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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 Case No.: SACV - JLS(XXXx)
12 Plaintiff/s,
INITIAL STANDING ORDER FOR
13 v. CIVIL CASES ASSIGNED TO JUDGE
JOSEPHINE L. STATON
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16 Defendant/s.
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19 PLEASE READ THIS ORDER CAREFULLY. IT GOVERNS THIS CASE
20 AND DIFFERS IN SOME RESPECTS FROM THE LOCAL RULES.
21 This case has been assigned to the calendar of Judge Josephine L. Staton. Both
22 the Court and counsel bear responsibility for the progress of this litigation in federal
23 court. To “secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination” of this case, as called
24 for in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 1, all parties or their counsel are ordered to
25 become familiar with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local Rules of the Central
26 District of California, and this Court’s Orders.
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1 THE COURT ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:
2 Judge Staton’s Procedures web page is incorporated in this Order.
3 The parties and counsel are ORDERED to review and comply with those
4 procedures and notices, which may be accessed at:
5 https://apps.cacd.uscourts.gov/Jps/honorable-josephine-l-staton
6 1. Filing of Civil Cases
7 The initiating documents (e.g., complaints and notices of removal) of most civil
8 cases must be e-filed. See Local Rule 3-2.
9 2. Service of the Complaint
10 Service is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4. The plaintiff shall
11 promptly serve the complaint in accordance with Rule 4 and file the proofs of service.
12 Although Rule 4(m) allows 90 days for service of the summons and complaint, the Court
13 expects service to be effectuated more promptly. The Court will require plaintiffs to show
14 good cause to extend the service deadline beyond 90 days.
15 3. Temporary Restraining Orders and Preliminary Injunctions
16 Parties seeking emergency or provisional relief shall comply with Federal Rule of
17 Civil Procedure 65 and Local Rule 65. The Court will not rule on any application for
18 such relief for at least twenty-four (24) hours after the party subject to the requested order
19 has been served, unless service is excused. Such party may file opposing or responding
20 papers in the interim.
21 4. Cases Removed from State Court
22 All documents filed in state court, including documents appended to the
23 complaint, answers, and motions, must be refiled in this Court as a supplement to the
24 notice of removal. See 28 U.S.C. § 1447(b). If the defendant has not yet answered or
25 filed a pre-answer motion, the defendant’s answer or motion must be filed in this Court
26 and must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules. If a
27 motion was pending in state court before the case was removed, it must be re-noticed for
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1 hearing in accordance with Local Rule 6-1. Counsel shall file with their first appearance
2 a Notice of Interested Parties in accordance with Local Rule 7.1-1.
3 If the complaint, answer, or any similar pleading in an action that is removed to
4 this Court consists of only a form pleading in which boxes are checked, the party or
5 parties utilizing the form pleading must file an appropriate pleading with this Court
6 within thirty (30) days of the filing of the Notice of Removal. The new pleading must
7 comply with the requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 7 through 11.
8 5. Status of Fictitiously Named Defendants
9 Generally, in conformity with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(c)(1)(C), real
10 parties in interest shall be identified and substituted for “Doe” defendants within the 90-
11 day time limit set forth set forth in Rule 4(m). Where the Court issues a scheduling order
12 that sets an earlier deadline for the filing of motions to add parties or amend pleadings,
13 that deadline must be met. Plaintiffs seeking to substitute parties after the earlier of these
14 two dates must establish good cause to do so. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m).
15 6. Discovery
16 a. Discovery Matters Referred to Magistrate Judge
17 All discovery matters have been referred to the assigned United States Magistrate
18 Judge, who will hear all discovery disputes. Any party may move for review and
19 reconsideration of a discovery ruling within fourteen days after such ruling. See Local
20 Rule 72-2. However, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A), the Court will not
21 reverse any order of the Magistrate Judge unless the moving party demonstrates that the
22 ruling is clearly erroneous or contrary to law. The motion must specify which portions of
23 the ruling are clearly erroneous or contrary to law and support the contention with points
24 and authorities. As to all filings related to motions for review and reconsideration of a
25 discovery order, counsel shall deliver mandatory chambers copies to both the District
26 Judge and the Magistrate Judge.
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1 b. Compliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)
2 The parties shall comply fully with the letter and spirit of Federal Rule of Civil
3 Procedure 26(a). The Court’s Scheduling Order will impose firm deadlines to complete
4 discovery.
5 7. Applications to Seal
6 Counsel are directed to consider carefully whether to seek leave to file documents
7 under seal. The procedure for obtaining leave is lengthy. Applications must in all
8 instances be supported by good cause, and at times are subjected to an even higher
9 standard. Most of the time, documents may not be filed under seal in their entirety, and
10 appropriately redacted documents must still be filed on the public docket.
