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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 [NAME OF PLAINTIFF(S)], Case No.
12 Plaintiff, STANDING ORDER FOR MOTIONS
FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
13 v.
14 [NAME OF DEFENDANT(S)],
15 Defendant.
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19 READ THIS ORDER CAREFULLY. IT CONTROLS THIS CASE
20 AND DIFFERS IN SOME RESPECTS FROM THE LOCAL RULES.
21 When filing or opposing a motion for summary judgment, a party is to comply with
22 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, the Local Rules of the Central District of California,
23 this Order, and the Court’s Standing Order for Civil Cases. Because summary judgment
24 motions are fact-dependent, parties should prepare papers in a fashion that clearly identifies
25 the facts material to the motion for summary judgment (e.g., generous use of tabs, tables
26 of contents, headings, indices, etc.).
27 The Court sets forth the following requirements for all motions brought pursuant to
28 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 (hereinafter referred to as MSJ), whether they are
STANDING ORDER FOR MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
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1 denominated as a motion for summary judgment or summary adjudication.
2 A. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
3 1. Meet and Confer. For an MSJ to be timely filed, the moving party must
4 arrange for an in-person meeting or videoconference to take place no later than sixty (60)
5 days before the motion hearing cutoff set forth in the case management order. The parties
6 shall thoroughly discuss each issue to be raised and the law and evidence relevant to that
7 issue. A thorough discussion serves a critical function by often narrowing the issues to be
8 adjudicated and allowing the parties to squarely and fully address the actual issues
9 requiring resolution.
10 2. Joint Brief Required. The parties shall work cooperatively to submit a single
11 joint brief for all MSJs brought by all moving parties. If multiple parties are moving for
12 summary judgment, the parties should designate only one party as “the moving party” for
13 purposes of the briefing schedule. The Court expects the parties to work together
14 professionally and agree on which party should be designated the moving party. If the
15 parties are unable to agree, the defendant(s) shall be deemed the moving party. The parties
16 may agree to modify the pre-filing deadlines in the briefing schedule without leave of Court
17 only if (1) all parties agree to the modifications and (2) the MSJ is timely filed under the
18 case management order. A party’s failure to work cooperatively to produce a joint brief
19 could result in the imposition of sanctions.
20 3. Multiple Joint Motions are Highly Disfavored. No more than one joint
21 motion may be filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 without leave of court,
22 regardless of whether such motion is denominated a motion for summary judgment or
23 summary adjudication. In what should be the rare case in which leave of Court is sought,
24 the parties shall file a joint noticed motion setting forth their respective positions on the
25 existence of good cause for the filing of multiple motions.
26 4. Cross Motions on the Same Legal Issues are Highly Disfavored. The
27 Court disfavors cross-motions that seek to adjudicate the same legal issues. If a non-
28 moving party has a good faith belief that the undisputed material facts relied on by the
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1 moving party actually demonstrate that the opposing party is entitled to summary judgment
2 on the same legal issue, the non-moving party should set forth its argument in its response
3 to the moving party’s argument and request summary judgment. Pursuant to Federal Rule
4 of Civil Procedure 56(f), if appropriately based on undisputed facts and controlling
5 principles of law, the Court may grant summary judgment for the non-moving party or sua
6 sponte enter summary judgment in favor of the non-moving party. If each party is seeking
7 to move for summary judgment on different claims or defenses, each party should meet
8 and confer and follow the same procedures set forth in this Order.
9 5. Appropriate Timing. As a courtesy to both the Court and the opposing party,
10 a moving party should not wait until the last possible day to initiate the filing of an MSJ.
11 On the other hand, premature MSJs—e.g., motions claiming that the opposing party has
12 insufficient evidence when discovery does not close for another six months—only waste
13 time and money for the parties and the Court.
14 6. Page Limitation and Format. Each separately represented party shall be
15 limited to twenty-five (25) pages, exclusive of tables of contents and authorities. Replies
16 shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Only rarely and for good cause shown will the Court grant
17 an application to extend these page limitations. Each party is limited to the use of a total
18 of eight (8) footnotes. Pursuant to Local Rule 11-3.1.1, either a proportionally spaced or
19 monospaced face may be used. Typeface shall comply with Local Rule 11-3.1.1. Times
20 New Roman font must be no less than 14 point; Courier font must be no less than 12 point.
21 Footnotes shall be in the same font and the same size as the body of the memorandum.
22 Counsel shall adhere to Local Rule 5-4.3 with respect to the conversion of all documents
23 to .pdf format so that when a document is electronically filed, it is in proper size and is .pdf
24 searchable. Further, all documents shall be filed in a format so that text can be selected,
25 copied, and pasted directly from the document. See C.D. Cal. L.R. 5-4.3.1.
