WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of Florida has directed chief judges to issue administrative orders related to the active management of civil cases;

NOW THEREFORE, I, RAUL A. ZAMBRANO, Chief Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, hereby order as follows:

1. Each judge presiding over civil cases¹ is to strictly comply with Rule 2.545, Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. Specifically, he/she must manage his/her docket in such a manner so as to (a) conclude litigation as soon as it is reasonably and justly possible to do so, (b) take charge of cases at an early stage and control the progress of the case thereafter until it is determined, and (c) apply a firm continuance policy allowing continuances only for good cause.
2. All civil cases will initially receive a presumptive designation of (a) “General,” cases in which a trial by jury is demanded, or (b) “Streamlined,” all other cases. Cases subsequently designated as “Complex” under Rule 1.201, Fla. R. Civ. P., are exempted from the requirements of this Order and will proceed in accordance with the Rule.
3. For “General” and “Streamlined” cases filed on or before April 30, 2021, the plaintiff is required to serve the case management order (a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A) on all other parties and file a notice of service with the Clerk within thirty (30) days of the date of its issuance, except as hereinafter provided.
4. For “General” and “Streamlined” cases filed after April 30, 2021, the plaintiff is required to serve the case management order (a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A) on all other parties together with service of process or in the manner prescribed in Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.080.
5. Judges presiding over civil cases are to review each case to determine whether there is sufficient cause to depart from the presumptive case designation as identified herein.
6. In reviewing each case, the presiding judge should consider the number of parties, the complexity of issues relating to liability and damages, the number of anticipated pretrial motions, the extensiveness of anticipated discovery, the number of witnesses, the amount of documentary evidence, the anticipated length of trial, as well as any other factor deemed relevant by the presiding judge.
7. Case management orders issued in “General” and “Streamlined” cases must establish deadlines for the following actions or events to occur no later than the maximum allowable time periods indicated below:
   

   Action or Event	General	Streamlined
   Service of complaint	Later of 120 days from filing or issuance of CMO	Later of 120 days from filing or issuance of CMO
   Service under extensions	Later of 210 days from filing or issuance of CMO	Later of 210 days from filing or issuance of CMO
   Adding new parties	Later of 90 days from filing or issuance of CMO	Later of 90 days from filing or issuance of CMO
   Objections to pleadings	20 days from service	20 days from service
   Disclosure of expert witnesses	75 days before docket sounding for parties seeking affirmative relief; 60 days before docket sounding for parties not seeking affirmative relief	75 days before docket sounding for parties seeking affirmative relief; 60 days before docket sounding for parties not seeking affirmative relief
   Disclosure of fact witnesses	60 days before docket sounding	60 days before docket sounding
   Service of written discovery requests	45 days before docket sounding	45 days before docket sounding
   All other discovery to be completed	10 days before docket sounding	10 days before docket sounding
   Pretrial motions to be filed	30 days before trial	30 days before trial
   Mediation completed and report filed	Prior to docket sounding	Prior to docket sounding
   Projected docket sounding and trial date	18 months from filing	12 months from filing

8. In the event of a conflicting deadline between a case management order and a trial order, the deadline established in the trial order controls.
9. Upon the filing of a motion establishing good cause and approval by the presiding judge, any case may be re-designated. Any motion for re-designation must be filed no later than 60 days after service of the complaint upon the last of all named defendants.
10. A case management order is not required for any civil case in which a trial order has been issued that substantially incorporates the Seventh Judicial Circuit’s Uniform Pretrial Procedures in Civil Actions.
11. A case management order is not required for any civil case that is subject to dismissal for lack of prosecution. If the case is not dismissed, a case management order is to be issued within 30 days after such determination.
12. A case management order is not required for any civil case that is subject to a statutory stay or moratorium. A case management order is to be entered within 45 days of the lifting of the stay or moratorium or within 30 days of service of the complaint on the last of all named defendants, whichever date is later.
13. Failure to comply with the terms of a case management order may result in sanctions against the offending party.

TO BE RECORDED in Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties.

DONE AND ORDERED in Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Florida this 28th day of April 2021.