the JA of the cancelation immediately via . Only the party who set a hearing can cancel a hearing. The party should the JA, preferably using the original thread if possible. Opposing counsel and any interested parties should be notified of the cancelation. Hearings can be reset or moved by agreement of both parties, the JA to accomplish this. Judge Byrd s procedure for cross noticing a hearing is as follows: Either party can cross notice or add additional motion to a hearing. The Court will decide on the hearing date if the additional motions can go forward. The JA does not have the authority to make this decision. The Court will consider whether the additional motion was coordinated, noticed timely and if the Court has time to hear the additional motions. If the cross noticed motions are coordinated, the JA will add them to the Judge s calendar. If additional time is needed, please be sure to include that information in the . V. Telephonic Instructions Judge Byrd generally permits telephonic appearance for special set/ non-evidentiary hearings. The request to appear telephonically should be included in the hearing request and notated on the notice of hearing. If the party who set the hearing is attending by phone, hearing materials will need to be mailed into our office prior to the hearing.

5 Telephonic appearance is not permitted at pre-trail conferences. There are different rules regarding telephonic appearance on the UMC calendar, see section II. If you are attending by phone (and have received permission to do so) the hearing line information is as follows: Hearing Line Number: When the line picks up you will hear dead air, stay on the line until your case is called. If more than a few minutes passes and the Judge does not come on the line, the JA can be contacted to ensure that there is not a problem with the hearing line. VI. Motions Considered Without a Hearing Rulings on all motions submitted ex parte are at the discretion of the Judge reviewing the motions and orders. Send a packet to our office including the following: (1) Cover letter with opposing counsel copied (2) Copy of the motion (3) Proposed order (4) Correct number of copies of orders (service list plus one for clerk/original) (5) Postage-paid, addressed envelopes to your service list The following is a non exhaustive list of motions that may be submitted ex parte: Motion for Substitution of Counsel Motion to Compel Discovery Agreed Orders Joint Stipulations Motions for Extension of Time Motion to Appoint Guardian ad Litem/Attorney ad Litem Motion to Reset Foreclosure Sale Motion for Writ of Possession Motion for Voluntary Dismissal Motion for Rehearing/Reconsideration Motion to Vacate Final Judgment Motion to Recuse/Disqualify

6 VII. Emergency Hearings If you feel that you require a hearing date earlier than what is shown as available on the hearing list, contact the JA via with the details of your situation. We will do our best to accommodate true emergencies. VIII. Emergency Motions Remember that the Court does not receive a notification from the clerk when an Emergency Motion (or any motion) is filed. You must provide our office with a courtesy copy to bring it the Court s attention. You can accomplish this by ing a copy of the motion to the JA with EMERGENCY MOTION in the subject line and marked as high priority. Opposing counsel/party is to be provided with a copy of the Emergency Motion in the same manner as the Court. The Court will then determine if the matter is deemed an emergency. The court may set up a telephonic hearing or rule without a hearing. IX. Courtesy Copies Courtesy Copies of the following should be submitted directly to the Court at the beginning of a hearing: (1) Notice of hearing (2) Motion (3) Proposed order with copies (4) Stamped addressed envelopes to the service list If the moving party is attending by phone or otherwise wishes to do so, materials can be submitted to our office in advance. Please include a cover letter indicating the date and time of the hearing. The Judicial Assistant will set aside the hearing materials and provide to the Court on the hearing date. X. Proposed Orders Proposed orders should be submitted with sufficient copies (service list plus one for original) and stamped addressed envelopes as follows: On the hearing date: Provide to Judge at the beginning of the hearing.

7 Following a hearing: Include a cover letter indicating the date and time of the hearing and whether or not opposing counsel agrees to the form of the order. To be entered Ex Parte: Include a cover letter with opposing counsel copied asking the Court to consider the motion without a hearing. Submitted in advance: Include a cover letter stating the date and time of the scheduled hearing. XI. ing Materials to the JA The JA does not generally accept materials via . Our office does not have the resources to print out materials and pay for postage to serve orders. However, if the matter is time sensitive, the JA will accommodate. Simply and ask. XII. Case Management Conferences We do not typically set CMCs. The objective is often times to have a trial order entered, for which we do not require a hearing. If a CMC is needed for some other reason, the JA with the details and she will provide a hearing date. XIII. Civil Jury Trials, Civil Non-Jury Trials and Foreclosure Non-Jury Trials You may contact the Court to request a trial date once the notice (that case is at issue) has been filed. If there is an objection on the docket, it will need to be set for hearing prior to a trial order being issued. the JA with the following information, requesting a trial date and pretrial date (Civil Jury Trial dates are listed in paragraph XIV, Foreclosure Non-Jury Trial dates will be provided upon request). If the parties wish to stipulate to a specific docket, please include that information. If there is not a stipulation, the JA will select the next available docket. One party in a matter cannot decide on a trial date. Either the parties agree, or the Court will select a date for you. Case Number & Style of the Case Length of the Trial (how many hours or days?) Plaintiff s attorney name and phone number Defendant s attorney name and phone number Jury Trial or Non-Jury Trial?

8 The JA will respond with the trial order template. You should complete the trial orders by filling out the highlighted portions. A hard copy of the completed trial order should be mailed to our office, please remember to include in your packet: 1. Sufficient copies of the trial order (enough for the service list plus one for the clerk/original) 2. Stamped addressed envelopes to the service list. (Be sure that postage paid is sufficient for the trial order) Once the packet is received, the Court will enter the trial order and mail out copies. XIV Jury Trial Dockets January 28, 2019 (2 week) DOCKET IS FULL February 18, 2019 (1 week) DOCKET IS FULL March 4, 2019 (3 week) April 8, 2019 (1 week) DOCKET IS FULL May 6, 2019 (1 week) June 3, 2019 (2 week) July 8, 2019 (3 week) August 19, 2019 (1 week) September 16, 2019 (1 week) October 7, 2019 (1 week) November 4, 2019 (1 week) December 9, 2019 (2 week) Revised 11/6/2018