Los Angeles Superior Court Filing Rules

Parties must file and serve any objections to the proposed jury instructions and verdict form, which the Court will rule on at the FSC.

Trial briefs are optional for jury trials and mandatory for bench trials.

Department 510's Trial Preparation Order applies to every case set for trial, and counsel and self-represented parties are expected to jointly prepare and submit the documents and binders it requires.

A party requesting an IDC must file form LACIV 094 including three dates when all parties are available to appear at 1:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

Ex parte relief will be granted only upon an admissible-evidence showing of irreparable harm, immediate danger, or a statutory basis for ex parte relief.

One complete set of all exhibit binders must be lodged by 4 p.m. five court days prior to the FSC.

Ex parte motions must be given to the clerk at 8:30 a.m., Monday through Friday.

Parties must meet and confer at least 14 calendar days before the TSC and jointly file a statement of issues to be tried, a witness list with time estimates, and a discovery status report at least 7 calendar days before the hearing.

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

A party with a fee waiver may request an official court reporter by filing form LASC LACIV 269 at least 10 calendar days before the hearing or trial.

Parties must jointly prepare three sets of tabbed, internally paginated, properly marked exhibits organized numerically in three-ring binders (one each for the witness, courtroom clerk, and Court).

Exhibit binders must be three-ring binders available at the final status conference, with the exhibit list in front, tabs matching exhibit numbers, and internally numbered pages for multi-page exhibits.

Parties must attach copies of the designated or counter-designated transcript pages to the Joint Chart, with numbered tabs separating each deposition or trial transcript.

The Court requests (not strictly mandates) that all electronically filed documents be bookmarked and searchable.

The verdict form submitted to the clerk must be in MS Word format.

Before bringing any discovery motion (including motions to compel), counsel for the parties with full authority must meet and confer in person, by telephone, or by videoconference.

Parties must meet and confer and participate in an Informal Discovery Conference before filing any discovery motion; scheduling an IDC tolls the discovery motion deadline, and motions filed without a prior IDC may be continued.

Motion hearing dates must be reserved in advance via the Court Reservation System (CRS), and motions are heard Monday through Friday.

Parties must check in at 8:30 a.m. (mornings) or 1:30 p.m. (afternoons); ex parte applications are heard at 8:30 a.m. and law-and-motion at 9:00 a.m.

Before filing, parties must obtain and reserve a motion hearing date through the online Court Reservation System (CRS) on the LA Superior Court website.

Parties must reserve motion hearing dates and times online via the Court Reservation System (CRS); motions are heard Monday through Friday.

Represented litigants must electronically file all documents in limited and non-complex unlimited civil matters through an approved Electronic Filing Service Provider.

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

All documents filed in Department S26 must be submitted by mandatory electronic filing.

Electronic filing is mandatory for all documents unless the litigant is self-represented or has an eFiling exemption.

When a deposition reaches a breaking point, the parties may call Dept. 508 at (213) 633-0650 to ask the Court to informally resolve the dispute, but this should be reserved for very rare occasions.

The Department E courtroom can be reached by telephone at (818) 265-6423 during courtroom hours of 8:30 a.m.-Noon and 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Parties must not call the courtroom to schedule motion hearing dates.

IDCs are scheduled by calling the Courtroom or Judicial Assistant at (213) 633-0526; the calling party must have already conferred with the other side and be prepared with at least three dates that work for both sides.

Department 510's courtroom telephone number is (213) 633-0652.

Courtesy copies of ex parte papers must be delivered to the courtroom (Department 508).

Courtesy copies of filed documents are not required unless the Court specifically requests them, except for Informal Discovery Conference Statements and ex parte oppositions.

The Court does not need courtesy copies of filings unless it specifically requests them.

Conformed, printed courtesy copies with tabbed exhibits are required for MSJ/MSA motions, motions for judgment on the pleadings, anti-SLAPP motions to strike, IDC briefs, and ex parte applications, and must be delivered directly to Dept. 309 within a day of e-filing.

No courtesy copies are required for any filings in this department.

Notice of an ex parte application must be given by telephone, in person, electronically (if permitted by the CCP or CRC), by other agreed-upon methods evidenced in writing, or, if time permits, with five days of mail time.

