Gilchrist Foreclosure Procedures

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Please do not contact the Circuit Judge’s office for any Foreclosure matter. Please direct your inquiry to the Foreclosure case manager.

Foreclosure Case Manager
Email: foreclosures@circuit8.org (preferred)
Phone: 352-384-3093

Alachua County Family and Civil Justice Center
201 East University Avenue
Gainesville, Florida 32601

TELEPHONIC/REMOTE APPEARANCES:

  • If your event is occurring via Zoom you should not appear at the courthouse. Please review your court notice for Zoom connection information. Please review and comply with the Zoom procedures which may be found at: https://circuit8.org/zoom-guidelines
  • If your event is occurring in person, you must file a Motion not less than 10 days prior to your court event requesting a remote appearance. Your motion must 1) set forth good cause for the remote appearance, 2) indicate your efforts to review the motion with any opposing party and their position on your request, and 3) indicate steps taken to ensure there is no prejudice to any party by the remote appearance.  Please email a copy of your motion to the case manager at foreclosures@circuit8.org. Motions that do not contain this will not be considered. Please note, that if the court grants your motion, ALL parties will be allowed to appear by zoom and it is the responsibility of the party who requested the hearing to provide the zoom information to all parties.

MOTIONS AND PROPOSED ORDERS:

  • All proposed orders should be submitted in Word format to the address above or through the e-portal.
  • All motions, along with supporting documentation, should be e-filed or, for pro se parties, delivered to the Clerk’s office.
  • Except for emergency pleadings, please do not provide the Court with a copy of the motion or any supporting documentation, this should all be filed with the clerk.  The Court will review the case filing system and review any supporting documentation electronically.
  • Please do not submit your proposed order until all applicable time and notice periods have run. All orders shall include a certificate of service at the bottom of the order indicating the name of the party who is to receive the order, as well as that party’s e-service address OR mailing address, if a hard copy is required.
  • Orders will not be entered until the motion and all supporting documentation has been docketed and imaged by the Clerk.  Please note in some counties this can take 7-10 days after your filing. Please allow at least 14 days after submitting your proposed orders for review before following up with the court.

FINAL HEARINGS/NON-JURY TRIALS:

  • Proposed Final Judgments shall be sent via email in Word format using the directions above. You should submit your proposed final judgment not less than three business days before your hearing. Please do not attach copies of your motion or any supporting documentation. We will review the case filing system.
  • Please bring paper courtesy copies of the Proposed Final Judgment (that was previously emailed) to your final hearing to provide to the court and any opposing parties. (This does not apply to remote hearings)
  • If a matter is set for a Non-Jury Trial, a party may elect to proceed via a Motion for Summary. All documents have been timely submitted and all parties noticed prior to the hearing. However, you must be prepared to move forward with trial if the Motion for Summary Judgment is denied.
  • If a party elects to proceed through a Certification of Business Records, a Notice of Intent and complete copies of the records must be filed and timely provided to all parties.

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS:

  • Plaintiff IS REQUIRED to file original note with the Clerk of Court no less than ten (10) days prior to the scheduled Non-Jury Trial. Any party wishing to inspect the note may do so by contacting the Clerk’s office to make arrangements to do so no less than three (3) days prior to trial and inform all parties.
  • Original documents should be filed directly with the clerk of the court in the county where the action is filed. Please do not send any original documents to the Judge or Magistrate unless specifically requested to do so.

FORECLOSURE SALES AND ISSUANCE OF DOCUMENTS POST SALE

  • Certificates of Sale, Certificates of Disbursement, Certificates of Title, and Notices of Sale shall be forwarded separately to the Clerk of Court in accordance with the Clerk’s procedures. Please do not send these documents to the Foreclosure Case Manager.
  • The plaintiff is responsible for sending a copy of the Notice of Sale to the appropriate newspaper for publication. The Clerk will generate the Certificate of Sale, Certificate of Title, and Certificate of Disbursements after the sale is held.
  • All Motions to cancel or reschedule a foreclosure sale shall be electronically filed at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled sale date. Good cause must be shown for the granting of the Motion and all supporting documentation must be attached to the Motion. Generic motions are routinely denied without a hearing.
  • A copy of any “Emergency” Motion to cancel/reschedule a foreclosure sale that has been e-filed with the Clerk of Court and served upon opposing counsel should also be provided to foreclosures@circuit8.org. If the Court determines that a hearing is necessary, the Foreclosure Manager will advise the moving party of an expedited date and time for the hearing

EMERGENCY MOTIONS:
If you believe the matter you have submitted for review is eligible for emergency relief or must be reviewed on an expedited basis, please state that it is an “Emergency” in the subject line of your email and include a courtesy copy of your motion and all attachments.

