IN THE COUNTY COURT IN AND FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA CIVIL DIVISION ________________________________ CASE NO.___________________________ ________________________________ Plaintiff(s) DIVISION___________________________ vs _________________________________ _________________________________ Defendant(s) NOTICE TO APPEAR FOR PRETRIAL CONFERENCE/MEDIATION STATE OF FLORIDA - NOTICE TO PLAINTIFF(S) AND DEFENDANT(S) (Name & address of Defendant(s) to be Served) _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that you are required to appear in person or by attorney at the George Edgecomb Courthouse in Courtroom # __________, located at 800 East Twiggs St., Tampa, FL 33602 on the _________ day of AM/PM for a PRETRIAL CONFERENCE. _________________________, 20______ at THE COUNTY COURT DOES NOT PROVIDE INTERPRETERS OR TRANSLATORS; YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING YOUR OWN INTERPRETERS OR TRANSLATORS. LA CORTE DEL CONDADO NO PROVEE INTERPRETES O TRADUCTORES, USTED ES RESPONSABLE DE PROVEER SU PROPIO INTERPRETE O TRADUCTOR. IMPORTANT – READ CAREFULLY THE CASE WILL NOT BE TRIED AT THE PRETRIAL CONFERENCE BUT MAY BE MEDIATED AT THAT TIME. DO NOT BRING WITNESSES – YOU MUST APPEAR IN PERSON OR BY ATTORNEY. WHOEVER APPEARS FOR A PARTY MUST HAVE FULL AUTHORITY TO SETTLE FOR ALL AMOUNTS FROM ZERO TO THE AMOUNT OF THE CLAIM WITHOUT FURTHER CONSULTATION. FAILURE TO COMPLY MAY RESULT IN THE IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS, INCLUDING COSTS, ATTORNEY FEES, ENTRY OF JUDGMENT, OR DISMISSAL. The Defendant(s) must appear in court on the date specified in order to avoid a default judgment. The Plaintiff(s) must appear to avoid having the case dismissed for lack of prosecution. A written MOTION or ANSWER to the Court by the Plaintiff(s) or the Defendant(s) shall not excuse the personal appearance of a party or its attorney at the PRETRIAL CONFERENCE/MEDIATION. The date and time of the pretrial conference CANNOT be rescheduled without good cause and prior court approval. COCV1256 (Rev 11-01-11) Page 2 of 2 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com A corporation may be represented at any stage of the trial court proceedings by an officer of the corporation or any employee authorized in writing by an officer of the corporation. Written authorization must be brought to the Pretrial Conference/Mediation. The purpose of the pretrial conference is to record your appearance, to determine if you admit all or part of the claim, to enable the court to determine the nature of the case, and to set the case for trial if the case cannot be resolved at the pretrial conference. You or your attorney should be prepared to confer with the court and to explain briefly the nature of your dispute, state what efforts have been made to settle the dispute, exhibit any documents necessary to prove the case, state the names and addresses of your witnesses, stipulate to the facts that will require no proof and will expedite the trial, and estimate how long it will take to try the case. Mediation Mediation may take place during the time scheduled for the pretrial conference. Mediation is a process whereby an impartial and neutral third person called a mediator acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute between two or more parties, without prescribing what the resolution should be. It is an informal and non adversarial process with the objective of helping the disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable and voluntary agreement. In mediation, decision making rest with the parties. Negotiations in county court mediation are primarily conducted by the parties. counsel for each party may participate. However, presence of the counsel is not required. If a full agreement is not reached at mediation, the remaining issues of the case will be set for trial. Mediation communications are confidential and privileged except where disclosures are required or permitted by law. If you admit the claim, but desire additional time to pay, you must come and state the circumstances to the court. The court may or may not approve a payment plan and may withhold judgment or execution of levy. RIGHT TO VENUE. The law gives the person or company who has sued you the right to file suit in any one of several places as listed below. However, if you have been sued in any place other than one of these places, you, as the defendant(s) have the right to request that the case be moved to a proper location or venue. A proper location or venue may be one of the following: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] where the contract was entered into. if the suit is on unsecured promissory note, where the note is signed or where the maker resides. if the suit is to recover property or to foreclosure a lien, where the property is located. where the event giving rise to the suit occurred. where any one or more defendant(s) sued reside. any location agreed to in a contract. in an action for money due, if there is no agreement as to where suit may be filed, where payment is to be made. If you as the Defendant(s) believe the Plaintiff(s) has/have not sued in one of these correct places, you must appear on your court date and orally request a transfer or you must file a WRITTEN request for transfer, in affidavit form (sworn to under oath) with the court 7 days prior to your first court date and send a copy to the Plaintiff(s) or Plaintiff’s(s’) attorney, if any. If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact the ADA Coordinator, Hillsborough County Courthouse, 800 E. Twiggs St., Room 604, Tampa, Florida 33602, (813) 272-7040, at least 7 days before your scheduled court appearance, or immediately upon receiving this notification if the time before the scheduled appearance is less than 7 days; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call 711. COCV1256 (Rev 11-01-11) Page 2 of 2 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com A copy of the statement of claim shall be served with this summons. DATED ON , 20 . PAT FRANK As Clerk of the Court By:_____________________________________ As Deputy Clerk (813) 276-8100, extension 4362 COCV1256 (Rev 11-01-11) Page 2 of 2 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com