Address:
M.C. Blanchard Judicial Building
190 Governmental Center
Pensacola, FL 32502
Phone: 850-595-4445
Fax: 850-595-0387
Email: hayley.faulkner@flcourts1.gov
Zoom Meeting ID: 653 885 1656
DIVISION PREFERENCES
This is intended as a brief overview of preferences regarding hearings and procedural matters. Your courtesies in adhering to these preferences will be greatly appreciated and will make our system one which runs smoothly and efficiently for all involved.
Contacting Judge Frydrychowicz’s Office
Email is the preferred method of communication, especially regarding scheduling.
Email: hayley.faulkner@flcourts1.gov
General Information
All matters to be considered by the judge should be in the form of a motion filed with the clerk of court with copies provided to all parties of record. It is the responsibility of the moving party to coordinate a hearing with the judicial assistant and all counsel of record, then file a Notice of Hearing with the clerk. Merely filing a motion with the clerk will not bring the matter before the judge.
Pursuant to the Code of Judicial Conduct, neither the judge nor the judicial assistant are permitted to discuss substantive matters without all parties being present. Judicial assistants may only assist with procedural inquiries and will not provide legal advice.
Dress code for attorneys and litigants is the same on Zoom as it is if you were appearing in the courtroom.
Motions
Motions filed without appropriate legal authority may be stricken or denied as facially insufficient.
In the interest of judicial economy and in order ensure communication between the parties, the Court expects responsive pleadings to be filed when opposing a properly noticed matter. If a hearing is set sixty (60) days or more out, the responsive pleading should be filed no later than two (2) weeks prior to the hearing. When a hearing is set more than thirty (30) days out, but less than sixty (60), the responsive pleading should be filed no later than (10) days prior to the hearing. If a hearing is set less than thirty (30) days out, a responsive motion should be filed no later than five (5) days prior to the hearing. If an emergency hearing is set, or otherwise a hearing is set quickly by agreement of the parties, no written response is required, although appreciated. Failure to comply may result in sanctions.
Meet and Confer
The term "confer" requires a substantive conversation, in person or by telephone, in a good faith effort to resolve the motion without court action and does not envision written exchange of ultimatums. Counsel who merely attempt to confer have not conferred. An unanswered phone call or email is not a conferral. Counsel shall respond promptly to inquiries and communications from opposing counsel. As to discovery dispute motions in particular, the Court may sua sponte deny motions that fail to include an appropriate and complete Certificate of Compliance (samples at end of page).
Scheduling Hearings
Please do not request to set a hearing until you have confirmed an objection and/or made a good faith effort to determine if there is an objection, and that information should be relayed to the judicial assistant in your email.
If your scheduling assistant does not have an out-of-office reply message, opposing counsel and/or Judge Frydrychowicz’s judicial assistant will expect a response to any scheduling request within three (3) business days. Failure to timely respond may result in the unilateral scheduling of hearing(s).
To schedule a hearing, please email the judicial assistant to request available dates and times. In your email, please provide the following information:
Case Number
Party Names
Attorney Names
Type of Hearing
Length requested for hearing (make certain you request enough time for both sides to be heard)
Please notate in your email if this hearing is time sensitive due to an upcoming trial date.
Any additional information (e.g., hearing needed before or after a particular date, emergency filing, etc.)
After obtaining available dates, coordinate with opposing counsel to select dates that work for all parties. It is recommended that the parties agree on several potential dates in case one of the dates is no longer available by the time the hearing is confirmed. Once the parties have agreed on the potential date(s), please inform the judicial assistant via email, and she will reply confirming that the time slot is still available and finalize the hearing is being set. Dates will not be protected/final until the judge’s office is notified that the hearing date has been coordinated. PLEASE NOTE: The hearing is not considered set until you receive confirmation from the judicial assistant.
Once the hearing date has been confirmed, please file a Notice of Hearing. The Notice of Hearing shall include the date, time, type of hearing, and location (courthouse or Zoom). As a reminder, we are in the central time zone.
Division N’s Zoom Meeting ID is 6538851656.
No additional motions should be added to the existing hearing time without first coordinating this request with the judicial assistant and other counsel/parties. The Court will not hear motions that have not been properly scheduled and noticed.
PLEASE NOTE: ANYTHING FILED WITHIN ONE WEEK OF THE HEARING DATE SHOULD BE COURTESY COPIED TO THE JUDICIAL ASSISTANT.
Cancelling Hearings
Upon determining that a hearing is no longer necessary, please notify the judicial assistant as soon as possible (via email). The ONLY way the judge knows of a cancellation is through your notification. If the hearing is cancelled far enough in advance, the time can be made available to others, so your adherence is appreciated.
Submitting Documents Prior to Hearings
Any memoranda and/or case law that parties wish for the judge to consider prior to a hearing should be emailed or e-filed at least three business days before the hearing. If said documents are voluminous, please submit binders three business days before the hearing.
Submitting Proposed Orders
Please do not submit a proposed order until all parties have reviewed and approved it. If a motion is stipulated to by all parties (and therefore a hearing is not required), please include this in the proposed order.
Proposed orders should be submitted directly to the judicial assistant (hayley.faulkner@flcourts1.gov) in Microsoft Word format.
Once signed by the judge, the order will be filed with the clerk with e-service to the parties.
Proposed orders must include the names and e-mail addresses of all parties who will need to receive e-service of same.
In the final section of the proposed order, please insert the following:
DONE AND ORDERED in Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida.
___________________________________
JENNIFER J. FRYDRYCHOWICZ
Circuit Judge
Please do not include the date as it will be automatically included int eh e-signature.
Civil Trials
Case Management Conferences (CMCs) are required for trials requesting three or more days. The opposing party will have ten days to file an objection to the Notice of Trial. It is the responsibility of the moving party to schedule a CMC within ten days of the objection or to file an unopposed Notice.
Mediation is required for all jury trials, and judge trials requiring more than two hours. Mediation must be scheduled prior to setting trial and can be no more than a year prior to the date of trial. Trials scheduled for more than one week will be required to remediate one month prior to trial.
A pretrial conference will be scheduled by the judicial assistant approximately one week prior to any scheduled trial, with the date and time to be included on the proposed Order Setting Trial.
MEET AND CONFER SAMPLES
First Option
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that on (date)_________________a lawyer in my firm with full authority to resolve this matter had a substantive conversation in person or by telephone with opposing counsel in a good faith effort to resolve this motion before the motion was noticed for hearing, but the parties were unable to reach an agreement. Participating attorneys were:
/S/ __________________________________________
Counsel for the party who noticed the matter for hearing.
Second Option
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that a lawyer in my firm with full authority to resolve this matter attempted in good faith to contact opposing counsel in person or by telephone on:
1. (Date)______________________ at (Time)_________;
2. (Date)______________________ at (Time)_________; and
3. (Date)______________________ at (Time)_________;
to discuss resolution of this motion without a hearing and the lawyer in my firm was unable to speak with opposing counsel.
/S/ __________________________________________
Counsel for the party who noticed the matter for hearing.