Guidelines & Procedures Osceola Residential Foreclosures Effective January 2, 2014

Transcription

1 Guidelines & Procedures Osceola Residential Foreclosures Effective January 2, 2014 Foreclosure Unit: Fax: (407) In Order to assist Counsel, the Litigants and the Court, the following Guidelines and Procedures are hereby adopted for the Circuit Civil Foreclosure Division in Osceola County, Florida, when practicing before the Court. In Osceola County, the Residential Foreclosure Unit consists of Senior Judges which hear Residential Foreclosure, Timeshare Foreclosure and HOA Lien Foreclosure Cases from both Circuit Civil Divisions (20 and 22). Commercial Foreclosures are to be set with the Circuit Civil Divisions and are exempt from these procedures. In all cases where an Order of Referral or Notice of Hearing-Foreclosure Divisions has been entered setting a hearing date, said order shall remain as set. The hearing will be heard by a Senior Judge, not a General Magistrate. Location of Hearings/Trials: Residential Foreclosure Hearings/Trials are heard in Courtroom 6E (6 th floor) at the Osceola County Courthouse, 2 Courthouse Sq., Kissimmee, FL Telephonic Hearings: Pursuant to Administrative Order No , no telephonic foreclosure hearings are allowed. Ex Parte Motions: Ex Parte Motions/Uncontested Motions for Summary Judgment (Pro Se) are heard from 9:00 a.m. 9:30 a.m., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, in Hearing Room 6E, and will be taken on a first come, first serve basis. These are not scheduled with the Foreclosure Case Manager. Counsel is limited to 5 motions at a time. No argument will be entertained and if the Court deems argument or further notice is required, counsel shall set the matter for hearing to be noticed to the parties. Attorneys must notice the matter and bring an order for the Court s signature. Hearing times must be cleared with opposing counsel or pro se parties. Good faith cooperation is expected both from counsel, their support staff and pro se litigants. Should counsel, their staff, or pro se litigants fail to respond within 3 business days, or refuse to cooperate in obtaining or in setting a hearing, the difficulty should be specifically set forth either in the motion or in the notice of hearing. Page 1 of 5

2 If counsel/pro se litigant does not cooperate in scheduling a hearing, the requesting party may unilaterally set a hearing by giving at least 14 days written notice (plus 5 days if mailed) to the opposing counsel/litigant who failed to cooperate. The Notice of Hearing must state that opposing counsel/litigant refused to coordinate a hearing time. Attorneys shall not mail orders for Ex Parte signature. Types of Ex Parte Motions: Homeowner Association (HOA) Lien Foreclosures Motions for Judicial Default Motions to confirm assignments Motion to Substitute Parties or Counsel Motions to Withdraw (Motion must include client s consent and statement that no matter is pending, as well as the name, address, telephone number of party) Agreed Orders. If entry of an agreed order cancels a set hearing, the Court shall be advised of the date and time of the hearing so it can be removed from the docket. Amend COT to Correct Scrivener s Error Dismissal Orders Motions for Writ of Possession Motion for Leave to Amend Motion for Extension of Time Motions to Return Documents Motion to Appoint GAL Motion for Order to Show Cause Uncontested Motions for Summary Judgment (Pro Se) Procedures for Scheduling Hearings: The residential foreclosure hearings will be scheduled Monday through Thursday in Hearing Room 6E on the 6 th floor of the Osceola County Courthouse. Please include this location on hearing notices. To schedule a hearing, please log onto the Judicial Automated Calendaring System (JACS) for available timeslots. Do Not contact the Foreclosure Unit to set a hearing until you do the following: (A) Using the Judicial Automated Calendaring System (JACS), select an available hearing date and time. Go to the court website, Click the Attorney link. Near the bottom of the Information column click the Hearing Schedules link. This takes you to JAC s. Select the calendar for Foreclosure Osceola. Click the retrieve button and available hearing time for approximately the next 60 days is displayed in five minute increments. Any Hearing requests for more than 15 minutes must be approved by the Judge either by appearing during Ex Parte or by ing the foreclosure division detailing the reasons for the excessive time. (B) Coordinate the date and time with opposing counsel/pro se party and Page 2 of 5

