In Re Family Law Rules of Procedure

663 So. 2d 1049, 20 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 581, 1995 Fla. LEXIS 1953, 1995 WL 689537
Supreme Court of Florida·Decided November 22, 1995·No. 84337·Published·Cited by 23 cases

Opinion

663 So.2d 1049 (1995)

In re FAMILY LAW RULES OF PROCEDURE.

No. 84337.

Supreme Court of Florida.

November 22, 1995.

*1050 John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida; and Michael L. Hastings, Chairperson, Family Law Rules Committee, Hastings & Estreicher, P.A., St. Petersburg, Florida, for Petitioner.

Steven H. Preston of Gurney & Handley, P.A., Orlando, Florida; Henry P. Trawick, Jr. of the Law Offices of Trawick, Valentine & Hagan, P.A., Sarasota, Florida; Honorable E. Earle Zehmer, Chief Judge, First District Court of Appeal, Tallahassee, Florida; Cynthia B. Glazier, Program Attorney, State of Florida Guardian Ad Litem Program, Fourth Judicial Circuit, Jacksonville, Florida; Beth E. Spiegel, North Miami Beach, Florida; S. William Goldstein of the Law Offices of Goldstein & Goldstein, Jacksonville, Florida; B. Niklas Brihammar, Key West, Florida; Paul R. Marcus of the Law Offices of Paul R. Marcus, Miami, Florida; Honorable Dale Ross, Chief Judge, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Maurice Jay Kutner of Kutner & West, P.A., Miami, Florida; Richard P. Aranson of Beiner & Nussbaum, P.A., Boca Raton, Florida; Honorable Richard Yale Feder, Administrative Judge, Family Division, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Honorable Gerald T. Wetherington, Circuit Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Honorable Joseph P. Farina, Chief Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Honorable Donald Moran, Jr., Chief Judge and Honorable Hugh A. Carithers, Jr., Administrative Judge, Family Law Division, Fourth Judicial Circuit, Jacksonville, Florida; Andrew M. Leinoff of Leinoff & Silvers, P.A., Coral Gables, Florida; Honorable Hugh E. Starnes, Chief Judge, Twentieth Judicial Circuit, Fort Myers, Florida; Honorable Leonard Rivkind, Circuit Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Honorable F. Dennis Alvarez, Chief Judge, and judges presiding in the Family Law Division, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Tampa, Florida; Peter M. Hockman, Homestead, Florida; Honorable Thomas S. Wilson, Jr., Circuit Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Lawrence M. Watson, Jr., Chair, Supreme Court Committee on Mediation and Arbitration Rules, Orlando, Florida; Raquel A. Rodriquez, Coral Gables, Florida; Nancy M. Blount, Assistant State Attorney, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Darlene Schweitzer-Ramras of Schweitzer & Schweitzer-Ramras, P.A., Miami, Florida; Robert J. Jones, Miami, Florida; Marsha B. Elser, Cynthia L. Greene, Judith Hodor and Laura M. Fabar of Elser, Greene, Hodor & Fabar, Miami, Florida; Peter A. Collins, Miami, Florida; William A. Daniel, Jr., Miami, Florida; Norman D. Levin of Levin & Rabinowitz, Longwood, Florida; Honorable Anthony Rondolino, Circuit Judge, Sixth Judicial Circuit, St. Petersburg, Florida; Sharon L. Langer, Director, Dade County Bar Association Legal Aid Society, Miami, Florida; Honorable Alan S. Gold, *1051 Circuit Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Fred M. Dellapa, Coral Gables, Florida; Joy B. Shearer, General Master, Administrative Office of the Court, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, West Palm Beach, Florida; Rosemarie S. Roth, Miami, Florida; Martin J. Nolan, E.R. Whitehouse, Rusela V. Orr and Charlene Sharp Bogolub, certified and court appointed family mediators, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Bette Ellen Quiat, Miami, Florida; Perry S. Itkin, Chairperson, Education & Training Committee, Florida Association of Professional Family Mediators, Dispute Resolution, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Honorable Roger A. Silver, County Judge, County Court of Dade County, Miami, Florida; Marilyn Blumberg of the Law Offices of Bette Ellen Quiat, Miami, Florida; Honorable Herbert M. Klein, Circuit Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Melvyn B. Frumkes of the Law Offices of Melvyn B. Frumkes & Associates, P.A., Miami, Florida; William T. Bornhauser, Director, Family Mediation Program, Twelfth Judicial Circuit, Sarasota, Florida; Honorable Ronald M. Friedman, Circuit Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Honorable John L. Phillips, Administrative Judge, Family Division, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, West Palm Beach, Florida; Honorable George S. Reynolds, III, Vice-Chair, Family Law Rules Committee, Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, Florida; Honorable Stuart M. Simons, Circuit Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Catherine Marie Ivey of the Law Office of Henshaw & Ivey, Cape Coral, Florida; and Honorable Seymour Benson, Circuit Judge, Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Sanford, Florida, submitting comments regarding Family Law Rules.

OVERTON, Justice.

On July 7, 1995, this Court adopted new family law rules in accordance with our prior determination to have separate rules for family law cases. See In re Family Law R.P., 663 So.2d 1047 (Fla. 1995). After we issued the new rules, we published them in The Florida Bar News for further comment. Additionally, we asked the Family Law Rules Committee to review the rules for comment in view of the substantial modifications this Court made to the rules as proposed. The comments of the committee and others are now before this Court for review. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. After having reviewed the comments, we hereby modify the rules as set forth in the attached appendices. The changes include a number of technical modifications and some substantive modifications.

General and Special Masters

A majority of the comments received concern the rules governing general and special masters. These comments request that we address the restrictions the rules place on the authority of masters. Specifically, this Court has been asked to modify the rules to: (1) eliminate the provision that prohibits general and special masters from hearing civil contempt proceedings; and (2) eliminate the requirement of Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.490 that a general master must take the evidence in writing and must file that writing with the master's report and instead allow general masters to take testimony and establish a record electronically.

After consideration, we grant the first request and have modified Florida Family Law Rules 12.490 and 12.492 as set forth in attached Appendix B to eliminate the provision prohibiting general and special masters from hearing contempt proceedings. In granting this request, we note that, under the rules governing masters, no matter shall be heard by a general master without the consent of all parties. See Fla.Fam.L.R. 12.490(b)(1).

We also grant the second request as limited herein because we find that its implementation, with certain modifications, will expedite the family law litigation process and reduce costs. In the second request we are urged to find that allowing the use of an electronic record in lieu of requiring a master to take the evidence in writing is permissible under our constitution. The reason Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.490 and now rule 12.490 require the written recording of documentary evidence by a master is to ensure that the party taking exceptions to the master's report has an adequate and fair opportunity *1052 for review and to ensure that a master's report is not contrary to the evidence or to the law. Knupp v. Knupp, 625 So.2d 865 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); Petrakis v. Petrakis, 597 So.2d 856 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). In other words, some type of record must be created to protect a litigant's right to ultimate review by a judge. We find that ele

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In Re Family Law Rules of Procedure, 663 So. 2d 1049, 20 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 581, 1995 Fla. LEXIS 1953, 1995 WL 689537 (Fla. 1995).

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