TBD | Local Rules of Court | Broward County

LOCAL RULE 00 | BASIC INFO

Martin J. Bidwill
Circuit Court Judge
Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County of Florida

Broward County Courthouse
201 S.E. 6th Street, Room 16-133/Courtroom 16-175
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
(954) 831-6362
Barbara Ranalli
branalli@17th.FLCourts.org

The Seventeenth Circuit has now established a zoom platform for each division to conduct hearings. This procedure will remain in place until further notice. As a result, anyone wishing to appear before the Court MUST enter the zoom meeting at the time of the scheduled hearing. Attorneys or parties can enter using a webcam or via phone (for audio only). Thank you for your assistance. Here is the zoom address for Judge Bidwill's hearings:

MARTIN BIDWILL is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Judge Bidwill Docket

Join Zoom Meeting
https://17thFLCourts.zoom.us/j/232523414

Meeting ID: 232 523 414

Dial by your location or the following toll free numbers:

(888) 475-4499 US Toll-free, (833) 548-0276 US Toll-free

(833) 548-0282 US Toll-free, (877) 853-5257 US Toll-free

One tap mobile

+1 312 626 6799, 232523414# US (Chicago)

+1 646 876 9923, 232523414# US (New York)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)

+1 301 715 8592 US

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US

Meeting ID: 232 523 414

Find your local number: https://17thFLCourts.zoom.us/u/aeeoQXdNJB

Please note: All hearing materials shall be submitted to the Court as a supporting document in the 17th Circuit CMS system for the specific hearing. DO NOT send hard copies to the Court. Any communication to the court may be submitted via email at div05@17th.FLCourts.org or div27@17th.FLCourts.org.

Please Note: hearings using ZOOM video may not be electronically recorded.

For Hearings Requiring Court Reporters:

Parties who desire a Court Reporter will make the necessary arrangements with the Court Reporter to appear by ZOOM at all hearings.

• The Court Reporter will announce their presence.

• Any witness(es) or interpreter will announce their presence, the attorneys must ensure a person authorized to give oaths is present.

o Please see: Supreme Court of Florida, Administrative Order No. AOSC20-16.

LOCAL RULE 01 | ANNOUNCEMENT DIRECTED TO ALL PERSONS APPEARING BY ZOOM CONFERENCE

PLEASE:

1) Be considerate and let others finish making their arguments/thoughts without interruption before responding.

2) State your name when you begin to speak, especially in multi-party hearings and when a court reporter is in attendance.

3) Please be patient, especially on Uniform Motion Calendar, the Court is attending to multiple matters at the same time.

4) Mute your phone or computer and please be mindful of background noise when you are not speaking.

5) When attending hearings via ZOOM, please remember that you are on camera and everyone involved can see you. If you do not want to be seen you can click on the icon to just attend via audio.

Thank you for your cooperation. We hope you and your families remain healthy and stay safe.

LOCAL RULE 02 | PROCEDURES FOR ONLINE SCHEDULING

PROCEDURES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
ONLINE SCHEDULING IS REQUIRED FOR MOTION CALENDAR, SPECIAL SET HEARINGS, AND SCHEDULING CASES FOR TRIAL

see “Online Scheduling” at www.17th.FLCourts.org. If you encounter technical difficulties, contact the Court’s Judicial Information System (JIS) personnel for assistance at www.calendar@17th.FLCourts.org.)

See Local Rule 10A

(http://www.17th.FLCourts.org/Local_Rule_10A.pdf)

To operate the new electronic equipment in the new courtroom to be used during hearings and trials. Here is the link for Evidence Presentation System:

Tutorial: Evidence Presentation System

DO NOT EMAIL NOTICE OF HEARINGS, MOTIONS, ETC., THEY WILL NOT BE PRINTED. PLEASE UPLOAD COURTESY COPIES TO THE COURT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS) AS SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS FOR THE HEARING. NO HARD COPY IS NEEDED.

