Department Policies and Procedures - Honorable William Y. Wood North County Revised September 4, 2025 Honorable William Y. Wood, Presiding Courtroom Staff: Courtroom Clerk: (760) 201-8029 Calendar Clerk: Research Attorney: Mejkan Tague (760) 201-8703 Compliance with the California Rules of Court and Local Rules: Department follows the California Rules of Court and the San Diego Superior Court Local Rules. In the event of any potential conflict between those rules and Department 29’s practices and procedures, the Court will modify its practices and procedures to comply with the applicable rules.

Case Management Conferences: Case Management Conferences are conducted on Friday mornings at 9:00 am. The parties are expected to file and serve a Case Management Statement in compliance with Rule 3.725 of the California Rules of Court. Parties and counsel are encouraged to review Rules 3.720 thru 3.735 in preparation for the Case Management Conference. Continuances: Stipulated requests to continue any applicable dates and deadlines may be made by written stipulation. Please provide a proposed order with any stipulation.

Disputed requests for continuances should be made by way of a noticed motion or an ex parte applic ation. Please review Rules 3.1200 thru 3.1207 in connection with any ex parte application. Please review Rule 3.1332 in connection with any request for a trial continuance. Default Prove-up Hearings: Where authorized by law, plaintiff may request entry of a default judgment by written declaration. Plaintiff should submit a proposed judgment in connection with any request for entry of a default judgment. If a default prove - up hearing is necessary, the Court will

schedule a hearing. Ex Parte Matters: Please review Rules 3.1200 thru 3.1207 before scheduling an ex parte matter. The Court follows these rules, and frequently denies ex parte applications that do not comply with the rules. A hearing date and time for an ex parte application may be obtained by contacting the calendar clerk. Ex parte applications are heard on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. Please provide courtesy copies of all ex parte papers to Department as soon as reasonably possible.

The Court may need to continue any ex parte application if the moving papers are not supplied to Department by 11:00 a.m. on the day before the scheduled hearing. Law and Motion Matters: Motions are heard on Fridays at 1:30 p.m. by reservation only. Please reserve a hearing date using the on-line hearing reservation system or by calling the calendar clerk to reserve a hearing date. A tentative ruling will usually b e posted on the San Diego Superior Court website before the hearing.

The Court will not post a tentative ruling if the Court has not completed its analysis of the motion in time to post a tentative ruling or if other circumstances make it impractical or imprudent to post a tentative ruling. Settlement Conferences: Settlement conferences are conducted by other judges in the North County Courthouse. There are a very limited number of settlement conference “slots” available. There are not enough “slots” to conduct a settlement conference in every case. Therefore, Judg e Wood encourages parties to participate in mediation whenever reasonably possible.

In cases where a settlement conference is scheduled, the parties are requested to refrain from attempting to change the date of the settlement conference if reasonably poss ible. Last-minute changes to settlement conference dates often result in having one of the limited number of settlement conference “slots” go unused. Please refer to, and follow, the Local Rules pertaining to Settlement Conferences. Telephonic appearances: Department follows the applicable rules in the California Rules of Court pertaining to telephonic appearances.

Trial Readiness Conferences: Trial Readiness Conferences are scheduled on Fridays at 10:00 a.m. Personal appearance in Department is mandatory by trial counsel or counsel familiar with the case . Please review and follow the Local Rules. A Trial Readiness Conference will be conducted in court trials and jury trials. Trial Dates: Jury trials are scheduled Fridays at 8:30 a.m. Bench trials are scheduled on Fridays at 8:30 a.m. Generally, the trial will begin the following Monday.

At the trial call for jury trials, the parties shall provide the following materials: (1) the verdict form(s), in final format, so that the fo rm(

s) can be photocopied and given to the jury; (2) the jury instructions, in final format, so that the instructions can be photocopied and given to jury; (3) the exhibit list, in the format identified in the Local Rules; (4) a list of witnesses expected to be called at trial, in a format that is suitable for photocopying to give to prospective jurors; and (5) a statement of the case to be read to prospective jurors. Additionally, counsel must provide a joint trial notebook and an in limine motion notebook, tabbed by motion and including objections.

A meaningful meet and confer process is required before filing any in limine motion. Trials: Department is normally in session for trials on Monday thru Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. If a case has gone to the jury and the jury is deliberating, the Court will usually ask the jurors to continue thei r deliberations on Fridays. In order to make the best use of the jurors’ time, the Court asks that every party take all reasonable steps to have witnesses available so that there is no time during a jury trial when a party runs out of witnesses.

Jurors expect the Court and the parties to be respectful of the value of the jurors’ time. Dept. 29 - ADVANCE TRIAL REVIEW CONFERENCE