Courtesy copies of motions and briefs do not need to be sent to chambers, as they are available electronically through Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF). Where the motion and exhibits are in excess of 50 pages, however, Judge Tuite requests that counsel deliver a hard copy of the motion and exhibits to chambers.

The parties should review and comply with the standards set forth in the Middle District of Florida Handbook on Civil Discovery Practice (PDF) (rev. February 1, 2021).  

Additionally, before filing any discovery-related motion in a civil case, the moving party shall confer with counsel for the opposing party in a good-faith effort to resolve the issues raised by the motion. M.D. Fla. R. 3.01(g). The moving party shall include in the motion a statement certifying that it has conferred with opposing counsel and that counsel have been unable to reach an agreement on the resolution of the motion. Id. The term "confer" in Local Rule 3.01(g) requires a substantive conversation in a good-faith effort to resolve the motion without court action. Exchanges of ultimatums by email or letter—especially those that do not allow adequate time for a response—do not satisfy the good-faith conference requirement. Similarly, mere attempts to confer that do not result in a meaningful and productive exchange between counsel do not satisfy the requirement. The court generally will deny motions that fail to include a Local Rule 3.01(g) certificate.  

When filing a motion to compel discovery or for protective order, the parties are directed to comply with Local Rule 3.04. Failure to comply fully with Local Rule 3.04 will cause such a request to be denied.

Requests for leave to the exceed page limits imposed by Local Rule 3.01 and requests for leave to file reply memoranda on routine discovery motions are strongly disfavored and will generally be denied absent a showing of good cause.

If disputes arise during depositions, Judge Tuite generally does not conduct telephonic hearings. Instead, the parties are directed to state the nature of their objection(s) on the record and file a written motion.

Emergency motions should be clearly and conspicuously designated as such in the caption of the motion.  See M.D. Fla. R. 3.01(e). The moving party shall contact the clerk’s office to notify it of the filing of an emergency motion.

Hearings on motions are scheduled at the written request of the parties or, from time to time, by order of Judge Tuite without a request from the parties. Witnesses and other evidence are not permitted at oral argument unless the parties obtain permission to present evidence before the hearing. Counsel and unrepresented parties who wish to present argument are generally required to appear in court in person. The courtroom deputy will schedule oral arguments and evidentiary hearings.  Although in-person appearances are presumed, the court may permit appearance by telephone—for good cause—on request

Motions requesting leave to file any materials under seal must comply with the requirements of Local Rule 1.09, the case management and scheduling order, the court's Administrative Procedures for Electronic Filing, and prevailing law.  

If a pending motion is rendered moot (i.e., no longer requires court disposition) due to a later agreement between the parties or some other occurrence, the movant shall promptly file an appropriate notice that either withdraws the motion (in whole or in part) or advises that the issues raised by the motion have been rendered moot (in whole or in part).

When possible, documents filed through Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) should be scanned with optical character recognition (OCR) and rendered text-searchable.

The parties should not submit proposed orders unless required by the Local Rules or upon the court’s request. Whenever a party is permitted to submit a proposed order, the court would appreciate receiving a courtesy copy emailed to chambers, preferably in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx).

Counsel or unrepresented parties may call the assigned law clerk or the courtroom deputy, as appropriate, to inquire generally about the status of a pending matter or for other general procedural information.

Upon consent of the parties to magistrate judge jurisdiction, Judge Tuite will schedule bench and jury trials to begin on a date certain. The parties should provide the court with two copies of witness and exhibit lists the morning of trial. All exhibits should be marked before trial. In addition, the parties should provide Judge Tuite with a bench book, containing copies of documentary exhibits they intend to use at trial, which copies should be marked with exhibit numbers. Judge Tuite also appreciates receiving an electronic version of the parties’ proposed jury instructions, or proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx) before the final pretrial conference. Such items may be emailed to chambers.

Generally, the court will conduct voir dire, taking the proposed questions from the parties into account. In appropriate circumstances, however, the court will allow counsel to conduct limited voir dire. If counsel maintains there is good cause for allowing the lawyers to conduct voir dire in a particular case, they should file a motion requesting permission to do so and stating the specific basis for their request.