Tuolumne Superior Court Pre-Motion Conference Requirements

CRITICAL

Before the discovery cutoff, a motion under the California Civil Discovery Act may not be filed or heard until the moving party files a written request for an informal discovery conference and the Court acts or is deemed to have acted on it.

Prior to the discovery cut-off in an action, no motion under the California Civil Discovery Act (Code Civ. Proc., § 2016.010 et seq.) shall be filed or heard unless the moving party has first filed a written Request for Informal Discovery Conference (“Request”) and the Court has acted or is deemed to have acted on that Request in any manner set forth in subdivision (f) below.

CRITICAL

A party may request an informal discovery conference after a reasonable, good-faith attempt to resolve each issue; that effort should include written communication and either in-person or telephone communication.

Following a reasonable and good-faith attempt to achieve an informal resolution of each issue to be presented (which should include both written and either in-person or telephone communication), a party may request an Informal Discovery Conference.

CRITICAL

If the Court has not granted or denied a conference request within 10 calendar days after filing, the request is deemed denied.

If the Court has not granted or denied the Request within ten (10) calendar days following the filing of the Request, then it shall be deemed to have been denied at that time.

CRITICAL

If the conference is not held within 30 calendar days after the request is granted, the request is deemed denied unless the parties and the Court agree to extend the time.

If the Informal Discovery Conference is not held within thirty (30) calendar days of the granting of the Request, then the Request shall be deemed to have been denied at that time, unless the time for holding it has been extended by agreement of the parties and the Court.

CRITICAL

A party may file a discovery motion on unresolved issues after the request is denied, a stated deadline expires without Court action, or the conference ends without resolution.

If (1) the Court has denied the Request, (2) one of the deadlines above has expired without the Court’s having acted, or (3) the Informal Discovery Conference is concluded without resolving the dispute, then a party may file a discovery motion to address unresolved issues.

CRITICAL

A party may petition the Court for discovery only after exhausting all informal means.

Only after all informal means have been exhausted may a party petition the Court for discovery.

CRITICAL

If a complaint presents a prima facie case of counsel’s incompetence or rule violation, the Court must request an informal response or conduct a hearing.

If the Court determines that the complaint presents a prima facie case that counsel may have failed to act competently or has violated the applicable laws or rules, the Court shall either request an informal response from counsel or conduct a hearing in order to make a determination on the issue.

WARNING

A granted informal discovery conference request will be calendared for a conference within 30 calendar days after the request is granted.

The Informal Discovery Conference will be calendared to be held within thirty (30) calendar days of the granting of the Request.

INFO

A party may apply ex parte for appropriate relief, including an order shortening time for a discovery motion.

Nothing herein shall preclude any party from applying ex parte for appropriate relief, including an order shortening time for a motion to be heard concerning discovery.