LOCAL RULE 03 | E-ORDERS/AGREED ORDERS

Agreed and Proposed Orders shall be submitted to the Court via the 17th Judicial Circuit CMS system. The Court strongly encourages uploading the motion, and a cover letter explaining the circumstances that led to the submission of the order. Alternatively, such information can be provided in the body of the order. No paper proposed orders shall be submitted to the Court.

LOCAL RULE 04 | EX PARTE MOTIONS

Ex Parte Motions to Compel Discovery should not be submitted to the Court until the motion is docketed by the clerk

LOCAL RULE 05 | MOTION CALENDAR HEARINGS

8:45 AM, MONDAY - THURSDAY:

All Uniform Motion Calendar and Special Set Hearings for 15 or 30 minutes must be scheduled using the Online Scheduling system. No Courtesy copies shall be submitted to the Court. All materials shall be uploaded as supporting documents in the CMS system. The issues before the court on UMC are those that may be heard and resolved by the court within (5) minutes. No more than two motions may be noticed for a case on motion calendar.

We understand and expect that many cases will settle after placement on a trial docket. However, we expect that if your case does resolve, as a professional courtesy to the court, a phone call or an e-mail will be placed to the judicial assistant as soon as possible. Further, hearing time is a premium. If a hearing is cancelled, please provide the courtesy of cancelling in the CMS system.

LOCAL RULE 06 | SPECIAL SET HEARINGS PROCEDURES

Special Set Hearings are available to be set at www.17th.FLCourts.org and not by calling chambers. Slots do open as attorneys cancel hearings so keep checking if you need an earlier date. Do not attempt to set hearings longer than 30 minutes by trying to piggyback two or more 30-minute hearings.

Any add-on motions to the special set docket must be authorized by Judge Bidwill, no later than 5 days prior to the hearing. You will need to upload a copy of the motion you wish to add-on, along with a cover letter (as supporting document) advising same and if the motion will require any additional time and if so, how much extra time.

LOCAL RULE 07 | EMERGENCY MOTIONS

Follow Administrative Rule, 2014-32-Civ.

The Judicial Assistant is not permitted to schedule any emergency hearings without approval. In order to obtain a hearing time for an “Emergency Hearing”, please email the division (div05@17th.FLCourts.org), with a copy of the motion and other supporting documentation, along with a cover letter advising how much time is requested for the hearing – taking into account the amount of time that may be required by all potential parties. After review of the motion, instructions will be provided to the Judicial Assistant as to whether grounds sufficiently set forth a need for an “emergency” setting, and you will then be contacted. If an Emergency Hearing is deemed appropriate, the Judicial Assistant will then contact you to schedule a hearing when sufficient if time is available.

LOCAL RULE 08 | MOTIONS TO WITHDRAW

Unless a New Lawyer is substituting, the Motion to Withdraw must be set for a hearing with Notice to all. All Orders for Pro-se parties must include a paragraph that states:

ALL FUTURE PLEADINGS FOR THE [PARTY] SHALL BE SERVED UPON [NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL ADDRESS OF FORMER CLIENT].

If You Submit an AGREED ORDER, the client’s signature or consent is required in the motion.

LOCAL RULE 09 | MOTIONS FOR REHEARING/RECONSIDERATION

Follow Seventeenth Circuit Administrative Order, AO NO. 2022-5-GEN, in that the Party shall not set the hearing: the Court will decide whether to set a hearing.

LOCAL RULE 10 | PROPOSED ORDERS (NON-AGREED ORDERS)

Non-agreed proposed orders submitted after a hearing stating the Court’s ruling, shall be submitted with a cover letter uploaded as a supporting document reflecting that the hearing was held and when it was held.

If any party objects to the Proposed Order, please reflect on the cover letter advising the Judge that the parties DO NOT AGREE and will be submitting another Proposed Order.

