Tulare Superior Court Pre-Motion Conference Requirements

Settlement conferences are mandatory except for trials de novo in small-claims cases.

Settlement conferences are mandatory in every case except trials de novo in small claims cases.

Interested parties or representatives authorized to bind them must attend the settlement conference, and an authorized insurance representative with full settlement authority must attend when carrier consent is required.

Since any settlement requires the consent of all the interested parties, all interested parties or their representatives with authority to bind the parties must be present in the courtroom. In those cases which require consent of an insurance carrier to arrive at a settlement, an authorized claims or insurance representative of the carrier, who is fully familiar with the case and who has full authority to settle the case, must also be present in the courtroom.

A party seeking a post-separation, pre-trial valuation date must comply with Family Code notice requirements and obtain a hearing on the motion before the settlement conference.

(i) Any party contending that community property or quasi-community property of the parties should be valued at a date after separation and before the trial must comply strictly with the provisions of Family Code sections 2550-2552 with respect to notice to the other party. Such motion must have been made and heard before the date of the settlement conference.

The judge may excuse an insurance carrier's representative only upon a prior written application showing that the carrier has no California representative and that a fully authorized representative will be available by telephone during the conference.

The insurance carrier’s attendance may, at the discretion of the judge, be excused upon prior written application to the court if, (1) the carrier has no California claims office or representative, and (2) the carrier has an authorized claims or insurance representative with full authority to settle available by telephone during the settlement conference.