USA – FLORIDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Elisha D. Roy and Carolyn Ware, Sasser, Cestero & Roy
There are Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration (RGPJA) that protect some of the material that may be filed in the court. This includes account information; children’s names, addresses and social security numbers; social security numbers of the parties, etc. In addition, allegations that might stem from dependency can be held confidential. All of this is governed by RGPJA 2.420 and 2.425 and requires a proper filing with the clerk’s office to ensure redactions occur on the files. Parties can also agree to Confidentiality Orders pro ‑ tecting items from being filed in the court file and only being shared between parties, but, for example, the Financial Affidavit that is required to be filed in most cases filed in Florida cannot be waived, sealed or kept out of the court file. RGPJA 2.420 also provides a mechanism whereby someone can request a file be sealed and/or held confidential or portions of a file be held confidential; however, a very detailed order must be entered upon findings for this step to be taken and, ironically, the order sealing the records and explaining why they are being sealed must be published in a public area, both on the clerk’s website and in the clerk’s office for a period not less than 30 days. This requirement can have an unintended consequence: it may draw more attention to the file and the confidential records than if nothing had been done to seal them in the first place. 2.9 ADR in Financial Matters ADR is highly favoured in Florida, and in most jurisdic ‑ tions across the state there are local Administrative Orders in place requiring mediation to occur before any matter is brought before a judge for resolution. The primary ADR method used in financial cases in Florida is mediation. Mediation is a method of non- binding dispute resolution involving a neutral third party who tries to help the disputing parties reach a mutually agreeable solution. The mediation process is governed by Chapter 44 of the Florida Statutes and Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure 12.740 and 12.741. Most cases in Florida go to mediation, at least once. Mediation is generally done with a Supreme Court Certified mediator agreed upon by the parties, but the courthouse in many areas does offer sliding
scale mediations for lower cost. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many mediations are done by Zoom, but in-person mediations are beginning to resume. Parties are expected to appear for mediation and gov ‑ ern themselves accordingly. An agreement resolving financial issues, not related to minor children (ie, child support), reached through the mediation process is binding and enforceable upon the parties’ execution. Voluntary Binding Arbitration Arbitration is a process whereby a neutral third per ‑ son or panel, called an arbitrator or arbitration panel, considers the facts and arguments presented by the parties and renders a decision which may be binding or non-binding. § 44.1011 (1), Fla. Stat. Binding arbi ‑ tration means that the decision rendered during arbi ‑ tration is binding on the parties and the court. Arbitra ‑ tion in family law matters is governed by Chapter 44 of the Florida Statutes and Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure 12.740. Generally speaking, voluntary binding arbitration does not happen in family law cases in Florida as it can ‑ not be used when there are minor children involved in the case. See § 44.104 (14), Fla. Stat.; Toiberman v Tisera , 998 So. 2d 4, 6 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008) “The plain language of section 44.104 (14) prohibits binding arbitration of child custody, visitation, or child sup ‑ port matters”. However, in dealing with only financial issues it is possible. Voluntary Trial Resolution Similar to voluntary binding arbitration, voluntary trial resolution is a process by which a trial resolution judge considers the facts and arguments presented by the parties and renders a decision. See § 44.1011 (1), Fla. Stat. The private judge must be agreed to by the par ‑ ties, must be a member of the Florida Bar in good standing and have been practicing for at least five years. See § 44.104 (2), Fla. Stat. The private judge is appointed by the presiding judge via court order. The presiding judge cannot require parties to use this alternative method. This private judge method is often used in cases that are very complex and knowing that the judge can block off the necessary number of days, etc, for
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