LOCAL RULE 11 | AGREED ORDERS

Agreed Orders can be submitted through the CMS E-Portal. The Court reserves the right to reject any agreed order and may set the matter for a hearing. For more information on how to submit Agreed Orders, please see:

New Agreed Orders Training Guide - Updated

LOCAL RULE 12 | CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES

Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.200(a) and (b), if you are ordered to appear in court on a case management conference, your court appearance is MANDATORY, unless an Order of Dismissal is entered. Failure to appear at a case management conference will result in sanctions, including dismissal or striking of pleadings per Rule 1.200(c).

LOCAL RULE 13 | LACK OF PROSECUTION AND NOTICE OF HEARING

Fla.R.Civ.P. Rule 1.420(e) – If you received a Notice of LOP, and you file a pleading within the time set forth herein, the scheduled hearing IS NOT CANCELLED. The scheduled hearing will go forward as a Case Management Conference per Fla.R.Civ.P. Rule 1.200(c) to determine the status of the case.

LOCAL RULE 14 | MOTIONS FOR NEW TRIAL

(see F.R Civ. P.: Rule 1.530, Fla. R. Civ. P., entitled “Motions for New Trial and Rehearing”, subsection (b)).

All motions must be served not later than 10 days after the return of the verdict in a jury action or the date of filing of the judgment in a non-jury action.

LOCAL RULE 15 | FEE HEARINGS

ALL FEE HEARINGS NEED TO BE SET BY THE COURT.

The Court will enter a detailed scheduling order in advance of any hearing.

LOCAL RULE 16 | CANCELLATION OF ANY HEARING

Should any scheduled hearing become unnecessary the scheduling party shall immediately cancel said hearing using the CMS system, notify all parties, and file the appropriate notice of cancellation. Special set scheduling is for the benefit of the users. Once you have secured hearing time, please do not contact the judicial assistant to confirm any hearing. If a hearing is cancelled by the Court, the On-Line Scheduling system will generate an e-mail notice to the setting party and the setting party shall notify all parties of the cancellation and reset the matter. Please email JA when cancelling a special set hearing so the Judge is advised that the hearing had been cancelled and he is not waiting for parties to attend said hearing.

Further, all special set hearings greater than 30 minutes must be coordinated with the Judicial Assistant. Please send an email (listed above) with the case # and name, reason, and amount of time needed. Your office will be emailed or called to coordinate a date.

All counsel must consult to clear dates to make sure that you do not try to squeeze a hearing into a time slot that does not provide adequate time to resolve the motion! No “add-on’s” will be permitted without approval of the court. If the matter settles, or you need to obtain a new date, you must notify the judge’s office within 24 hours of the hearing.

Hearings that have been posted to the Special Set Docket may only be cancelled by parties if an agreement on the merits has been reached and the parties have entered into a written stipulation, or with court approval (Local Rule 10A).

The courts are overburdened with an increased caseload. If you do not cancel specially set hearings, it causes a waste of judicial resources, as other litigants would likely be unable to utilize the time set aside.

All parties must confer prior to scheduling the hearing and in good faith attempt to reach a resolution of the issues.

LOCAL RULE 17 | SPECIAL SET DATES 2021-2023


12/20/2021	-	12/23/2021
1/24/2022	-	1/26/2022
2/28/2022	-	3/3/2022
3/28/2022	-	3/31/2022
4/25/2022	-	4/28/2022
5/31/2022	-	6/2/2022
6/27/2022	-	6/30/2022
7/25/2022	-	7/28/2022
8/29/2022	-	9/1/2022
9/27/2022	-	9/29/2022
10/31/2022	-	11/2/2022
12/19/2022	-	12/22/2022
1/30/2023	-	2/2/2023
2/27/2023	-	3/2/2023
4/3/2023	-	4/5/2023
5/1/2023	-	5/4/2023
5/30/2023	-	6/1/2023

LOCAL RULE 18 | TRIAL PROCEDURES FOR JURY & NON-JURY TRIALS

The parties are to agree to a calendar call/trial period and set the calendar call on the online system. A trial order will then be electronically sent to the judge for signature, once signed, the order will be sent to all parties on the service list electronically. If any party has a conflict with a scheduled trial date, a motion directed thereto must be filed and heard at Motion Calendar prior to the date of Calendar Call.

