Department 2102 Policies and Procedures – Honorable Todd F. Stevens

6e0d804b49cad1dbee915068777fde0c8dc5249d

California Superior Local Rules

Case Management Conferences (CMCs): Parties and counsel must comply with California Rules of Court and San Diego Superior Court Local Rules, including the requirements that the parties meet and confer prior to the CMC and file a Case Management Statement. (California Rules of Court, Rule 3.724 and 3.725.) 3. Ex Parte Matters: Ex parte appearances are by reservation only on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. Reservations are made by contacting the calendar clerk by phone. Ex-parte papers must be filed by noon the day before the hearing, with the appropriate fee.

All ex-parte applications must comply with the California Rules of Court, Rules 3.12003.1270. Courtesy copies of all filed ex-parte papers must be delivered directly to Department 2102 by noon the day before the hearing. No appearance is required if all parties stipulate to the requested relief. 4. Law and Motion Matters: Motions are heard on Fridays at 9:00 a.m. by reservation only. Reservations may be made by calling the calendar clerk. Tentative rulings will generally be posted on the San Diego Superior Court website (www.sdcourt.ca.gov) no later than 4:00 p.m. the court day before the hearing date.

The tentative ruling may be obtained through the court’s website and clicking on the Civil tab, or by telephoning the calendar clerk. No notice of intent to appear is required to appear for oral argument regardless of when the tentative ruling is issued. If no one appears for a

hearing for which a tentative ruling has issued and the court has not been notified that all parties submit on the tentative ruling, the court may take the matter off calendar or order the tentative ruling to become the final ruling. The court may also make a different order at the hearing. Unless otherwise stated at the hearing, the minute order is the final order of the court. (See San Diego Superior Court rule 2.1.19.) 5. Informal Discovery/Pleading Conferences: The court welcomes informal discovery conferences and/or informal pleading conferences to discuss discovery or pleading disputes.

Conferences may be scheduled by calling the calendar clerk. Before reserving an informal conference, the parties must actually discuss the dispute with each other (an email or letter is insufficient). 6. Taking Motions Off Calendar: The moving party must promptly call the calendar clerk if a motion will not be heard on the scheduled date. A written notice requesting the clerk remove the matter from the court's calendar is insufficient. Failure to call the court shall be deemed a violation of the local rules and may result in an order to show cause re: sanctions under Code of Civil Procedure

section 177.5 and/or Code of Civil Procedure

section 575.2. 7. Trial Readiness Conferences: Trial Readiness Conferences (TRCs) are generally held on Fridays at 10:30 a.m. Parties and counsel are reminded to review San Diego Superior Court Local Rule 2.1.15 in preparation for the TRC, including the requirement that the parties meet and confer prior to the TRC to try to resolve the case. If the case is not resolved, a completed Joint Trial Readiness Conference Report shall be filed five (5) days before the scheduled TRC. If a joint TRC report is not timely filed and the matter has not fully resolved, trial counsel must appear in person at the TRC. 8.

Remote Appearances: The department follows San Diego Superior Court Local Rules for remote appearances. See the Court’s website for up-to-date information about how to appear remotely.

9. Settlement Conferences: Settlement briefs are to be submitted to the settlement judge at least five court days prior to the settlement conference. JURY TRIAL REQUIREMENTS No later than five (5) court days before trial, the parties must address the following items: a. Stipulations: All stipulations other than as to expert witness qualifications shall be in writing. b. Exhibits: All exhibits shall be pre-marked with pages numbered. Except for true impeachment evidence, exhibits not included in the Joint Trial Readiness Conference Report and provided to the opposing party are subject to exclusion. c.

Witnesses: Witnesses not listed in the parties' Joint Trial Readiness Conference Report are subject to exclusion at trial. Parties are urged to cooperate in resolving witness scheduling issues. d. Trial Briefs: Trial briefs shall be filed and served at least five (5) court days before Trial Call. e. Depositions: A party wishing to use a deposition in place of live testimony must submit the excerpts to be used to opposing counsel no later than five court days before trial call. The party offering the deposition testimony is responsible for providing clean copies of the excerpts.

Counsel should make a good faith attempt to resolve objections. If not resolved, the excerpts, with objections marked and note, must be provided to the Court at trial call. If the parties intend to use videotaped depositions in which objections were interposed, they must be able to edit the videotape as a result of the rulings on the objections. Parties must provide the Court with the original transcripts of all depositions which may be used at trial, along with a list of any changes made by the deponent, on the first day of trial.

f. Audio or Video Recordings: Any party intending to offer an audio or video recording as evidence at trial shall prepare a transcript of the recording and provide a copy to the opposing party no later than the pretrial meeting, indicating the portions of the recording sought to be introduced. The parties shall attempt to reach an agreement regarding the admissibility and use of the recording. g. Voir Dire [jury trials only]: If any party is requesting that the Court pose specific questions to prospective jurors, they must submit the proposed questions to the Court at Trial Call.

Requests for Juror Questionnaires must comply with Local Rule 2.1.17. h. Statement of the Case [jury trials only]: Unless a mini-opening has been requested, the Court will read to prospective jurors a brief nonargumentative joint statement of the factual nature of the case, including a brief

summary of alleged damages. i. Jury Instructions and Verdict Forms [jury trials only]: See Local Rule 2.1.16. Parties shall prepare a joint set of jury instructions in the order they are to be given, with all blanks filled in and inapplicable bracketed material deleted. The instructions shall be tabbed, indicating, if appropriate, who is proposing the instruction and who is objecting. Parties shall attempt to agree on a Special Verdict Form. The Verdict Form should follow CACI and include all causes of action and all parties.

If counsel are unable to agree, each side may submit a proposed Verdict Form at Trial Call, highlighting the items in dispute. Failure to agree on a Special Verdict Form may delay the calling of a jury panel or a General Verdict may be given. j. Motions in Limine (“MIL”): MILs must be filed and served in accordance with California Rules of Court, at least five (5) court days before Trial Call. Opposition(

s) must be filed and served at least two (2) court days before Trial Call. Parties must bring a trial notebook, containing all MILs and oppositions, to Trial Call. Local Rule 2.1.18 deems certain motions granted at the time of the TRC. Do not submit an MIL on those issues.

Document details

Collection	California Superior Local Rules
Citation	6e0d804b49cad1dbee915068777fde0c8dc5249d
Type	court_rule
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	CA_LOCAL
Identifier	6e0d804b49cad1dbee915068777fde0c8dc5249d

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (pdf).