26 7. Scheduling a Hearing. It is not necessary to clear a hearing date with the
27 Courtroom Deputy Clerk before filing a motion. Immediately before filing the motion,
28 parties must check the closed motion dates column located on the right side of Judge
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1 Garnett’s Procedures and Schedules Page on the Court’s website to make sure the hearing
2 date has not been closed. The closed date column is typically updated on a weekly and
3 sometimes daily basis. If a motion is calendared for a date that is closed or becomes
4 unavailable on the Court’s calendar, the Court will issue a minute order continuing the
5 motion to a date that is available.
6 8. Mandatory Chambers Copies. Parties should submit one paper copies of
7 all MSJ filings to Judge Garnett’s mailbox on the Fourth Floor of the First Street
8 Courthouse. Pro Se Litigants are exempt from this requirement.
9 B. JOINT BRIEF
10 1. Content and Organization of Joint Brief. The Joint Brief should contain
11 the following: (1) a table of contents; (2) a table of authorities; (3) an optional brief
12 introduction section stated jointly or, if stated separately by each party, stated under an
13 appropriate subheading identifying the party (e.g., “ACME Co.’s Introduction” or
14 “Defendant’s Introduction”)); (4) a statement of facts section stated jointly or, if stated
15 separately by each party, stated under an appropriate subheading identifying the party (e.g.,
16 “ACME Co.’s Statement of Facts” or “Defendant’s Statement of Facts”)); 1 (5) an analysis
17 or argument section that sets forth the summary judgment standard, followed by arguments
18 organized by issue that present the parties’ competing positions on an issue-by-issue basis.
19 For each issue, the moving party shall present legal argument, citation to authority where
20 applicable, and citation to the Joint Appendix of Facts, see below, followed immediately
21 by the opposing party’s response that similarly must be supported by legal argument,
22 citation to authority, and citation to the Joint Appendix of Facts.
23 To illustrate the foregoing, the following suggested organization is provided:
24 Table of Contents
Table of Authorities
25 I. Introduction
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The statement of facts should not simply incorporate by reference the facts set forth in
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the JAF but, instead, should set forth the material facts the party contends are/are not
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1 A. Moving Party’s Introduction
B. Opposing Party’s Introduction
2 II. Statement of Facts
3 A. Moving Party’s Statement of Facts
B. Opposing Party’s Statement of Facts
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III. Legal Standard
5 IV. Analysis
6 A. Moving Party’s Argument 1:
1. Summary Judgment Should be Granted on Plaintiff’s Breach of
7 Contract Claim because . . . .
8 2. Opposing Party’s Response
B. Moving Party’s Argument 2:
9 1. Summary Judgment Should be Granted on Plaintiff’s Tort
10 Claim because . . . .
2. Opposing Party’s Response
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V. Conclusion
12 A. Moving Party’s Conclusion
13 B. Opposing Party’s Conclusion
14 To illustrate a cross motion for summary judgment, the following suggested
15 organization is provided:
Table of Contents
16 Table of Authorities
17 I. Introduction
II. Statement of Facts
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A. Moving Party’s Statement of Facts
19 B. Opposing Party’s Statement of Facts
20 III. Summary Judgment Standard
IV. Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment
21 A. Defendant’s Argument 1:
22 1. Summary Judgment Should be Granted on Plaintiff’s Breach of
Contract Claim because . . . .
23 2. Opposing Party’s Response
24 B. Defendant’s Argument 2:
25 1. Summary Judgment Should be Granted on Plaintiff’s Tort
Claim because . . . .
26 2. Opposing Party’s Response
27 V. Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment
A. Plaintiff’s Argument 1:
28 1. Summary Judgment Should be Granted on Plaintiff’s
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1 employment claim because . . .
2. Opposing party’s Response
2 VI. Conclusion
3 A. Plaintiff’s Motion
1. Plaintiff’s Conclusion
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2. Defendant’s Conclusion
5 B. Defendant’s Motion
6 1. Defendant’s Conclusion
2. Plaintiff’s Conclusion
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2. Briefing Schedule. The schedule for the Joint Brief shall be as follows:
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(a) Meet and Confer. For an MSJ to be timely filed, the moving party
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must arrange for an in-person meeting or videoconference to take place no later than sixty
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(60) calendar days before the motion hearing cutoff set forth in the case management order.
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The parties, however, should make every effort to meet sooner than the sixtieth day to
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allow sufficient time to discuss the MSJ and for briefing.