We understand and expect that many cases will settle after placement on a trial docket. However, we expect that if your case does resolve, as a professional courtesy to the court, an e-mail or a phone call will be placed to the judicial assistant as soon as possible, so that we can properly manage the rest of our docket.

LOCAL RULE 19 | CAUTIONARY NOTE

The order of the cases placed on any particular docket does not necessarily reflect the order in which the cases will be selected for trial (except for Special Set cases). The order will be determined at Calendar Call.

LOCAL RULE 20 | TRIAL POOL

If your case is not selected as the first case for trial at the Calendar Call, it is very likely that your case will be placed in the Civil Trial Pool, where other Judges with time available will be assigned your case for trial. Therefore, be prepared! You must not assume your case will not be reached. Your case may be called for trial during any day of the docket.

LOCAL RULE 21 | ROLLING OVER OF CASES NOT REACHED

It is customary for the court to roll-over all cases not reached on a particular docket to the very next trial docket. If your case is not reached on any particular trial docket, the court will generally issue an order specifying a new trial docket. If you have not received such an order within 10 days of the end of the last calendar, email or call the judicial assistant to inquire when your case will be reset.

All continuances of Trial require a hearing on the Uniform Motion Calendar.

LOCAL RULE 22 | TRIAL DOCKETS AND CALENDAR CALL DATES FOR 2022 THROUGH 2023

PLEASE NOTE PRESENTLY, CALENDAR CALLS WILL BE HELD VIA OUR ZOOM LINK

March	Calendar Call	3/25/22	9:30 AM
April	For Trial	4/4/22	4/21/22
April	Calendar Call	4/22/22	9:30 AM
May	For Trial	5/2/22	5/26/22
May	Calendar Call	5/20/22	9:30 AM
June	For Trial	6/6/22	6/23/22
June	Calendar Call	6/24/22	9:30 AM
July	For Trial	7/5/22	7/21/22
July	Calendar Call	7/29/22	9:30 AM
August	For Trial	8/1/22	8/25/22
August	Calendar Call	8/26/22	9:30 AM
September	For Trial	9/6/22	9/22/22
September	Calendar Call	9/23/22	9:30 AM
October	For Trial	10/3/22	10/27/22
October	Calendar Call	10/28/22	9:30 AM
November	Calendar Call	11/7/22	11/23/22
November	For Trial	11/18/22	9:30 AM
December	Calendar Call	12/5/22	12/15/22
December	For Trial	12/16/22	9:30 AM
January	Calendar Call	1/2/23	1/26/23
January	For Trial	1/27/23	9:30 AM
February	Calendar Call	2/6/23	2/23/23
February	For Trial	2/24/23	9:30 AM
March	Calendar Call	3/6/23	3/30/23
March	For Trial	3/31/23	9:30 AM
April	Calendar Call	4/10/23	4/27/23
April	For Trial	4/28/23	9:30 AM
May	Calendar Call	5/1/23	5/25/23
May	For Trial	5/26/23	9:30 AM
June	Calendar Call	6/5/23	6/29/23
June	For Trial	6/30/23	9:30 AM
July	Calendar Call	7/10/23	7/27/23
July	For Trial	7/28/23	9:30 AM
August	Calendar Call	8/7/23	8/24/23
August	For Trial	8/25/23	9:30 AM
September	Calendar Call	9/5/23	9/21/23
September	For Trial	9/22/23	9:30 AM
October	Calendar Call	10/2/23	10/26/23
October	For Trial	10/27/23	9:30 AM
November	Calendar Call	11/6/23	11/22/23
November	For Trial	11/17/23	9:30 AM
December	Calendar Call	12/4/23	12/21/23

LOCAL RULE 23 | TELEPHONE CALLS TO CHAMBERS

CALLS TO CHAMBERS SHOULD ONLY BE NECESSARY IF YOU FOLLOW THE PROCEDURES OUTLINED HEREIN, AND MUST BE BRIEF!

