
    In re THE FLORIDA BAR, RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.
    No. 49249.
    Supreme Court of Florida.
    Aug. 25, 1976.
    On Rehearing Nov. 5, 1976.
    As Modified Dec. 13, 1976.
    Edward J. Atkins, President, for The Florida Bar, Miami, Theodore J. Babbitt, Chairman, West Palm Beach and Robert C. Scott, Immediate-Past Chairman, Fort Lauderdale, for the Civil Procedure Rules Committee, petitioner.
    Henry P. Trawick, Jr., Sarasota.
   PER CURIAM.

Appended to this order are amended and new rules which govern all proceedings within their scope after 12:01 a. m., January 1, 1977.

All conflicting rules and statutes are hereby superseded, and any statute not superseded shall remain in effect as a rule promulgated by the Supreme Court.

The committee notes are not adopted by the Court.

It is so ordered.

OVERTON, C. J, and ROBERTS, ADKINS, BOYD, ENGLAND, SUNDBERG, and HATCHETT, JJ., concur.

APPENDIX

RULE 1.020. COURT ADMINISTRATION.

(f) Duty to rule within a reasonable time. It shall be the duty of every judge to rule upon and announce his order or judgment on every matter submitted to him within a reasonable time. Each judge shall maintain a log of cases he holds under advisement and advise the chief judge of his circuit at the end of each calendar month of each case which he has held under advisement for more than sixty days.

(g) Neglect of duty. The failure of any judge, clerk, prosecutor, public defender, court reporter, or other officer of the court to comply with an order or directive of the chief judge shall be considered neglect of duty and shall be reported to the chief justice of the supreme court. The chief justice may report such neglect of duty by a judge to the Judicial Qualifications Commission or such neglect of duty by other officials to the Governor of Florida, as may be appropriate.

RULE 1.030. ATTORNEYS.

(a) Pleadings to be signed by attorney. Every pleading and other paper of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by at least one attorney of record in his individual name whose address and telephone number (including area code) shall be stated and who shall be duly licensed to practice law in Florida. He may be required by order of court to vouch for his authority to represent and to give the address of such party. Except when otherwise specifically provided by these rules or an applicable statute, pleadings as such need not be verified or accompanied by affidavit. The signature of an attorney shall constitute a certificate by him that he has read the pleading or other paper; that to the best of his knowledge, information and belief there is good ground to support it and that it is not interposed for delay. If a pleading is not signed or is signed with intent to defeat the purpose of this rule, it may be stricken and the action may proceed as though the pleading or other paper had not been served.

(b) Party not represented by attorney to sign. A party who has no attorney but represents himself shall sign his pleading or other paper and state his address and telephone number (including area code).

Committee Note: Subdivisions (a)-(b) have been amended to require the addition of the filing party’s telephone number on all pleadings and papers filed.

RULE 1.080. SERVICE OF PLEADINGS AND PAPERS.

(a) Service; When Required. Unless the court otherwise orders, every pleading subsequent to the initial pleading and every other paper filed in the action, except applications for witness subpoena, shall be served on each party. No service need be made on parties against whom a default has been entered, except that pleadings asserting new or additional claims against them shall be served in the manner provided for service of summons.

(h)Service of orders.

(1) A copy of all orders or judgments shall be transmitted by the court or under its direction to all parties at the time of entry of the order or judgment. No service need be made on parties against whom a default has been entered except orders setting a cause for trial as prescribed in Rule 1.440(c) and final judgments that shall be prepared and served as provided in subdivision (h)(2). The court may require that orders or judgments be prepared by a party and may require that proposed orders or judgments be furnished to all parties before entry by the court of the order or judgment.

Committee Note: The amendment made to this rule on July 26, 1972 [See In re The Florida Bar: Rules of Civil Procedure, 265 So.2d 21 (Fla.1972)], was intended according to the Committee Notes “[t]o assure that all parties had an opportunity to see the proposed form [of order] before entry by the court.” [Id. at 23]. This change followed on the heels of the 1971 amendment, which the Committee felt had been confusing.