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(b) Moving Party’s Portion of the Joint Brief. No later than fourteen
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(14) days after the meet and confer, the moving party shall personally deliver or email to
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the opposing party an electronic copy of the moving party’s portion of the Joint Brief,
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together with the moving party’s portion of the Joint Appendix of Facts and Joint Appendix
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of Evidence, see below. These documents should allow the opposing party to integrate
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content without modifying the moving party’s separate portions of the Joint Brief, Joint
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Appendix of Facts, and Joint Appendix of Evidence.
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(c) Opposing Party’s Portion of the Joint Brief. No later than fourteen
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(14) days after receiving the moving party’s papers, the opposing party shall personally
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deliver or email to the moving party an electronic copy of the integrated motion, which
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shall include the opposing party’s portion of the Joint Brief, Joint Appendix of Facts, and
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Joint Appendix of Evidence. The opposing party shall not modify in any way the moving
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party’s separate portions of the joint brief. At this point, the opposing party should sign
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the Joint Brief.
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(d) Filing of Joint Brief. After receiving the integrated version of the
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motion and related papers, the moving party shall finalize it for filing without making any
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1 further revisions to the Joint Brief and appendices, except to note in the Joint Appendix of
2 Facts (in the format described in the instructions below) whether any facts added by the
3 opposing party are disputed or undisputed. Once finalized, the moving party’s counsel
4 shall sign and electronically file the Joint Brief, Joint Appendix of Facts, and Joint
5 Appendix of Evidence no later than four (4) days after receiving the opposing party’s
6 signed copy. Thus, the Joint Brief must be filed at least twenty-eight (28) days before the
7 motion hearing cutoff set forth in the case management order and in accordance with the
8 requirements of Local Rule 6-1. The Joint Brief shall be accompanied by a Notice of
9 Motion and Motion for Summary Judgment and shall be calendared pursuant to the Local
10 Rules on an available date within the motion hearing cutoff.
11 (e) Reply Memorandum. No later than seven (7) days after the Joint Brief
12 is filed and no later than twenty-one (21) days before the scheduled hearing date, the
13 moving party may separately file a reply memorandum of points and authorities, not
14 exceeding ten (10) pages in length. The moving party may not use this filing to supplement
15 the Joint Appendix of Facts or the Joint Appendix of Evidence in any way. No additional
16 briefing or filing in support of or in opposition to the MSJ is permitted.
17 3. Stipulations to Extend Briefing Schedule. The parties may stipulate to a
18 lengthier briefing schedule that is reasonable for all parties. If the parties are filing cross-
19 motions for summary judgment on different claims, the briefing schedule will need to be
20 adjusted to accommodate the cross-motions. Any stipulation to a lengthier briefing
21 schedule must provide the Court at least twenty-one (21) days between the reply deadline
22 and the hearing date and comply with the motion hearing cut-off deadline.
23 C. JOINT APPENDIX OF FACTS (JAF)
24 The Joint Brief shall be accompanied by a single statement of undisputed and
25 disputed facts contained in a Joint Appendix of Facts (JAF) presented in a table format.
26 1. Table Format. The JAF table shall contain four columns.
27 (a) Column No. 1. The first (far left) column shall contain the number of
28 the fact alleged to be undisputed. The factual assertions in each row of the table shall be
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1 sequentially numbered and grouped into sections according to the element of proof to
2 which the facts relate. The moving party’s first row of factual assertions should begin with
3 the No. 1, with each subsequent row of factual assertions being numbered sequentially
4 through each section (i.e., do not restart each section with the No. 1). The opposing party
5 should begin its portion of the JAF by numbering its first row of factual assertions using
6 the next number in sequence from the last number used by the moving party. The opposing
7 party should then number each subsequent row of assertions of fact sequentially through
8 each of the opposing party’s sections (i.e., do not restart the opposing party’s portion of
9 the JAF or each section with the No. 1).
10 (b) Column No. 2. The second column shall contain a plain statement of
11 the fact. Facts shall not be compound (e.g., Mike and Jane signed a contract, and Jane
12 mailed the contract in May 2017). Each fact must be stated separately in its own row as
13 shown below. Neither legal arguments nor conclusions constitute facts. Facts shall not be
14 repeated if they relate to multiple claims for multiple elements of proof. The first reference
15 to a fact in the Joint Appendix of Facts shall serve and—through incorporation by
16 reference—can be cited to support all subsequent claims (e.g., “See JAF 1–5”).