WE DO NOT WANT TO BE DISCOURTEOUS, BUT A GOOD PART OF A JUDICIAL ASSISTANT’S DAY IS TAKEN UP BY ANSWERING QUESTIONS THAT ARE SIMPLY ANSWERED BY READING THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS WEBSITE.

Reminder:

At the present time, due to the enormous volume of orders received and processed on a daily basis, it is impossible to determine if your order has been signed and/or sent out.

Please do not call chambers asking if your order has been signed or if mail has been received.

Your cooperation and patience is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

LOCAL RULE 24 | EX-PARTE COMMUNICATIONS

Please do not ask this Court’s Judicial Assistant or other court personnel to communicate any message to the judge. This is prohibited ex-parte communication. The court’s staff is not permitted to relay ex parte information to the judge.

Ex-Parte hearing request: please submit your motion (hard copy) to room 16133, for the judge’s review; your office will be called with instructions.

LOCAL RULE 25 | ATTORNEY WITHDRAWAL

WITHOUT A SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL:

ALWAYS INCLUDE YOUR FORMER CLIENT’S NAME AND ADDRESS IN THE CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ON THE NOTICE OF HEARING and THE MOTION.

PROPOSED ORDERS MUST INCLUDE A PARAGRAPH THAT STATES:

FOR INDIVIDUALS:

“ALL FUTURE PLEADINGS FOR THE ___[PARTY BEING WITHDRAWN FROM]____, SHALL BE SERVED UPON ____[INSERT NAME AND ADDRESS OF FORMER CLIENT]____.” IF THE PARTY IS AN INDIVIDUAL, YOU MAY APPEAR ON YOUR OWN BEHALF AS A “PRO-SE”.

FOR CORPORATIONS, LLC’S, ETC.:

“IF THE PARTY IS A CORPORATION, FLORIDA LAW REQUIRES THAT A CORPORATION BE REPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY. FAILURE TO TIMELY RETAIN NEW COUNSEL WHO FILES AN APPEARANCE ON BEHALF OF THE CORPORATION WITHIN 20 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS ORDER MAY RESULT IN THE ENTRY OF A DEFAULT.””

LOCAL RULE 26 | COURTHOUSE CLOSURES

(2022)
The Broward County Courthouse is closed on the following dates:
12/31/2021	New Year’s Day (Observed)
1/17/2022	Martin Luther King’s Day
4/15/2022	Good Friday
5/30/2022	Memorial Day
7/4/2022	Independence Day (Observed)
9/5/2022	Labor Day
9/26/2022	Rosh Hashanah
10/5/2022	Yom Kippur
11/11/2022	Veterans Day
11/24/2022	Thanksgiving
11/25/2022	Day After Thanksgiving
12/23/2022	Discretionary Holiday
12/26/2022	Christmas Day (Observed)

	Download
	A Judge's Perjury
	A Judge's Perjury
	Handbook: Complaint
	How-To: Case Management
	How-To: Compel
	How-To: Continuance
	How-To: Cover Sheet (FL)
	How-To: Default (Clerk)
	How-To: Default Judgment
	How-To: Dismiss
	How-To: eFiling
	How-To: File Suit (State)
	How-To: Summons
	How-To: Hearing
	How-To: Limine
	How-To: Reconsideration
	How-To: Rehearing
	How-To: Sanctions
	How-To: Show Cause
	How-To: Settlement
	How-To: Strike
	How-To: Summary Judgment
	Info: Motion vs Pleading
	Sample Court Documents
	Survey