11 When seeking leave to file any material under seal in a civil case, the parties and
12 counsel are directed to fully comply with all steps of the multi-step procedure set forth in
13 Local Rule 79-5. The parties are directed to follow the instructions in the Guide to
14 Electronically Filing Under-Seal Documents in Civil Cases which is attached in PDF
15 format to Judge Staton’s Procedures web page.
16 Counsel are reminded that there is a strong presumption that the public has a right
17 of access to records in civil cases. For materials related to non-dispositive motions, the
18 Designating Party must show good cause for the materials to be filed and maintained
19 under seal. For materials related to dispositive motions, the standard is higher, and the
20 Designating Party must articulate compelling reasons for maintaining the confidentiality
21 of the document(s) and must seek relief that is narrowly tailored to the protected interest.
22 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 667-79 (9th Cir. 2010).
23 8. Motions
24 a. Time for Filing and Hearing Motions
25 Motions shall be filed in accordance with Local Rule 7. This Court hears motions
26 on Fridays, beginning at 10:30 a.m. It is not necessary to clear a hearing date with the
27 Court Clerk before filing a motion in a civil motion. Counsel must check the Court’s
28 website for Closed Motion Dates.
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1 b. Pre-Filing Requirement To Meet and Confer
2 Counsel must comply with Local Rule 7-3, which requires counsel to engage in a
3 pre-filing conference “to discuss thoroughly . . . the substance of the contemplated
4 motion and any potential resolution.” Counsel should discuss the issues to a sufficient
5 degree that if a motion is still necessary, the briefing may be directed to those substantive
6 issues requiring resolution by the Court. Counsel should resolve minor procedural or
7 other non-substantive matters during the conference. This provision applies even to self-
8 represented parties; there is no exception to this rule for parties who appear pro se.
9 c. Limitations on Briefing.
10 Limitations on the length of briefs are specified in Local Civil Rule 11-6.1. A
11 certification of compliance is required as set forth in Local Rule 11-6.2. In addition,
12 because reply briefs should by their nature be shorter than motion and opposition briefs,
13 the Court imposes an additional limitation on reply briefs, limiting those to 4,200 words
14 rather than 7,000 words. Only in rare instances and for good cause shown will the Court
15 grant an application to extend these page limitations. No supplemental briefs may be
16 filed without prior leave of court.
17 d. Supporting Evidence
18 Parties shall not proffer evidence other than the specific items of evidence or
19 testimony in support of or in opposition to a motion. For example, the parties should
20 provide excerpts rather than entire deposition transcripts or entire sets of interrogatory
21 responses. Where a motion must be supported by admissible evidence, authenticity must
22 be established by stipulation of the parties, declaration, or other appropriate means.
23 e. Citations to Legal Authority
24 Citations to legal authority should include pinpoint citations to specific page(s),
25 section(s), and subsection(s) referenced. Citations to secondary sources such as treatises,
26 manuals, and other materials should include the volume, section, and page(s) cited.
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1 f. Use of Artificial Intelligence
2 Any party who uses any form of generative artificial intelligence to generate any
3 portion of a brief, pleading, or other filing must attach to the filing a separate declaration
4 disclosing the use of artificial intelligence and certifying that the filer has reviewed the
5 source material and verified that the artificially generated content is accurate and
6 complies with the filer’s Rule 11 obligations.
7 9. Specific Motions
8 a. Motions Pursuant to Rule 12
9 Many motions to dismiss or to strike can be avoided if the parties confer in good
10 faith (as required by Local Rule 7-3), especially for pleading deficiencies that could be
11 corrected by amendment. See Chang v. Chen, 80 F.3d 1293, 1296 (9th Cir. 1996) (where
12 a motion to dismiss is granted, a district court should provide leave to amend unless it is
13 clear that the complaint could not be saved by any amendment). Moreover, a party has
14 the right to amend the complaint “once as a matter of course” within 21 days after service
15 of the answer or Rule 12(b) motion. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1)(A)-(B).
16 b. Motions to Amend
17 In addition to meeting the requirements of Local Rule 15-1, counsel shall attach as
18 an appendix to the moving papers a “redlined” version of the proposed amended pleading
19 indicating all additions and deletions of material. All motions to amend pleadings shall:
20 (1) state the effect of the amendment and (2) identify the page and line number(s) and
21 wording of any proposed change or addition of material. The proposed amended
22 pleading shall be serially numbered to differentiate it from previously amended pleadings
23 (e.g., “Second Amended Complaint” or “Third Amended Answer and Counterclaims”).
