Are you preparing to go it alone in a West Palm Beach jury trial? What do you need to know about the time consuming pretrial conference? These “executive summaries” of the upcoming trial may surpass all the other allegations in your pleadings to determine what the issues of the trial will be. Are you prepared to get these conferences right? You may only have one bite at the apple! Check out this case out of the Fourth District Court of Appeal to better understand the importance of the pretrial conference.
Pretrial Conferences and Pretrial Stipulations
- Under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure you will have to meet and confer with the other side before you go to trial.
- This might seem like no big deal, surely you have met with opposing counsel before but this is no ordinary meeting.
- Everything you have done up to now has lead up to this trial and you have better get this meeting right.
- Experienced Palm Beach probate litigators know that if an issue is missing from the report on this conference then the issue is not going to be tried.
- What about all those pleadings you filed with the West Palm Beach probate court?
- Does not matter!
- The pretrial conferences will surpass the pleadings as far as setting out the issues to be tried.
- Under a new case filed in the District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach any prior issues and filing that discuss issues you may find relevant may become irrelevant after this meeting.
- Are you prepared to get it right?
- Check out this case where the appealing party did get it right!
- Do you know what you are stipulating?
Palm Beach Polo Holdings v. Broward Marine et. Al.
- The appellant here claimed that the entire law suit was barred because of the statute of limitations but the trial court stated that they had waived the argument.
- Experienced probate litigators know that it is very easy to waive an argument when you are not actively litigating it before the court.
- The appellants claimed that they had raised the issue in the pretrial conference and that it was recorded in the pretrial stipulations.
- The appeals court noted here the importance of these stipulations and said that any prior disputes about the issues become irrelevant once these are executed.
- Are you prepared for your pretrial conference in West Palm Beach?
Want to learn more about pretrial stipulations?
Check out the entire case by clicking here.