Court Rules

Court-wide rules

Applies court-wide

These 188 rules apply across Los Angeles Superior Court. Where this judge's own standing orders above address the same topic, the judge's requirement controls.

Filing Requirements

All 60
  • Applies to
    Joint isc statement

    Upon assignment to Department 11, an ISC Order stays all proceedings and the parties must submit a joint ISC statement as directed in that Order.

  • Applies to
    Joint status conference statement

    The parties must file a joint statement outlining recent progress in the case before every status conference.

  • Applies to
    Bulletin board posting

    Parties must make joint bulletin board postings rather than unilateral postings, which are treated as prohibited ex parte communications.

Filing Timing

All 28
  • Deadline
    5 business days

    The joint status conference statement must be filed at least five court days before every status conference.

  • The Court's order scheduling an IDC stays any deadline to file a motion to compel under CCP 2016.080(c)(2).

  • The Court cannot shorten the notice period for summary judgment/adjudication motions, though it may hear such motions fewer than 30 days before trial.

Communication

All 20
  • Contact
    Phone to chambers
    Phone
    (213) 310-7011

    To reserve a hearing date for a motion, a party must telephone the Courtroom Assistant at (213) 310-7011.

  • Contact
    Phone to chambers

    The moving party must notify the Court as early as possible that a matter will go off calendar under CRC 3.1306(b), by posting the announcement on the e-service bulletin board and telephoning the courtroom.

  • Contact
    Phone

    Parties at an impasse during a deposition may telephone the courtroom at (213) 310-7011 to arrange an immediate conference call with the Court.

Pre-Motion Conferences

All 18
  • For discovery disputes (other than deposition impasses), parties may request an informal conference by making a joint posting on the e-service bulletin board.

  • Before preparing an ex parte application for emergency relief, parties must post a joint request for an informal conference on the e-service bulletin board and contact courtroom staff to obtain a time and date.

  • Parties must meet and confer twice by telephone or video before requesting an IDC, and are expected to extend motion-to-compel deadlines to accommodate the process.

About Judge William A. Crowfoot

Judge William A. Crowfoot is a judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, serving in the district. The court is the state trial court serving Los Angeles County.

Judge Crowfoot's procedures are published through the court's general rules.

Common questions about Judge William A. Crowfoot's rules

Are courtesy copies required for Judge William A. Crowfoot?

Courtesy-copy rule applies for exhibits. Details: 1 copy, delivery at final status conference, by hand delivery. One set of the Exhibit Binders must be brought to the Final Status Conference for the court to review.

View ruleSource: page 18, section Exhibit Binders

Does Judge William A. Crowfoot require a pre-motion conference or letter before filing a motion?

Judge William A. Crowfoot's rules set a pre-motion procedure for covered motions. All motion hearing dates must be reserved in advance via the Court Reservation System (CRS) at www.lacourt.ca.gov.

View ruleSource: page 2, section E. MOTIONS

What formatting rules apply to filings before Judge William A. Crowfoot?

Judge William A. Crowfoot's formatting rule includes binding tabbed 3-ring, one-sided, conformed copies of all motions in limine, opposition papers, and reply papers, tabbed in numerical order, opposition and reply papers placed directly behind the moving papers, and tab separating the moving, opposition, and reply papers.

View ruleSource: page 17, section Motions in Limine

What must be included with declaration re unserved defendants filings before Judge William A. Crowfoot?

The rule identifies required filing content or certificates. If any defendant has not been served, plaintiff or plaintiff's counsel must submit a declaration to the Court five days prior to the Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.110 deadline.

View ruleSource: page 2, section B. CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES

What must be included with case management conference statement filings before Judge William A. Crowfoot?

The rule identifies required filing content or certificates. Parties must comply with California Rules of Court rule 3.722 et seq. and Local Rule 3.25 in connection with case management conferences (held Monday through Friday at 8:30 a.m.).

View ruleSource: page 1, section B. CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES

How may parties contact Judge William A. Crowfoot's chambers?

Inquiries may be directed to Court staff every court day only between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. or between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

View ruleSource: page 1, section Courtroom Information

How do I request an adjournment or extension before Judge William A. Crowfoot?

Advance notice is not fully stated in the structured details. Scheduling an IDC is not a prerequisite to filing a discovery motion and does not toll its deadline, and the Court expects the responding party to grant a reasonable extension of time to file the discovery motion so the IDC can be scheduled and conducted.

View ruleSource: page 4, section I. DISCOVERY ISSUES/IDCs/SONG-BEVERLY CASES

Does Judge William A. Crowfoot require motion papers to be bundled?

Yes. Judge William A. Crowfoot requires bundling for covered papers. Parties must jointly prepare a Motions in Limine Binder bundling all MIL moving, opposition, and reply papers and lodge it in Department 3 at least five court days before the Final Status Conference.