All trial exhibits must be exchanged between the parties no later than 18 calendar days before the Final Status Conference.

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

Ex parte applications must be served by email on all parties who have appeared in the case.

When all parties submit on the tentative ruling, it becomes the order of the Court and the moving party must give notice of the ruling.

Parties should seek timely written extensions of discovery motion deadlines, and such extensions should be granted so an IDC can take place.

Attorneys and parties are expected to grant reasonable requests for extensions of time to respond to pleadings, discovery, or other matters.

The Court accepts stipulations and liberally grants extensions of time to respond.

Trial continuance requests are disfavored and must include a showing of good cause plus a statement from each party that all experts, percipient witnesses, and principals will be available on the proposed trial date.

Parties should cooperate in scheduling IDCs, which ordinarily includes agreeing to extend the deadline to file a discovery motion to allow time for the IDC.

The Court no longer provides court reporters for civil trials except for litigants with a fee waiver who make a timely request.

Self-represented litigants must pay ex parte application fees and submit the ex parte application and all supporting documents to the Judicial Assistant in Department 316.

Jury fees must be paid daily, with the judicial assistant advising of the daily rate.

Motion fees must be paid at the time the motions are scheduled online through CRS.

Jury fees must be paid daily, with a copy of the receipt given to the Judicial Assistant before the commencement of trial each day.

With the MSJ/MSA reply brief, the moving party must lodge indexed, tabbed binders or spiral-bound compilations of all moving, opposing, and reply papers with supporting papers (excluding proofs of service and proposed orders); no additional courtesy copies are needed.

Parties must prepare a tabbed Joint Trial Binder containing trial briefs, operative pleadings, motions in limine (numerical order with oppositions/replies), joint statement of the case, joint witness and exhibit lists, jury instructions, voir dire questions, and separately tabbed verdict forms.

The trial binder must contain all required trial documents (trial briefs, Statement of the Case, and Witness List) placed in the specified order.

Each party filing motions in limine must submit a tabbed book/binder to chambers at the Pre-Trial Conference containing all MIL-related pleadings, or the parties may submit a joint binder.

Parties must submit a hard copy trial binder of the previously e-filed documents, organized under designated tabs A through J, no later than 3 calendar days before the Final Status Conference.

IDC statements are limited to 3 pages if filed separately and 5 pages if filed jointly (which the Court prefers), excluding necessary attachments.

Trial briefs for court trials are limited to 20 pages and must be thorough enough to submit on the paperwork alone.

Opening and responding memorandums are limited to 15 pages and reply and closing memorandums are limited to 10 pages, though parties are admonished to keep briefs concise and need not use the maximum.

The IDC statement must be either a letter to the Court not exceeding 4 pages or the standard form LASC CIV 239 with no extra pages added.

Trial briefs (bench trials) may not exceed 15 pages without prior leave of court.

Unredacted copies of documents filed with the Court must be emailed directly to WCC-Dept6@lacourt.org or delivered on a flash drive to the Courtroom Assistant or Judicial Assistant.

A party seeking protection for information covered by sections 2 or 3 must serve and file a proposed protective order within 5 days and meet and confer on language, with the standard LASC protective order as the default.

A party who believes exchanged discovery information needs protection must serve and file a proposed protective order within 5 days of this order and meet and confer on language, with the standard SCLAC Protective Order applying by default.

A party seeking protection for the ordered discovery information must serve and file a proposed protective order within 5 days of the Order, and the parties must meet and confer on language, with the SCLAC standard Protective Order as the default.

Materials submitted in support of a motion under seal must strictly comply with California Rules of Court Rule 2.551 et seq.

When a junior attorney argues a motion, the Court will permit one senior attorney for the same party to augment the argument if needed and will allocate more hearing time.

Department 410 encourages junior/associate attorneys to argue or question witnesses, and when they do, one senior attorney for the same party may augment the argument or questioning.

The Court strongly encourages law firms and governmental agencies to give less experienced attorneys the opportunity to argue motions and to have an important role at trial.

Junior attorneys are encouraged to argue hearings; when one argues, a senior attorney may augment and the Court will allow extra argument time (no specific experience threshold is defined in the order).

The Court encourages (but does not require) senior lawyers to let junior lawyers who substantially drafted motion papers or prepared trial examinations argue and examine witnesses.