Two changes have been made to subdivision (h)(1), which have resulted in a wholesale redrafting of the rule. First, the provision requiring the submission of proposed orders to all counsel prior to entry by the court has been deleted, any inaccuracies in an order submitted to the court being remediable either by the court’s own vigilance or later application by an interested party. Secondly, the rule now requires that conformed copies of any order entered by the court must be mailed to all parties of record in all instances (and to defaulted parties in two specified instances), for purposes of advising them of the date of the court’s action as well as the substance of such action. Nothing in this new rule is meant to limit the power of the court to delegate the ministerial function of preparing orders.

RULE 1.310. DEPOSITIONS UPON ORAL EXAMINATION.

(b) Notice of Examination. General Requirements; Special Notice; Non-Stenographic Recording; Production of Documents and Things; Deposition of Organization.

(4) Upon motion, the court shall, subject to the provisions of Rule 1.280(c), order that the testimony at a deposition be recorded on video tape and may order that the testimony at a deposition be recorded by other than stenographic means at the initial cost of the movant. The order shall designate the manner of recording, preserving and filing the deposition and may include other provisions to assure that the recorded testimony will be accurate and trustworthy. A party may nevertheless arrange for a stenographic transcription at his own initial expense. The court may adopt a standard order governing the use of video tape depositions which may be automatically applicable upon the giving of notice of taking any video tape deposition unless modified upon the application of any party.

Committee Note: Subdivision (b)(4) has been amended to allow the taking of a video tape deposition as a matter of right. Provisions for the taxation of costs and the entry of a standard order are included as well. This new amendment allows the contemporaneous stenographic transcription of a video tape deposition.

RULE 1.340. INTERROGATORIES TO PARTIES.

(e) Form. The interrogatories shall be so arranged that a blank space shall be provided after each separately numbered interrogatory. The space shall be reasonably calculated to enable the answering party to insert the answer within the space. If sufficient space is not provided, the answering party may attach additional papers with answers and refer to them in the space provided in the interrogatories. The original of the interrogatories and a copy shall be served on the party to whom the interrogatories are directed and copies on all other parties as provided in Rule 1.080. There shall be filed with the court as provided in Rule 1.080(d) only an executed certificate of service or an attached notice that the interrogatories have been served, giving date of service, the number of interrogatories served, and the name of the party to whom they were directed. When the original interrogatories have been completed by the answering party, they shall be filed and copies served as provided in Rule 1.080.

RULE 1.410. SUBPOENA.

(c) Service. A subpoena may be served by any person authorized by law to serve process or by any other person who is not a party and who is not less than éighteen years of age. Service of a subpoena upon a person named therein shall be made by delivering a copy thereof to such person and by tendering to him the fee for one day’s attendance and the mileage allowed by law. Proof of such service shall be made by affidavit of the person making service if not served by an officer authorized by law to do so.

RULE 1.420. DISMISSAL OF ACTIONS.

(e)Failure to Prosecute. All actions in which it appears on the face of the record that no activity by filing of pleadings, order of court or otherwise has occurred for a period of one year shall be dismissed by the court on its own motion or on motion of any interested person, whether a party to the action or not, after reasonable notice to the parties, unless a party shows good cause in writing, at least five days before the hearing on the motion, why the action should remain pending. Mere inaction for a period of less than one year shall not be sufficient cause for dismissal for failure to prosecute. Committee Note: Subdivision (e) has been amended to prevent the dismissal of an action for inactivity alone unless one year has elapsed since the occurrence of activity of record. Non-record activity will not toll the one year time period.

RULE 1.431. TRIAL JURY.

(e) Exercise of challenges. All challenges shall be addressed to the court outside the hearing of the jury in a manner selected by the court so that the jury panel is not aware of the nature of the challenge, the party making the challenge, or the basis of the court’s ruling on the challenge, if for cause.

