Los Angeles Superior Court Filing Rules

Pleadings must identify the JCCP Coordination Proceeding No. 5378.

Law and motion evidence must be by declaration or request for judicial notice (unless the Court orders otherwise for good cause), and oral testimony requires court permission supported by a statement filed under CRC 3.1306.

Department 407 has a Final Status Conference Order that is filed in every case set for trial. A copy of the Order is attached. The Court expects counsel and self-represented litigants to work together to prepare and submit jointly the binders required by the Order.

Ex parte applications must comply with California Rules of Court, rules 3.1200-3.1207.

Parties agreeing to use a settlement program that requires a court order must file a proposed stipulation and order.

Fee-waiver parties may request an official court reporter by filing form LASC LACIV 269 at least 10 calendar days before the hearing or trial.

Ex parte applications must be electronically filed by 10:00 a.m. on the day before the hearing.

Ex parte applications must be electronically filed by 10:00 a.m. on the day before the hearing.

Ex parte applications must be electronically filed by 10:00 a.m. on the court day prior to the hearing.

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

E-filed documents must be in PDF, text searchable format when technologically feasible without impairment of the document's image.

Courtesy copies must comply with CRC 3.1110(f): each exhibit must be separated by a tab extending below the bottom of the page bearing the exhibit designation, and noncompliance may result in the hearing being continued or the exhibits not being considered.

All electronically filed documents must be text searchable and bookmarked.

The Court requests that all electronically filed documents be bookmarked and searchable.

E-filed documents must be submitted in PDF text-searchable format when technologically feasible without impairment of the document's image.

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

If an ex parte application pertains to a law and motion matter, the underlying motion must be reserved in the Court Reservation System (or E-Court) before the ex parte is filed.

A hearing date must be reserved through E-Court for every motion, except motions to compel further which require an Informal Discovery Conference first.

In connection with motions to compel further discovery, the parties are ordered to comply with the Court's Informal Discovery Conference Order.

Parties should meet and confer before filing any motion and avoid filing motions designed to delay the proceedings or filed solely for tactical reasons.

Self-represented litigants may file judgments, orders, and stipulations directly in the courtroom, provided they include self-addressed stamped envelopes and copies to conform.

Self-represented litigants are exempt from mandatory electronic filing and are not required to e-file.

Self-represented litigants are exempt from mandatory electronic filing requirements.

Self-represented parties may deliver physical copies of ex parte papers to the Clerk's Office by 8:30 a.m. on the hearing day instead of e-filing.

Ex parte applications generally must be filed electronically by 10:00 am on the court day prior to the ex parte hearing.

Department 511 can be contacted by phone at (213) 633-0351/0350 or email at smcdept511@lacourt.ca.gov, with courtroom hours Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.

Department 224's courtroom telephone number is (213) 633-0253, and the courtroom is open 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m., closed during the lunch hour.

Judicial Assistants in Department 27 do not respond to phone calls before 10:30 a.m. unless the call concerns a matter on calendar that morning, and the best time to call is after 3:00 p.m.

Department E's courtroom email address is tordepte@lacourt.ca.gov.

Department 300's contact email address is SMCDept300@lacourt.ca.gov.

For any e-filed document submitted two or fewer days before the hearing, a printed courtesy copy must be delivered to the courtroom by 4:30 p.m. the same business day, or by 10:00 a.m. the next business day if e-filed after 4:30 p.m.

Any other motion whose points and authorities and accompanying supporting materials exceed 35 pages requires lodging courtesy copies with the court, and failure to do so may result in the motion being taken off calendar.

Courtesy copies are required for documents required by a standing or general order, pleadings and motions with points and authorities, demurrers, anti-SLAPP filings, MSJ/MSA motions, motions to compel further discovery, related oppositions/replies, and all trial documents.

Courtesy copies of ex-parte papers and any opposition must be provided to Department 307.

No courtesy copies are required except for Motions in Limine.

FSX shall designate a unique case number to be designated the ‘all counsel’ service list and maintain a service list including all counsel involved in the JCCP 5378 proceedings. This list should be updated regularly by FSX by combing the service lists for all individual cases active on FSX.

All defendants must be served with the complaint by the case management conference.

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

Counsel must appear at every status conference concerning proofs of service in Lemon Law and Motor Vehicle Personal Injury cases.

All defendants must be served with the complaint by the time of the Case Management Conference.

Continuances may only be sought by written ex parte application, noticed motion, or oral request, and no continuance request or stipulation is effective until the court grants it.

The Court presumes readiness for trial on the first trial date and will continue the trial only upon a showing of good cause.

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.

Requests for continuances of hearings or trials will be considered upon written stipulation ahd order. A stipulation and order shall state the date the complaint was filed, the proposed continuance date(s), grounds showing good cause for the continuance, and be submitted with payment of the stipulation and order and first appearance fee of all parties to the stipulation.

Parties are expected to grant reasonable requests for extensions of time for deadlines to respond to pleadings, discovery, or other matters.

Motion fees must be paid at the time the hearing reservation is made online.

A filing fee is required for trial continuance requests.

Self-represented parties must pay any applicable filing fee when filing ex parte papers unless they have a fee waiver.

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

Any applicable filing fee for ex parte papers must be paid at the filing window in Room 102 unless the party has a fee waiver.

Parties must jointly prepare four sets of tabbed, paginated, properly marked exhibits in three-ring binders, with one-sided documentary copies and written descriptions behind the tabs for non-documentary exhibits.

Trial briefs are optional; if no trial briefs are filed, Tab A of the trial preparation binder is left empty.

Parties filing motions in limine must also submit a 3-ring binder notebook containing all motions in limine, oppositions, and replies.

Proposed orders must not be included in the Motions in Limine Binder.

All motions in limine briefing must be assembled in tabbed three-ring binders (moving papers, opposition, and reply behind a tab per motion) and delivered to the Court at least 5 court days before the FSC.

Trial briefs are mandatory for bench trials and should not exceed 25 pages, excluding the table of contents, table of authorities, and exhibits.

The responding party's responsive IDC memorandum may be no more than three pages.

The IDC memorandum setting forth the outstanding issues must not exceed three pages.

Motions in limine must not exceed five pages without leave of court.

IDC statements are limited to no more than 5 pages.

Testimony designated for protection before the deposition concludes may have more specific protected portions identified within 30 days after receipt of the deposition transcript.

The court must be persuaded there is a legal justification for sealing, and any sealing order must be narrowly tailored to only information protected by privacy rights, trade secrets law, or other applicable protections.

Conditionally sealed documents must be emailed unredacted directly to Department E's email address (tordepte@lacourt.ca.gov) for review.

A party who believes the information disclosed under this Order should be protected must serve and file a proposed protective order within 5 days of the Order, the parties must meet and confer on agreeable language, and the default is the standard LASC Protective Order from its website.

The Court generally will not rule on a CRC 3.770 dismissal request until presented with a fully executed unredacted settlement agreement, which may be filed conditionally under seal with an application for a sealing order under CRC 2.500.

The Court strongly encourages firms and agencies to let less experienced attorneys argue motions and take key trial roles.

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.

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.

The Court strongly encourages law firms and governmental agencies to give less experienced attorneys opportunities to argue motions and play important roles 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).