24 If leave to amend is granted, the filing party must comply with Local Rule 15-1 through
25 15-3 in filing the amended pleading.
26 c. Summary Judgment Motions
27 A party may file only one summary judgment motion in a case. Parties need not
28 wait until the motion cutoff date to bring motions for summary judgment or partial
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1 summary judgment. The parties should prepare papers in a fashion that will assist the
2 Court in absorbing the facts (e.g., generous use of tabs, tables of contents, headings,
3 indices, etc.).
4 i. Statements of Uncontroverted Facts and Genuine Issues
5 The Statement of Uncontroverted Facts and Conclusions of Law (“Statement of
6 Uncontroverted Facts”), as required by Local Rule 56-1, shall be formatted based on the
7 following example:
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1. (Moving party’s first uncontroverted (Supporting evidence
9 fact) citation(s))
2. (Moving party’s second undisputed (Supporting evidence
10 fact) citation(s))
11 The opposing party’s Statement of Genuine Disputes of Material Fact (required by
12 Local Rule 56-2) must be in two columns and track the movant’s Statement of
13 Uncontroverted Facts exactly as prepared, but must combine the moving party’s fact
14 statements and the supporting evidence into one column. Thus, the first column must
15 restate the allegedly undisputed fact and the alleged supporting evidence, and the second
16 column must state either that the fact proffered by the moving party is undisputed or
17 disputed. The opposing party may dispute all or only a portion of the statement, but if
18 disputing only a portion, it must clearly indicate what part is being disputed. Whenever
19 all or part of a proffered fact is disputed, the opposing party must briefly state why it
20 disputes the moving party’s proffered fact, cite to the relevant exhibit(s) or other
21 evidence, and must describe what it is in that exhibit or evidence that refutes the
22 proffered fact. To illustrate:
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1. (Moving party’s first uncontroverted 1. Undisputed.
24 fact). (Supporting evidence citation(s)).
2. (Moving party’s second undisputed 2. Disputed. Plaintiff’s Rule
25 fact). (Supporting evidence citation(s)). 30(b)(6) witness testified to
the contrary. (Pltf’s Ex. 14,
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Clark Depo. at 24:5-26:17.)
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1 The opposing party may submit additional material facts that bear on or relate to
2 the issues raised by the movant. Presentation of those additional material facts by the
3 non-moving party shall follow the format described above for the moving party’s
4 Statement of Uncontroverted Facts. These additional facts shall continue in sequentially
5 numbered paragraphs and shall set forth in the right-hand column the evidence that
6 supports that statement. A Reply fact statement may be filed by the moving party in a
7 manner consistent with Local Rule 56-3.
8 No legal argument should be set forth in the Statement of Uncontroverted Facts
9 or the Statement of Genuine Disputes of Material Fact. Legal argument should be
10 reserved for the parties’ briefs. Objections and the relevant Federal Rule of Evidence
11 or other basis therefor may be noted, but citations to case law and/or legal argument
12 should be presented in the separate document described below.
13 ii. Objections to Evidence
14 If a party relies in whole or in part on an evidentiary objection to dispute a
15 material fact, the ground(s) of the objection(s) shall be succinctly stated in a separate
16 statement of evidentiary objections in a two-column format. The left column should
17 identify and describe the item(s) objected to (including page and line number if
18 applicable) and the right column should set forth a concise objection (e.g., hearsay, lacks
19 foundation, etc.) with a citation to the Federal Rules of Evidence or, where applicable, a
20 case citation. Any response to the objections shall incorporate and build upon the two-
21 column format set forth in the objections in the same manner as the Statement of Genuine
22 Disputes of Material Fact incorporates and builds upon the Statement of Uncontroverted
23 Facts.
24 The Court will expressly rule on objections only when it deems it necessary to do.
25 Generally, the Court will expressly rule on objections only as to evidence that factors into
26 the Court’s rationale for its rulings.
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1 d. Daubert Motions
2 Unlike other motions in limine, Daubert motions are usually due to be filed
3 within seven days after the expert discovery cut-off date set in the Scheduling Order.
4 The parties shall notice Daubert motions for hearing on the first available
5 motions date at the time of their filing, unless that date is after the final pretrial
6 conference date, in which case the Daubert motions will be heard at the final pretrial
7 conference.
8 10. Notice of This Order
9 Plaintiff’s counsel or plaintiff (if appearing on his or her own behalf) shall
10 immediately serve this Order on all parties, including any new parties to the action. If
11 this case was removed from state court, the removing defendant(s) shall serve this Order
12 on all other parties.
13 IT IS SO ORDERED.
14 Dated:
15 JOSEPHINE L. STATON
16 United States District Judge
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Revised: May 29, 2026
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