(f) Alternate jurors.

(1) The court may direct that one or two jurors be impaneled to sit as alternate jurors in addition to the regular panel. Alternate jurors in the order in which they are called shall replace jurors who have become unable or disqualified to perform their duties before the jury retires to consider its verdict. Alternate jurors shall be drawn in the same manner, have the same qualifications, be subject to the same examination, take the same oath, and have the same functions, powers, facilities and privileges as principal jurors. An alternate juror who does not replace a principal juror shall be discharged when the jury retires to consider the verdict.

(2) If alternate jurors are called, each party is entitled to one peremptory challenge for each alternate juror in addition to those otherwise allowed. The additional peremptory challenge may be used only against the alternate jurors and the other peremptory challenges allowed shall not be used against the alternate jurors.

(g)If a party believes that grounds for legal challenge to a verdict exists, he may move for an order permitting an interview of a juror or jurors to determine whether the verdict is subject to the challenge. The motion shall be served within ten days after rendition of the verdict unless good cause is shown for the failure to make the motion within that time. The motion shall state the name and address of each juror to be interviewed and the grounds for challenge that the party believes may exist. After notice and hearing, the trial judge shall enter an order denying the motion or permitting the interview. If the interview is permitted, the court may prescribe the place, manner, conditions, and scope of the interview.

Committee Note: Subdivision (e) has been added to establish a procedure for challenging jurors without members of the panel knowing the source of the challenge to avoid prejudice. Subdivision (f) is a renumbering of the previously-enacted rule regarding “Alternate jurors.”

Subdivision (g) has been added to establish a procedure for interviewing jurors. See also Canons of Professional Responsibility DR 7-108.

RULE 1.440. SETTING CASE FOR TRIAL.

(c) Setting for Trial. If the court finds the action ready to be set for trial, it shall enter an order fixing a date for trial. Trial shall be set not less than thirty days from the service of the notice specified in subdivision (b). By giving the same notice, the court may set an action for trial on its own motion. In law actions in which the damages are not liquidated, the order setting an action for trial shall be served on parties who are in default in accordance with Rule 1.080(a).

RULE 1.510. SUMMARY JUDGMENT.

(c) Motion and proceedings thereon. The motion shall state with particularity the grounds upon which it is based and the substantial matters of law to be argued and shall be served at least twenty days before the time fixed for the hearing. The adverse party may serve opposing affidavits prior to the day of hearing. The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. A summary judgment, interlocutory in character may be rendered on the issue of liability alone although there is a genuine issue as to the amount of damages.

Committee Note: Subdivision (c) has been amended to require a movant to state with particularity the grounds and legal authority which he will rely upon in seeking summary judgment. This amendment will eliminate surprise and bring the summary judgment provision in conformity with the identical provision in Rule 1.140(b) with respect to motions to dismiss.

RULE-1.630. SCIRE FACIAS.

This rule is hereby deleted.

FORM 1.917. NE EXEAT.

WRIT OF NE EXEAT

THE STATE OF FLORIDA:

To All and Singular the Sheriffs of the State:

YOU ARE COMMANDED TO detain the defendant-and require him to give bond in the sum of $_payable to the Governor of Florida and his successors in office conditioned that the defendant will answer plaintiff’s pleading in this action and will not depart from the state without leave of court and will comply with the lawful orders of this court, with sureties to be approved by the clerk of this court. If the defendant does not give the bond, he shall be taken into custody and be confined in the_County jail until he gives the bond or until further order of this court. If the defendant does not give the bond, he shall be brought before a judge of this court within twenty-four hours of his confinement.

WITNESS my hand and the seal of this Court on _:_, 19_

(Name of Clerk)

As Clerk of the Court

By-

As Deputy Clerk

Committee Note: See Attorney General’s Opinion 076-13.  