Riverside Superior Court Filing Rules

A request for judicial notice must identify the case name and number, the document name, and date filed, and should not attach a second copy of the existing document.

A jury-trial statement of the case must be neutral and non-argumentative, state basic uncontested facts and each party's contentions, generally not exceed four or five sentences, and use plain English.

In cases with multiple separately represented defendants, defense must advise the Court in writing of which counsel will take the lead in examining witnesses.

Fee-waived parties in unlimited civil cases may request an official court reporter by submitting form FW-020 at least 10 calendar days before the hearing.

In unlimited civil proceedings, a fee-waiver party may request an official court reporter by submitting Judicial Council form FW-020 at least 10 calendar days before a trial or hearing; the court may shorten or waive the 10-day requirement for good cause.

Untimely requests for a court reporter in law and motion matters will not be considered unless the motion is scheduled on fewer than 5 days' notice or there are extenuating circumstances.

The final verdict form must be emailed to the Court at dept5@riverside.courts.ca.gov under the same requirements as jury instructions (by 12:00 p.m. the day before closing argument), except no index is required.

Counsel must appear telephonically at motion hearings.

A written response to any OSC must be filed at least five court days in advance of the hearing.

If no timely request for oral argument is made, tentative rulings become final on the hearing date and the matter is taken off calendar.

Counsel must comply with California Rules of Court rule 3.110 regarding service of process and entry of default.

Parties seeking ex parte relief must email the application and supporting documents to opposing counsel by 4:00 p.m. the day before the hearing.

Plaintiff's counsel must serve all defendants and file proofs of service within 60 days of filing the complaint.

Notice of an ex parte hearing must be provided by 10:00 a.m. on the preceding court day.

All visual aids intended for use in opening or closing must be shared with the opposing side, with objections handled outside the jury's presence.

Counsel must not call the Department 1 clerk to confirm docket information.

Parties must check in with the courtroom clerk by 8:15 a.m. (or call between 8:00-8:15 a.m. if remote) for the 8:30 a.m. calendar.

When ordered to provide documentation to the Court via email, counsel must email the courtroom assistant at DeptPS2@riverside.courts.ca.gov with a copy to all counsel, and messages must be limited to information related to the request.

When ordered to provide documentation to the court via email, counsel must email the courtroom assistant at DeptPS4@riverside.courts.ca.gov, copy all counsel, and keep the message limited to information related to the request.

A party requesting oral argument must notify the Judicial Secretary by phone and inform all other parties by 4:30 p.m. on the preceding court day.

Failure to complete discovery or trial preparation is a good cause for a continuance only if the party was reasonably diligent.

Requests for a second call or later appearance require good cause and actual communication with opposing counsel (telephone conversation or email/text response), and must be requested at check-in by 9:00 a.m.; leaving a voicemail does not count.

Requests to excuse attendance at the MSC must be presented at least 10 days before the MSC, supported by a declaration with specified content, and served on all parties.

Requests to excuse an attorney, party, or insurance claims professional from appearing at the MSC must be presented at least 10 days before, supported by a declaration, and served on all parties.

Trial continuance requests must be by noticed motion (stipulations require good cause), may be made by ex parte application only in exigent circumstances, and are not considered on the day of trial.

An informal discovery conference request must be jointly submitted by all counsel and must include the specific disputed discovery issues, a meet-and-confer explanation, and contact information for participating counsel.

Requests to shorten time or advance a hearing date are considered only after the underlying motion is filed, a hearing date is reserved or set, and the fee is paid or waived.

Motions in limine may be brought only when the parties dispute the subject of the motion.

Parties must meet and confer before filing a motion in limine; the Court will not consider motions in limine absent an indication of a meet and confer.

Before pursuing a discovery motion, parties must meet and confer and, if unresolved, request an IDC; a joint brief of no more than three pages is due three court days before the IDC, and failure to first seek an IDC may result in denial of sanctions.

Remote participants must use the Zoom download/PC/laptop/tablet with a video camera and fast internet instead of the web-based version of the program.

All approved visual aids must be pre-marked for identification.

Each page of each exhibit must bear a unique and consecutive page number.

Trial exhibits must be BATES stamped in sequential order; plaintiff exhibits are numbered 1-100 and defendant exhibits 101-200.

Trial related documents must be provided in both hard copy and digital format.

Parties must deposit non-refundable $150 jury fees per Code of Civil Procedure section 631, or forfeit the right to a jury trial.

Jury fees must be deposited on or before the initial CMC date even if the CMC is vacated or continued; failure forfeits the right to a jury trial.

The Court will only consider a request to shorten time or advance a hearing date if the motion is filed with the Clerk's Office, a hearing date is on calendar, and the filing fee is paid or waived.

A request to shorten time for notice or advance a hearing date requires the motion to be filed, a hearing date on calendar, and the filing fee paid (or fee waiver obtained).

A request to shorten notice or advance a hearing date will be considered only after the motion is filed, a hearing date is set, and the appropriate fee is paid or waived.

The explanation of past efforts to resolve the case in a Voluntary Settlement Conference joint request is limited to 2 pages.

Trial briefs must not exceed 15 pages, inclusive of attachments.

Trial briefs are limited to 20 pages, inclusive of attachments.

The parties must file a joint IDC brief of no more than three pages at least three court days before the conference.

The joint IDC brief is limited to 3 pages.

When more than five motions in limine are filed collectively, the parties must submit a hard copy of the motions in a binder with the joint documents required under Rule C.

Unless there are less than 10 exhibits, all documentary exhibits and photographs (8 ½” x 12” or smaller) should be placed in a loose-leaf notebook with numbered dividers corresponding to the exhibit number.

Counsel need not lodge copies of out-of-state authorities unless the authority is unavailable on Lexis or Westlaw.

Parties must deliver one tabbed binder containing all joint trial documents to Department PS2 before the matter is called; trial documents are not to be filed separately.

A trial binder in the format available on the Court’s website must be delivered to Department M302 by 9:00 a.m. on the trial date.

A party intending to read from a deposition transcript must lodge the original transcript with the court on the first day of trial.

When trial documents are filed, parties must deliver five tabbed binders containing exhibits to Department PS4.

The listed joint pretrial documents must be filed in person with the Menifee Clerk by 9:00 a.m. on the trial date, and a website-format trial binder must be delivered to Department M302 by then.