SCHEDULING A HEARING:

Hearing requests should be made by email and the county name, full case number, style of the case, type of motion(s) being heard, the attorneys involved, and the amount of time requested.

MOTIONS TO CANCEL SALES:

  • To ensure timely review, motions to cancel or reschedule a foreclosure sale shall be electronically filed at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled sale date.  Good cause must be shown for the granting of the Motion and all supporting documentation must be attached to the Motion.
  • If you are seeking to cancel a sale due to a federal moratorium, you must include the following information in your motion:
    • Which moratorium applies to this specific property.
    • The current expiration of the moratorium.
    • The occupancy status of the property (verified within the last 60 days).
    • Efforts to confer with other parties and their position on your motion.
  • A copy of any “Emergency” Motion to cancel/reschedule a foreclosure sale that has been e-filed with the Clerk of Court and served upon opposing counsel should also be provided to foreclosures@circuit8.org.  If the Court determines that a hearing is necessary, the Foreclosure Manager will advise the moving party of an expedited date and time for the hearing. Please note that failure to timely file a motion does not constitute an emergency.

CONTINUANCES:

Continuances are not routinely granted and are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. All requests must be made with specificity and show good cause. All requests must comply with Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.460. All Motions to Continue Trial shall be filed with a client consent form signed by the client. A hearing will not be set on any Motion to Continue Trial if the Client Consent form has not been filed with the Clerk of Court.

If you are seeking to continue or cancel a non-jury trial due to a federal moratorium, you must include the following information in your motion:

    • Which moratorium applies to this specific property.
    • The current expiration of the moratorium.
    • The occupancy status of the property (verified within the last 60 days).
    • Efforts to confer with other parties and their position on your motion.

NOTICE OF APPEARANCE AND COVERAGE COUNSEL:

Pursuant to Eighth Judicial circuit Administrative Order No. 1.30, with the permission of the client, an attorney may arrange for another attorney to appear at a proceeding to represent a party. Such “coverage” attorneys must file a notice of appearance as co-counsel before the court will recognize the attorney as representing that party. All notices must be filed in compliance with Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.505(e). A notice of appearance must be filed prior to the start of the proceedings and counsel must be familiar with the case and fully prepared to address all issues pending before the court.

Failure to timely file a proper Notice of Appearance is the same as a non-appearance and may result in the striking of pleadings, dismissal of claims, or the imposition of other permissible sanctions deemed proper, and shall constitute a waiver of Exceptions to the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.490(h).

EX PARTE EMAILS OR CORRESPONDENCE:

The Magistrate is not allowed to discuss pending cases with the public. Please do not call or email the Court expecting to speak with the Magistrate about any case. The Court is only allowed to consider arguments made in court and documents filed by actual parties to the case.  Judicial officer cannot ethically read or consider any other opinions or arguments about the case, and they cannot give legal advice.

Copies of all e-mails and correspondence sent to Magistrate’s office must also be sent to all opposing counsel/parties in the case. Ex-parte e-mails or correspondence will be returned to the sending party without having been reviewed or may be filed with the court, as appropriate.

GENERAL MAGISTRATE – EXCEPTIONS:

ALL PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE MAGISTRATE WILL BE RECORDED ELECTRONICALLY. AN ELECTRONIC COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS MAY BE REQUESTED IN WRITING FROM COURT REPORTING.

  • Request an electronic copy by emailing Karen Wable at WableK@circuit8.org;
  • Or by mailing your request to: Court Reporting, Alachua County Family and Civil Justice Center, 201 East University Avenue, ROOM 411, Gainesville, Florida 32601.

ALL COSTS FOR ANY ELECTRONIC COPIES WILL BE PAID BY THE REQUESTING PARTY. 

AFTER OBTAINING AN ELECTRONIC COPY, IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PERSON FILING EXCEPTIONS AND SEEKING REVIEW OF THE MAGISTRATE’S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION TO HAVE A WRITTEN TRANSCRIPT PREPARED BY A CERTIFIED COURT REPORTER FOR DELIVERY TO THE COURT. THE REQUESTING PARTY MUST PAY THE EXPENSE OF THE TRANSCRIPTION.