Judicial Section Details

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Office Hours: Monday – Friday between 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Tel: 305-569-2518

Judicial Assistant: Carmen Hernandez (chernandez@jud11.flcourts.org)
Court Specialist: Jayson Laso (jlaso@jud11.flcourts.org)

COURT CALENDAR:
- 5-Minute Motion Calendar: Hearings are every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
- Special Sets: Hearings are every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and every Tuesday and Thursday at 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
- Attorney's Fees/PIP MSJ: Hearings are conducted every Monday from 9:30 am to 12:00 p.m. and, as needed and upon Court approval via email request to the Judicial Assistant, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
- Pretrial Hearings: Subject to Florida Small Claims Rule 7.090(a) and Florida Rules of Practice and General Administration 2.530, hearings are every Friday at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 1-2.
- Non-Jury Trials: Trials are generally held on Fridays during jury trial week. Some non-jury trials are special set and subject to the same procedures as other special sets.
- FWOP (Notice of Intent to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution): Hearings are held on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m.
PARTIES MUST CONTACT CHAMBERS IF CANCELING ANY SCHEDULED HEARING AND PROVIDE REASON FOR CANCELATION.

EMERGENCY MOTIONS:
If you have a good faith belief that your motion qualifies as an emergency, please contact Judicial Assistant Carmen Hernandez at 305-569-2518 and chernandez@jud11.flcourts.org (subject line must state “emergency motion” and contain the e-filing information) to confirm receipt of the motion and schedule a hearing. The Court will generally hold a hearing at 9:00 a.m. the following business day or sometime as soon as possible thereafter unless the parties request other dates.

The Court treats Motions to Stay Writs of Possession as emergency motions. The Court also treats Claims of Exemptions on Garnishment as emergency motions if plaintiff files an objection to the claim of exemption.

PLEASE NOTE REGARDING PROPOSED ORDERS: 
As of November 15, 2022, any proposed order that does not comply with the requirements of administrative order 22-02 will be rejected. See https://www.jud11.flcourts.org/judges_forms/21592459899-ao%2022-02.pdf.
In addition, proposed orders on ex-parte motions to compel discovery will be rejected and/or denied if the motion fails to comply with administrative order 06-09 or Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.202.

DIVISION PROCEDURES:

1. Small Claims Pre-Trial Conference Waivers are to be submitted as Agreed Orders via courtMAP.
For Insurance Cases ONLY: Administrative Order 21-10 invoked the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and waived pretrial conferences for ALL insurance cases. DO NOT submit motions/proposed orders on these issues; they will be rejected.

2. Ex-parte motions to compel (including both discovery and compliance with the attorney’s fees order) must comply with Administrative Order 06-09 (and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.202), including the requirement of waiting 7 days, and must reflect the date discovery was served (date or docket #), and when the motion to compel was filed (date or docket #). The Court will not include sanctions on ex-parte motions to compel (expenses, attorney’s fees, or waiver of non-privilege objections) - those require a hearing.

3. Motions for Substitution of Counsel must comply with the requirements of Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.505 and certify that the incoming counsel has conferred with current counsel, reviewed the case docket, and is aware of all upcoming depositions, hearings, and other deadlines in the case. Motions to withdraw under Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.505(f)(1) (not substitution of counsel or other grounds for termination of attorney appearance) require a hearing.

4. Please arrive at least 5 minutes before your scheduled hearing time.

5. If you need an interpreter, you must call the Judge’s chambers as soon as possible in advance of the hearing. Si necesita un traductor, tiene que llamar a la oficina del juez lo mas pronto possible antes de la audiencia.

6. Video appearance is required for any Zoom participant. Proper attire (professional) is also required.

7. Motions to Disqualify must follow the procedures laid out in the Administrative Memorandum on Motions to Disqualify.

8. Motions for Extensions of Time must include a timeframe for the requested extension. Motions may be denied if they do not include a timeframe for the requested extension and/or are not set for hearing on the Court's motion calendar within 30 days. Motions to extend case management deadlines, amend the case management order, or continue trial MUST comply with Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.200 and 1.460. The Court follows the rules, so do not attempt to amend the case management deadlines or continue trial via an agreed order. 

9. If you seek to cross-notice a hearing already set and/or approved by the Judge, send a copy of the cross notice to the Court's Judicial Assistant to ensure the calendar is properly updated. Otherwise, the matter may not be heard.

10. If you need to email the Judge's judicial assistant (e.g., to request or cancel a hearing, confirm the filing of a motion, etc.), you must copy all parties in the case. Otherwise, these may be considered impermissible ex-parte communications, which will not be read and will be deleted. DO NOT email Judge Pérez Santiago directly about your case unless you are instructed to do so, you are responding to an email sent from Judge Pérez Santiago, or you have a good faith belief that an email to Judge Pérez Santiago is necessary on an urgent basis (e.g., you have tried reaching chambers to obtain Zoom information for an upcoming hearing and cannot get a hold of the Judicial Assistant or Bailiff). Communications to Judge Pérez Santiago should be a last resort. Judge Pérez Santiago will ordinarily delete any emails from the parties without reading it.

11. Motions for final judgment in garnishment must state legal and factual basis for entitlement to tax garnishment costs. The motion must also show the calculation the plaintiff is using to arrive at the judgment total in the proposed final judgment in garnishment unless the total matches the judgment. The Court will reject or deny any proposed final judgments in garnishment based on a non-compliant motion, will set the motion for hearing, or will enter a final judgment in garnishment that removes the proposed garnishment costs from the proposed final judgment and subtract the proposed garnishment costs from the proposed judgment total.

12. The Court will enter proposed final judgments in garnishments reflecting the $100 partial payment to which a garnishee is entitled under section 77.28, Florida Statutes. If the garnishee wishes to seek more than the partial payment to which it is entitled, then the garnishee must file a specific request within 30 days of the final judgment in garnishment.

HEARINGS:

FWOP, 5-Minute motion calendar, and non-evidentiary special set hearings under 30 minutes are generally held on Zoom. Subject to Florida Small Claims Rule 7.090(a) and Florida Rules of Practice and General Administration 2.530, the Court prefers conducting the following hearings live/in person:

(1) All Small Claims Pretrial Hearings/Conferences (Court Room 1-2); and 

(2) Evidentiary Hearings, and other Special Set Hearings longer than 30 m