RULE 2.545. CASE MANAGEMENT

(a) Purpose. Judges and lawyers have a professional
obligation to conclude litigation as soon as it is reasonably and
justly possible to do so. However, parties and counsel shall be
afforded a reasonable time to prepare and present their case.

(b) Case Control. The trial judge shall take charge of all
cases at an early stage in the litigation and shall control the
progress of the case thereafter until the case is determined. The
trial judge shall take specific steps to monitor and control the pace
of litigation, including the following:

(1) assuming early and continuous control of the court
calendar;
(2) identifying priority cases as assigned by statute,
rule of procedure, case law, or otherwise;

(3) implementing such docket control policies as may
be necessary to advance priority cases to ensure prompt resolution;

(4) identifying cases subject to alternative dispute
resolution processes;

(5) developing rational and effective trial setting
policies; and

(6) advancing the trial setting of priority cases, older
cases, and cases of greater urgency.

(c) Priority Cases.

(1) In all noncriminal cases assigned a priority status
by statute, rule of procedure, case law, or otherwise, any party may
file a notice of priority status explaining the nature of the case, the
source of the priority status, any deadlines imposed by law on any
aspect of the case, and any unusual factors that may bear on
meeting the imposed deadlines.

(2) If, in any noncriminal case assigned a priority
status by statute, rule of procedure, case law, or otherwise, a party
is of the good faith opinion that the case has not been appropriately
advanced on the docket or has not received priority in scheduling
consistent with its priority case status, that party may seek review
of such action by motion for review to the chief judge or to the chief
judge’s designee. The filing of such a motion for review will not toll
the time for seeking such other relief as may be afforded by the
Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure.

(d) Related Cases.

(1) The petitioner in a family case as defined in this
rule shall file with the court a notice of related cases in conformity
with family law form 12.900(h), if related cases are known or
reasonably ascertainable. A case is related when:
(A) it involves any of the same parties, children, or
issues and it is pending at the time the party files a family case; or

(B) it affects the court’s jurisdiction to proceed; or

(C) an order in the related case may conflict with
an order on the same issues in the new case; or

(D) an order in the new case may conflict with an
order in the earlier litigation.

(2) “Family cases” include dissolution of marriage,
annulment, support unconnected with dissolution of marriage,
paternity, child support, UIFSA, custodial care of and access to
children, proceedings for temporary or concurrent custody of minor
children by extended family, adoption, name change, declaratory
judgment actions related to premarital, martial [marital], or
postmarital agreements, civil domestic, repeat violence, dating
violence, stalking, and sexual violence injunctions, juvenile
dependency, termination of parental rights, juvenile delinquency,
emancipation of a minor, CINS/FINS, truancy, and modification
and enforcement of orders entered in these cases.

(3) The notice of related cases shall identify the caption
and case number of the related case, contain a brief statement of
the relationship of the actions, and contain a statement addressing
whether assignment to one judge or another method of coordination
will conserve judicial resources and promote an efficient
determination of the actions.

(4) The notice of related cases shall be filed with the
initial pleading by the filing attorney or self-represented petitioner.
The notice shall be filed in each of the related cases that are
currently open and pending with the court and served on all other
parties in each of the related cases, and as may be directed by the
chief judge or designee. Parties may file joint notices. A notice of
related cases filed pursuant to this rule is not an appearance. If any
related case is confidential and exempt from public access by law,
then a Notice of Confidential Information Within Court Filing as
required by Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial
Administration 2.420 shall accompany the notice. Parties shall file
supplemental notices as related cases become known or reasonably
ascertainable.

(5) Each party has a continuing duty to inform the
court of any proceedings in this or any other state that could affect
the current proceeding.

(6) Whenever it appears to a party that two or more
pending cases present common issues of fact and that assignment
to one judge or another method of coordination will significantly
promote the efficient administration of justice, conserve judicial
resources, avoid inconsistent results, or prevent multiple court
appearances by the same parties on the same issues, the party may
file a notice of related cases requesting coordination of the litigation.

(e) Continuances. All judges shall apply a firm continuance
policy. Continuances should be few, good cause should be required,
and all requests should be heard and resolved by a judge. All
motions for continuance shall be in writing unless made at a trial
and, except for good cause shown, shall be signed by the party
requesting the continuance. All motions for continuance in priority
cases shall clearly identify such priority status and explain what
effect the motion will have on the progress of the case.

Committee Notes

The provisions in subdivision (c) of this rule governing priority
cases should be read in conjunction with the provisions of rule
2.215(g), governing the duty to expedite priority cases.