17 (c) Column No. 3. The third column shall contain a citation to admissible
18 evidence that supports the proffered fact; the evidence cited must be included in the Joint
19 Appendix of Evidence. If citing to a specific page contained within an exhibit, refer to the
20 page number. If citing to statements contained within a deposition transcript, refer to the
21 page number and line number. If citing to an excerpt of an audio recording or video
22 footage, refer to the timestamp. If citing to multiple sources, each should be separated by
23 semicolons.
24 (d) Column No. 4. The fourth column shall contain the opposing party’s
25 response to the fact alleged to be undisputed: (1) stating that the fact is undisputed or
26 disputed, (2) briefly stating why the opposing party disputes the fact, (3) citing with
27 specificity the evidence that refutes the fact, and (4) explaining how the cited evidence
28 refutes the fact; the evidence cited must be included in the Joint Appendix of Evidence.
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1 (d) If a party disputes a fact in part, the disputing party should state
2 “Disputed in Part,” highlight the disputed part in bold italics, and provide the specific
3 evidentiary support for the dispute (see example above). A party that lacks candor in failing
4 to acknowledge the limited extent of the dispute forces the Court to expend needless
5 resources discovering it itself.
6 (e) The JAF should be as narrow and concise as the issues on summary
7 judgment properly warrant. If the Court determines that the JAF is unjustifiably long or
8 unwieldy, the Court may strike the JAF and require the parties to refile it (and any
9 document citing it) within two (2) business days.
10 (f) The parties shall not engage in deliberate gamesmanship designed to
11 abuse the process and should be prepared to justify each purportedly disputed fact at the
12 hearing. Abuses include, but are not limited to, the following tactics:
13 i. Stating a fact is undisputed when it clearly is not;
14 ii. Disputing a clearly undisputed fact in whole or part;
15 iii. Manufacturing a dispute by mischaracterizing evidence,
16 reframing the stated fact in order to dispute the fact as reframed,
17 or using an evidentiary objection to dispute an undisputed fact;
18 iv. Making legal argument in the JAF; and
19 v. Introducing clearly irrelevant or immaterial facts for the obvious
20 purpose of obfuscation.
21 D. JOINT APPENDIX OF EVIDENCE (JAE)
22 The Joint Brief shall be accompanied by a Joint Appendix of Evidence (JAE)— i.e.,
23 a separate, tabbed appendix of all evidence in support of or opposition to the MSJ,
24 including declarations, deposition excerpts, documents, photographs, etc. Physical
25 evidence (e.g., video recordings) shall be lodged separately. No evidence should be
26 attached to a memorandum of points and authorities or included anywhere other than in the
27 JAE. The JAE shall include a table of contents. The JAE shall be filed as a single,
28 combined PDF; more than one PDF may be filed if file-size constraints preclude filing the
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1 Failure to comply with this formatting requirement will result in a waiver of the
2 objections. Blanket or boilerplate objections will be overruled and disregarded. If any
3 party has an objection to evidence that is claim- or case-dispositive, the party must state
4 the objection in the appropriate section of the Joint Brief. Both parties are encouraged to
5 include an explanation for why the objection should be overruled/sustained in the third
6 column.
7 F. HEARING
8 1. Oral Argument Time Limits. If oral argument is permitted, each party will
9 have 10 minutes, unless the Court states otherwise. If the Court believes that the matter
10 warrants less or more time, it will advise counsel at the hearing.
11 2. Submission Without Oral Argument. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 78 and
12 Local Rule 7-15, the Court may deem a matter appropriate for decision without oral
13 argument. If the Court does so, it will notify the parties via minute order before the hearing.
14 3. Remote Appearances. Remote appearances are not permitted absent good
15 cause. The Court strongly prefers counsel to appear in person for MSJ hearings. If
16 exceptional circumstances exist, counsel may file an application to appear remotely
17 detailing such circumstance.
18 4. Settlement. Counsel must notify the Court at least two weeks before the
19 scheduled hearing if the parties are conducting settlement discussions that may render the
20 motion moot and must notify the Court immediately if a settlement is reached. A belated
21 notice of settlement wastes scarce judicial resources.
22 G. FAILURE TO COMPLY
23 If it appears that the parties have not met and conferred in good faith, have not
24 worked to fully integrate the Joint Brief, JAF, JAE, or JAO, or have otherwise failed to
25 fully comply with this Order, the motion may be stricken, and the parties may be required
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1 to repeat the process. The deadline for hearing the motion will not be continued for failure
2 to comply with this Order, absent good cause.
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4 IT IS SO ORDERED.
5 Dated: July 1, 2025
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HON. SHERILYN PEACE GARNETT
7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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