Pre-Motion Conference Requirements in the California Rules of Court

A party that intends to file a motion under Code of Civil Procedure section 403 must first make a good-faith effort to obtain agreement of all parties to each case to the proposed transfer and consolidation.

If after considering the motion the judge determines that the action or actions pending in another court should not be transferred to the judge's court but instead all the actions that are subject to the motion to transfer should be transferred and consolidated in another court, the judge may order the parties to prepare, serve, and file a motion to have the actions transferred to the appropriate court.

A petition for coordination may not be denied unless a hearing has been held.

A hearing must be held to decide a petition for coordination if a party opposes coordination.

The coordination trial judge must hold a case management conference within 45 days after issuance of the assignment order.

Counsel and all self-represented persons must attend the conference and be prepared to discuss all matters specified in the order setting the conference.

(E) The method for asserting or preserving claims of privilege or attorney work product, including whether such claims may be asserted after production;

(6) Determining whether settlement is possible;

(1) Resolving any discovery disputes and setting a discovery schedule;

(B) The form or forms in which information will be produced;

(H) Any other issues relating to the discovery of electronically stored information, including developing a proposed plan relating to the discovery of the information; and

(7) Identifying the dates on which all parties and their attorneys are available or not available for trial, including the reasons for unavailability;

(5) Determining whether the issues in the case can be narrowed by eliminating any claims or defenses by means of a motion or otherwise;

(3) Identifying the facts and issues in the case that are uncontested and may be the subject of stipulation;

(4) Identifying the facts and issues in the case that are in dispute;

(A) Issues relating to the preservation of discoverable electronically stored information;

(D) The scope of discovery of the information;

(F) The method for asserting or preserving the confidentiality, privacy, trade secrets, or proprietary status of information relating to a party or person not a party to the civil proceedings;

(G) How the cost of production of electronically stored information is to be allocated among the parties;

(9) Other relevant matters.

Unless the court orders another time period, no later than 30 calendar days before the date set for the initial case management conference, the parties must meet and confer, in person or by telephone, to consider each of the issues identified in rule 3.727 and, in addition, to consider the following:

(2) Identifying and, if possible, informally resolving any anticipated motions;

(C) The time within which the information will be produced;

(8) Any issues relating to the discovery of electronically stored information, including:

If all class issues are resolved by stipulation of the named parties and approved by the court before the hearing, no hearing on class certification is necessary.

The moving party or counsel for the moving party must be personally present when the request for a TRO is made.

The failure of the opposing party to serve and file a written opposition may be construed by the court as an admission that the motion is meritorious, and the court may grant the motion without a hearing on the merits.

Any motion for a new trial following a bifurcated trial must be made after all the issues are tried

if the issues were tried by different judges, each judge must hear and determine the motion as to the issues tried by that judge.

Within 10 days after filing notice of intention to move for a new trial in a civil case, the moving party must serve and file a memorandum in support of the motion, and within 10 days thereafter any adverse party may serve and file a memorandum in reply.

Courts should encourage participation, to the extent feasible, in at least one opportunity for resolution before trial, including but not limited to a settlement conference, mediation, or another alternative dispute resolution process.

(3) Any motion regarding the record will be heard at the time of the hearing on the merits of the petition unless the court orders otherwise.

The court may set the case for oral argument at the request of either party or on its own motion.

(B) Filing and service of motions and responses and hearing thereon;

Except for good cause, the court should hear and decide any pretrial motion in a criminal case before or at the readiness conference.

(1) A brief outline of the nature of the case, including a summary of the criminal charges;

(5) The areas of inquiry and specific questions to be asked by the court and by counsel and any time limits on counsel's examination;

The Juror Questionnaire for Criminal Cases (form JURY-002) may be used.

(7) The number of alternate jurors to be selected and the procedure for selecting them; and

The judge must, if requested, excuse the defendant from then disclosing any defense theory.

The court may require counsel to submit in writing, and before the conference, all questions that counsel requests the court to ask of prospective jurors. This rule applies to questions to be asked either orally or by written questionnaire.

(2) The names of persons counsel intend to call as witnesses at trial;

(3) The People's theory of culpability and the defendant's theories;

(4) The procedures for deciding requests for excuse for hardship and challenges for cause;

(8) The procedure for making objections pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure 231.7(b).

(6) The schedule for the trial and the predicted length of the trial;

Transfers may be made only after noticed motion in the transferring court.

If transfer is requested by any other party, the party must first request in writing that the probation officer of the transferring county notice the motion. The party may make the motion to the transferring court only if the probation officer refuses to do so.

All parties and all attorneys are required to meet and confer in person, by telephone, or as ordered by the court, before the date of the hearing relating to a Request for Order (FL-300). During this time, parties must discuss and make a good faith attempt to settle all issues, even if a complete settlement is not possible and only conditional agreements are made. The requirement to meet and confer does not apply to cases involving domestic violence.

(2) On a party's request or its own motion, the court may place a motion on calendar for a hearing.

The clerk must promptly send each party a notice of the date and time of the hearing.

(1) The court may rule on a motion at any time after an opposition or other response is filed or the time to oppose has expired.

A failure to oppose a motion may be deemed a consent to the granting of the motion.

Unless otherwise ordered, oral argument on the issue of sanctions must be combined with oral argument on the merits of the appeal.

Unless otherwise ordered by the court, within 10 days after a party serves and files a request for corrections or additions to the record, defendant's appellate counsel and the trial counsel from the prosecutor's office must confer regarding the request and any application to unseal records served on the prosecutor's office.

On a party's request or its own motion, the appellate division may place a motion on calendar for a hearing.