IN THE COUNTY COURT, IN AND FOR THE NINETEENTH JUDICAL CIRCUIT OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA IN AND FOR MARTIN COUNTY CASE NUMBER________________ _____________________________________ SMALL CLAIMS DIVISION _____________________________________ SHORTS ARE NOT PERMITTED IN COURTROOM Plaintiff(s) ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Defendant (s) SUMMONS/NOTICE TO APPEAR FOR MEDIATION AND PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE NOTICE TO PLANTIFF(S) AND DEFENDANT(S) _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that you are required to appear in person or by attorney at the MARTIN COUNTY COURT HOUSE located at 100 E. OCEAN BLVD., STUART, FLORIDA on the __________ day of ____________________,20______at _______AM/PM for MEDIATION and PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE before a judge of this court. IMPORTANT READ CAREFULLY THE CASE WILL NOT BE TRIED AT THIS TIME-DO NOT BRING WITNESSES. YOU MUST APPEAR IN PERSON OR BY ATTORNEY AUTHORIZED TO SETTLE YOUR DISPUTE BY MEDIATION. 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 defendant (s) SHALL NOT excuse the personal appearance of a party or its attorney at the PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE. The date and time CANNOT be rescheduled without good cause and prior court approval or by written notarized agreement by all parties. 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 Pre-trial Conference. The purpose of the Pre-trial 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 by mediation. 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 may take place at the pretrial conference. Whoever appears for a party must have full authority to settle . Failure to have full authority to settle at this pretrial conference may result in the imposition of costs and attorney fees by the opposing party. 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 withhold judgment or levy. A copy of the statement of claim shall be served with this summons. DATED at Stuart, Florida ___________________________ CAROLYN TIMMANN CLERK OF THE COUNTY COURT MARTIN COUNTY, STUART FLORIDA BY:__________________________ DEPUTY CLERK 1 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com NOTICE TO PERSON WITH DISABILITIES If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodations in order to participate in this proceedings, you are entitled , at no cost to you , to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact Clerk of Court's Administration Division , 100 E Ocean Blvd., Ste 200, Stuart, FL 34994, 772-288-5576 within 2 working days of your receipt of this document. If you are hearing or voice impaired , call 1-800-955-8771 RIGHT TO VENUE : the law gives the person or company who has sued you the right to file in any one of several places as listed below . However, if you have been sued in any place other than of these places, you, 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) where the contract was entered into: 2) if the suit is on an unsecured promissory note, where the note is signed or where the maker resides: 3) if the suit is to recover property or to foreclose a lien, where the property is located; 4) where the event giving rise to the suit occurred; 5) where any one or more of the defendant(s) sued resides; 6) any location agreed to in a contract; 7) in an action for money due, if there is no agreement as to where suite may be filed, where payment is to be made. If you as a defendant(s) , believe the plaintiff(s) has/have not sued in one of these correct places, you must file a WRITTEN request for transfer, in affidavit form (sworn to under oath) with the court seven days prior to your first court date and send a copy to the plaintiff(s) or plaintiff(s) attorney, and appear at Mediation/Pre-Trial Conference 2 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com