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In the Circuit Court of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit
in and for DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties, Florida

Administrative Order 2017–6.2

In Re:

Administrative Closing of
Inactive Reopened Cases

Whereas, Rule 2.545, Fla. R. Jud. Admin. requires that judges take charge of their cases and control case progress until no further judicial action is required; and

Whereas, the Clerks of the Circuit Courts within the Twelfth Judicial Circuit “reopen” closed cases, but sometimes no further action in the case leads them to be “reclosed”, so the reopened cases appear to still be pending before the court; and

Whereas, many reopened cases have been inactive for substantial periods of time and the issues that reopened the cases have been abandoned by the parties or are otherwise moot; and

Whereas, for case management purposes and in order to accurately report the number of cases engaged in active litigation, it is necessary to purge the dockets of reopened cases that are dormant and require no further judicial attention except for the ministerial action of administrative closure; and

Whereas, pursuant to the power vested in the chief judge under article V, section 2(d) of the Florida Constitution; section 43.26, Florida Statutes; and Rule 2.215, Fla. R. Jud. Admin., it is hereby Ordered as follows:

  1. All circuit civil, probate, guardianship, mental health, family, county civil and small claims cases reopened prior to January 1, 2015, with no record activity in the case since January 1, 2016, shall be administratively closed by the DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota Clerks of the Circuit Courts.
  2. A party seeking to reopen a case that has been administratively closed by paragraph 1 of this Administrative Order shall file a motion to return the matter to open or active status, including an explanation for the prolonged inactivity. If no hearing is scheduled within 30 days of its filing, the case shall be administratively closed without further order of the Court.
  3. This order is not intended to affect or administratively close open cases that are qualified for or subject to dismissal for lack of prosecution pursuant to Rule 1.420(e), Fla.R.Civ.P.
  4. On a prospective basis, the Clerk may review and administratively reclose all circuit civil, probate, guardianship, mental health, family, county civil and small claims cases that are in a reopened status when there has been no record activity for one year to resolve the outstanding motion that reopened the case. Reopen fees initially paid for the filing the motion are earned at the time of filing and are not subject to refund.
  5. To reopen a case reclosed pursuant to paragraph 4 above, in order to be considered by the Court the party shall file a new motion and pay any applicable Clerk filing fees.

Done and ordered in Sarasota, Sarasota County, Florida, this 4th day of May, 2017.

Charles E. Williams, Chief Judge

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