Florida Administrative Code › 61 - DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION › 61B - Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes › Chapter 61B-45 - THE MANDATORY NON-BINDING ARBITRATION RULES OF PROCEDURE › Section 61B-45.004 - Who May Appear; Criteria for Other Qualified Representatives; Standards of Conduct

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) Any person who
				appears before any arbitrator has the right, at that person's own expense, to
				be accompanied, represented and advised by a member of the Florida Bar or by a
				qualified representative who does not need to be an attorney, but who shall
				demonstrate his or her familiarity with and understanding of the arbitration
				rules of procedure, and with any relevant portions of Chapter 718 or 719, F.S.,
				and the rules promulgated by the Division.
(2) If a person wishes to be represented by a
				qualified non-attorney representative, he or she shall file with the arbitrator
				a completed DBPR form ARB96-002, QUALIFIED REPRESENTATIVE APPLICATION,
				incorporated in subsection
				61B-45.001(3),
				Florida Administration Code. Based on the information provided on the completed
				form, and based on the responses to any inquiries made by the arbitrator
				concerning the applicant's familiarity and understanding of the statute and
				rules applicable to the proceeding, the arbitrator shall determine whether the
				prospective representative is authorized and qualified to appear in the
				arbitration proceedings and capable of representing the rights and interests of
				the person.
(3) Members of The
				Florida Bar and certified law students are bound by a broad code of ethics. For
				other qualified representatives, the following standards have been written.
				These standards of conduct are adopted as a mandatory guide for all
				representatives appearing in any arbitration proceeding, except counsel subject
				to the disciplinary procedures of The Florida Bar.
(4) Standards of Conduct.
(a) A representative shall exercise due
				diligence in the filing and argument of any motion or pleading to ensure that
				the motion or pleading is filed and argued in good faith.
(b) The signature of a representative upon
				any motion or pleading shall constitute a certificate that the representative
				has read the motion or pleading, that to the best of the representative's
				knowledge it is supported by good grounds and that it has not been presented
				solely for delay.
(c) A
				representative shall advise the client to observe and to obey the
				law.
(d) A representative shall
				not:
1. Engage in conduct involving
				dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; or engage in conduct that is
				prejudicial to the administration of the arbitration process;
2. File a pleading, assert a position,
				conduct a defense, delay an arbitration proceeding or take other action on
				behalf of the client when such action would serve merely to harass or
				maliciously injure another;
3.
				Handle a legal or factual matter which the representative knows or should know
				that the representative is not competent to handle without associating an
				attorney or another qualified representative; or handle a legal or factual
				matter without adequate preparation;
4. State or imply that he or she is able to
				improperly influence the arbitrator or any agency or public official;
5. Communicate or cause another to
				communicate with an adverse party regarding matters at issue in the arbitration
				proceeding where the representative knows that the adverse party is represented
				by an attorney or other qualified representative;
6. Disregard or advise the client to
				disregard a rule or statute of an agency or a ruling of an arbitrator made in
				the course of an arbitration proceeding;
7. Conceal or knowingly fail to disclose that
				which one is bound to reveal by law;
8. Knowingly use perjured testimony or false
				evidence, or suppress any evidence that the representative or the client should
				produce;
9. Knowingly make a false
				statement of law or fact;
10.
				Advise or cause a person to secrete himself or leave the jurisdiction of any
				agency for the purpose of making the person unavailable as a witness therein;
				pay, offer to pay or acquiesce in the payment of compensation to a witness
				contingent upon the content of the witness' testimony or the outcome of the
				case; counsel or advise a witness to provide other than honest
				testimony.