Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.200

RULE 12.200

CASE MANAGEMENT AND PRETRIAL

CONFERENCES

(a) Case Management Conference.

(1) Family Law Proceedings, Generally. A case

management conference may be ordered by the court at any time on

the court’s initiative. A party may request a case management

conference 30 days after service of a petition or complaint. At such

a conference the court may:

(A) schedule or reschedule the service of motions,

pleadings, and other documents;

(B) set or reset the time of trials, subject to rule

12.440;

(C) coordinate the progress of the action if

complex litigation factors are present;

(D) limit, schedule, order, or expedite discovery;

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(E) schedule disclosure of expert witnesses and

the discovery of facts known and opinions held by such experts;

(F) schedule or hear motions related to admission

or exclusion of evidence;

(G) pursue the possibilities of settlement;

(H) require filing of preliminary stipulations if

issues can be narrowed;

(I) refer issues to a magistrate for findings of fact,

if consent is obtained as provided in rules 12.490 and 12.492 and if

no significant history of domestic, repeat, dating, or sexual violence,

or stalking that would compromise the process is involved in the

case;

(J) refer the parties to mediation if no significant

history of domestic, repeat, dating, or sexual violence, or stalking

that would compromise the mediation process is involved in the

case and consider allocation of expenses related to the referral; or

refer the parties to counseling if no significant history of domestic,

repeat, dating, or sexual violence or stalking that would

compromise the process is involved in the case and consider

allocation of expenses related to the referral;

(K) coordinate voluntary binding arbitration

consistent with Florida law if no significant history of domestic,

repeat, dating, or sexual violence or stalking that would

compromise the process is involved in the case;

(L) appoint court experts and allocate the

expenses for the appointments;

(M) refer the cause for a parenting plan

recommendation, social investigation and study, home study, or

psychological evaluation and allocate the initial expense for that

study;

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(N) appoint an attorney or guardian ad litem for a

minor child or children if required and allocate the expense of the

appointment;

(O) schedule other conferences or determine other

matters that may aid in the disposition of the action; and

(P) consider any agreements, objections, or form

of production of electronically stored information.

(2) Adoption Proceedings. A case management

conference may be ordered by the court within 60 days of the filing

of a petition when:

(A) there is a request for a waiver of consent to a

termination of parental rights of any person required to consent by

section 63.062, Florida Statutes;

(B) notice of the hearing on the petition to

terminate parental rights pending adoption is not being afforded a

person whose consent is required but who has not consented;

(C) there is an objection to venue, which was

made after the waiver of venue was signed;

(D) an intermediary, attorney, or agency is seeking

fees, costs, or other expenses in excess of those provided under

section 63.097 or 63.212(5), Florida Statutes;

(E) an affidavit of diligent search and inquiry is

filed in lieu of personal service under section 63.088(4), Florida

Statutes; or

(F) the court is otherwise aware that any person

having standing objects to the termination of parental rights

pending adoption.

(b) Pretrial Conference. After the action is at issue the

court itself may or must on the timely motion of any party require

the parties to appear for a conference to consider and determine:

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(1) proposed stipulations and the simplification of the

issues;

(2) the necessity or desirability of amendments to the

pleadings;

(3) the possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of

documents that will avoid unnecessary proof;

(4) the limitation of the number of expert witnesses;

and

(5) any matters permitted under subdivision (a).

(c) Notice. Reasonable notice must be given for a case

management conference, and 20 days’ notice must be given for a

pretrial conference. On failure of a party to attend a conference, the

court may dismiss the action, strike the pleadings, limit proof or

witnesses, or take any other appropriate action. Any documents

that the court requires for any conference must be specified in the

order.

(d) Case Management and Pretrial Order. The court shall

make an order reciting the action taken at a conference and any

stipulations made. The order will control the subsequent course of

the action unless modified to prevent injustice.

1995 Adoption. This rule addresses issues raised by

decisions such as Dralus v. Dralus, 627 So.2d 505 (Fla. 2d DCA

1993); Wrona v. Wrona, 592 So.2d 694 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991); and

Katz v. Katz, 505 So.2d 25 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), regarding the cost

of marital litigation. This rule provides an orderly method for the

just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of issues and promotes

amicable resolution of disputes.

This rule replaces and substantially expands Florida Rule of

Civil Procedure 1.200 as it pertained to family law matters. Under

this rule, a court may convene a case management conference at

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any time and a party may request a case management conference

30 days after service of a petition or complaint. The court may

consider the following additional items at the conference: motions

related to admission or exclusion of evidence, referral of issues to a

master if consent is obtained pursuant to the rules, referral of the

parties to mediation, referral of the parties to counseling,

coordination of voluntary binding arbitration, appointment of court

experts, referral of the cause for a home study psychological

evaluation, and appointment of an attorney or guardian ad litem for

a minor child.

1997 Amendment. In In re Adoption of Baby E.A.W., 658

So.2d 961 (Fla. 1995), and other cases involving protracted

adoption litigation, it becomes clear that the earlier the issue of

notice is decided by the court, the earlier the balance of the issues

can be litigated. Because both parents’ constitutional standing and

guarantees of due process require notice and an opportunity to be

heard, this rule amendment will help solve the problems of adoption

litigation lasting until a child’s third, fourth, or even fifth birthday.

Furthermore, this rule will encourage both parents to be more

candid with intermediaries and attorneys involved in the adoption

process.

In E.A.W., 658 So.2d at 979, Justice Kogan, concurring in part

and dissenting in part, stated: “I personally urge the Family Law

Rules Committee . . . to study possible methods of expediting review

of disputes between biological and adoptive parents.” This rule

expedites resolution of preliminary matters concerning due process

in difficult adoption disputes. This rule also mandates early

consideration of the child’s rights to due process at early stages of

adoption litigation.

Noncompliance with subdivision (a)(2) of this rule shall not

invalidate an otherwise valid adoption.

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