3 (C) Then, the Foreclosure Unit at with a request for hearing. The hearing request must include the following information: 1. Case Number 2. Style of the Case 3. Motion to be heard 4. Date/Time Requested (Please note: Senior Judge only available Monday through Thursday) 5. Name of Plaintiff s Counsel 6. Name of Defendant s Counsel Your hearing time is not confirmed until you receive a reply from a Foreclosure Specialist. The Osceola Foreclosure Division expects that you will file the Motion before setting a hearing. The original notice of hearing must be promptly filed with the Osceola County Clerk of Court. Failure to file the notice of hearing may cause your case not to be heard. No Telephonic Appearances for Foreclosure Hearings/Trials. Attorneys must bring a proposed Order for the Court s signature with envelopes addressed and stamped for all parties. Emergency Motion to Reset/Cancel Foreclosure Sales: An Emergency Hearing to Reset/Cancel Foreclosure Sale must be e-filed directly to the Clerk s Office. A courtesy copy of the Motion with proposed Orders and addressed and stamped envelopes may be sent to the Foreclosure Unit for the Judge to consider and will be reviewed and considered within 72 business hours of receipt. If the sale of the property is scheduled within 72 hours of filing, the Motion must be brought in person before the Court during Ex Parte to be considered by the Judge. (Do NOT send a courtesy copy to the Court if appearing during Ex Parte as this may cause a duplicate sale date to be assigned). Attorneys should make note that Senior Judge Ex Parte times are not available each day. If an Ex Parte hearing is set and a Senior Judge is not available, the moving party may leave the packet with the receptionist for review by a Judge at their earliest convenience (within 72 hours). Cross Noticing Hearings: Additional motions should not be piggy-backed by cross notice unless counsel first confirms with opposing counsel that there is no objection to the cross-notice. Then counsel must the Foreclosure Case Manager at ctadfm1@ocnjcc.org to confirm that it can be heard in the same time frame or that sufficient additional time is available for all matters to be heard. It is cross noticing counsel s responsibility to make sure the matter is placed on the Court calendar or same may not be heard even if cross-notice has been filed. Cancellation of Hearings: To cancel a hearing, or fax the notice of cancellation of hearing to the Foreclosure Page 3 of 5

4 Case Manager at and fax directly to the Clerk s office (407) For fax concerns call the Clerk s office ( ). Update of Case/Status of Order: To request an update of your case or the status of a proposed order, contact the Clerk s office at (407) The Foreclosure Unit will not respond to requests for update/status of an Order. Notice for Trial: When a case is at issue, either party may file a Notice for Trial. A courtesy copy for the Court of the Notice for Trial shall include the length of time anticipated to try the case and sufficient self-addressed, stamped envelopes for all parties shall be sent to the Foreclosure Unit. If more than 5 minutes are requested for a trial, counsel making the request must clearly state the need for the additional time. Trial Information: There will be no telephonic appearances. All appearances must be in person. At least twenty (20) days prior to the trial, Counsel for the parties and pro se parties will hold a telephonic settlement conference to discuss settlement. The parties shall notify the Foreclosure Division immediately via (ctadfm1@ocnjcc.org) or fax (407) upon the case being settled. If a settlement is reached, the case may be dismissed and removed from the trial docket. Unexcused failure of counsel or Pro Se Litigant(s) to engage in the telephonic settlement conference or the trial, may subject offending counsel or party to appropriate sanctions, which may include contempt, dismissal, default, striking of pleadings, or exclusion of evidence, assessment of fees or costs, and/or other sanctions. The Plaintiff shall bring to the trial a proposed Final Judgment which sets a sale date. Plaintiff s counsel will arrange to have available at trial the Original Note and Mortgage as filed in the Court file. It is the Plaintiff s responsibility to ensure that conformed copies of any signed Orders are mailed to all parties on the certificate of service list.. Page 4 of 5

5 Contact Information The Foreclosure Case Managers can be reached at is the preferred method of correspondence. Foreclosure Unit Hearing Room: 6E 2 Courthouse Square Address: ctadfm1@ocnjcc.org Kissimmee, FL Fax Number Osceola County Clerk of the Court Phone Number: Courthouse Square, Suite 2000 Civil Division Number: Kissimmee, FL Website: Page 5 of 5