View ruleSource: page 17, section Motions in Limine

Is electronic filing required before Judge William A. Crowfoot?

Yes. Electronic filing is required for the covered filings. All filings must be electronically filed unless the filer is a self-represented litigant or otherwise exempted from mandatory e-filing.

View ruleSource: page 2, section E. MOTIONS

Are filing fees or waivers addressed before Judge William A. Crowfoot?

A fee is required for covered filings. Ex parte applicants must pay the filing fee before appearing in court.

View ruleSource: page 3

When is a filing treated as filed before Judge William A. Crowfoot?

The rule states a 9:00 AM filing cutoff. Ex parte applications are heard at 9:00 a.m., Monday through Friday.

View ruleSource: page 3

What rule applies to service for complaint before Judge William A. Crowfoot?

The rule addresses service method, recipient, or timing requirements. Details: recipient: the opposing party. All defendants must be served with the complaint no later than the case management conference.

View ruleSource: page 1, section B. CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES
Complete rules summary for Judge William A. Crowfoot

All defendants must be served with the complaint no later than the case management conference.

If any defendant has not been served, plaintiff or plaintiff's counsel must submit a declaration to the Court five days prior to the Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.110 deadline.

Parties must comply with California Rules of Court rule 3.722 et seq. and Local Rule 3.25 in connection with case management conferences (held Monday through Friday at 8:30 a.m.).

When ordered after the CMC, parties must file a joint statement on mediation/settlement efforts and a discovery plan, and failure to timely file it triggers an order to show cause for sanctions.

All motion hearing dates must be reserved in advance via the Court Reservation System (CRS) at www.lacourt.ca.gov.

Motions are heard Monday through Friday, and motions in limine are heard at the Final Status Conference rather than on regular motion dates.

All filings must be electronically filed unless the filer is a self-represented litigant or otherwise exempted from mandatory e-filing.

Parties planning summary judgment/adjudication motions should expedite discovery and reserve hearing dates early, because CRS reservation slots are limited and hearing dates may be unavailable within 30 days of trial.

Ex parte applications are heard at 9:00 a.m., Monday through Friday.

Ex parte applicants must comply with CRC rules 3.1200-3.1207 and submit a proposed order before appearing in court.

Ex parte applicants must pay the filing fee before appearing in court.

Ex parte applications, supporting documents, and written oppositions must be electronically filed, except for self-represented litigants and others excused from e-filing.

Ex parte applications and all supporting documents must be e-filed no later than 10:00 a.m. the day before the ex parte hearing.

Written opposition to an ex parte application must be e-filed by 8:30 a.m. on the day of the ex parte hearing.

Opposing parties should file ex parte oppositions early and deliver a courtesy copy to the Court, since an opposition filed at 8:30 a.m. on the hearing date is unlikely to be seen before the hearing.

In trials conducted without a court reporter, the parties must prepare a joint settled statement at the end of each trial day to be filed with the Court before the next day of trial.

Counsel and self-represented parties must first meet and confer in a reasonable, good faith attempt to informally resolve each discovery dispute before pursuing discovery motions, and an exchange of position-taking emails alone is not ordinarily sufficient.

An IDC request must be made by joint stipulation that briefly summarizes the discovery at issue and explains the parties' meet-and-confer efforts beyond the exchange of correspondence.

An IDC request must include a proposed order, with a blank for the Court to set the date and time of the IDC.

Scheduling an IDC is not a prerequisite to filing a discovery motion and does not toll its deadline, and the Court expects the responding party to grant a reasonable extension of time to file the discovery motion so the IDC can be scheduled and conducted.

After the Court schedules an IDC, the parties must file their IDC submissions not less than 5 court days before the IDC (the documents to be filed are cut off in this excerpt).

The Joint Statement must use a four-column format: discovery request number, full text of the request, text of the response, and each party's brief bullet-point argument on compelling a further response.

Failure to timely file the required Joint Statement will cause the informal discovery conference to be taken off calendar.

Counsel and any self-represented parties with full authority to stipulate must participate in the informal discovery conference.

Counsel for the parties must appear in person in court for the informal discovery conference.

The Court generally does not conduct IDCs in Song-Beverly Warranty Act cases, though parties may still request one and explain why it would be useful.

Producing parties may serve discovery information on the opposing party electronically as a PDF at their option.

Both plaintiff and defendant must serve verification together with the documents they produce in discovery.

Counsel and self-represented parties are expected to jointly prepare and timely submit the trial document binders.

Trial document binders and motion in limine binders must be delivered to Department 3 no later than 4:00 p.m. at least 5 court days before the Final Status Conference.

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