1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11 Case No.
12 Plaintiff(s), STANDING ORDER
13 v.
14
15
Defendant.
16
17
18 I. LAW AND MOTION
19 A. Calendar
20 Civil motions may be set any day at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 4, located on the seventh
21 floor. It is not necessary to clear a date prior to scheduling a civil motion. The parties are required
22 to comply with Local Rule 230 and all other applicable rules and notice requirements.
23 Due to the ongoing lack of judicial resources and until further notice, the parties should
24 expect that all civil motions will be submitted for decision on the papers without oral argument.
25 The parties are required to comply with Local Rule 230, or other applicable rules and notice
26 requirements with respect to motions. There may be occasions where the court will keep a motion
27 hearing on calendar or reset that motion for oral argument. In those cases, the court will inform
28 the parties by minute order and will provide logistical information.
1
1 B. Briefing
2 Unless prior leave of court is obtained, no moving or opposing briefs or legal memoranda
3 in civil cases shall exceed 25 pages.1 Reply briefs may not exceed 10 pages. Only for good cause
4 shown will the court grant an application to extend these page limitations. Briefs that exceed the
5 page limitations or are sought to be filed without leave of court may not be considered. Finally,
6 no supplemental briefs may be filed without prior leave of court leave of court.
7 C. Meet and Confer Requirement
8 Prior to filing a motion in a case in which the parties are represented by counsel, counsel
9 shall engage in a pre-filing meet and confer to discuss thoroughly the substance of the
10 contemplated motion and any potential resolution. Counsel should resolve minor procedural or
11 other non-substantive matters during the meet and confer process so that briefing on motions that
12 proceed to hearing is directed only to those substantive issues requiring resolution by the court. A
13 notice of motion shall contain a certification by counsel filing the motion that meet and confer
14 efforts have been exhausted, with a very brief summary of meet and confer efforts.
15 D. Motions to be Set Before Assigned Magistrate Judge
16 The parties are directed to review Local Rule 302(c) with care. All motions referenced
17 therein shall be set before the assigned magistrate judge. In addition to the motions already listed
18 in Local Rule 302(c), the following categories of motions shall be noticed for hearing before the
19 assigned magistrate judge:
20 1. Motions seeking the appointment of a guardian ad litem;
21 2. Motions to approve minors’ compromises;2
22 3. Motions for class certification and decertification pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
23 Procedure 23;
24 4. Motions for preliminary and/or final approval of class action settlements and/or
25 Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions.
26
1
The parties shall use Times New Roman, 12 pt. Footnotes may be no smaller than 11 pt.
27 2
Magistrate judges may resolve motions seeking the appointment of a guardian ad litem by way of order,
28 while all other motions may be resolved by issuance of findings and recommendations. See 28 U.S.C. §
636(b)(1)(A).
2
1 The Court may refer other motions to the assigned magistrate judge for the issuance of
2 findings and recommendations by separate orders in particular cases.
3 E. Meet and Confer Requirement
4 Before filing a motion in a case in which the parties are represented by counsel, counsel
5 SHALL engage in a prefiling meet and confer to discuss thoroughly the substance of the
6 contemplated motion and any potential resolution. Counsel should resolve minor procedural or
7 other nonsubstantive matters during the meet and confer process so that briefing on motions that
8 proceed to hearing are directed only to those substantive issues requiring resolution by the court.
9 In the notice of motion, counsel for the moving party shall certify that meet and confer
10 efforts have been exhausted and include a summary of meet and confer efforts.
11 G. Courtesy Copies
12 The parties SHALL NOT provide courtesy copies of any filed documents unless the
13 Court specifically requests them.
14 H. Proposed Orders
15 The parties need not submit proposed orders for motions to dismiss or motions for
16 summary judgment unless the court specifically orders otherwise. However, as to all other
17 motions and stipulations, the parties SHALL submit proposed consent decrees and/or proposed
18 findings of fact, where such documents are relevant. Where required, proposed orders shall be
19 submitted in compliance with Local Rule 137(b) and emailed in Word format to
20
[email protected].
21 II. EX PARTE APPLICATIONS
22 Typically, the court will not hear ex parte applications but will take them under
23 submission for decision on the papers unless otherwise notified. The filer is required to contact
24 the courtroom deputy clerk and the opposing party before filing the ex parte application to advise
25 that such request is being made. The application must indicate whether an opposition will be
26 filed. The filer shall include an affidavit indicating a satisfactory explanation for the following:
27 (1) the need for the issuance of such an order, (2) the inability of the filer to obtain a stipulation
28 for the issuance of such an order from other counsel or parties in the action, and (3) why such
3
1 request cannot be noticed on the court’s motion calendar as provided by Local Rule 230.
2 III. TROs and INJUNCTIONS
3 Parties seeking emergency or provisional relief shall comply with Federal Rule of Civil
4 Procedure 65 and Local Rule 231. The court typically will not rule on any application for such
5 relief for at least 24 hours after the party subject to the requested order has been served; such
6 party may file opposing or responding papers in the interim. The moving party SHALL
7 demonstrate in the moving papers that the emergency relief is timely. Local Rule 231(b).
8 IV. SEALING and PROTECTIVE ORDERS
9 No document will be sealed, nor may a redacted document be filed, without the prior
10 approval of the court. All requests to seal or redact shall be governed by Local Rules 141
11 (sealing) and 140 (redaction); protective orders covering the discovery phase shall not govern the
12 filing of sealed or redacted documents on the public docket. The court will only consider requests
13 to seal or redact filed by the proponent of sealing or redaction. If a party plans to make a filing
14 that includes material an opposing party has identified as confidential and potentially subject to
15 sealing, the filing party shall provide the opposing party with sufficient notice in advance of filing
16 to allow for the seeking of an order of sealing or redaction from the court.
17 V. UTILITY PATENTS
18 To the extent practicable and to the extent that they do not conflict with the Local Rules of
19 this Court, the Patent Local Rules for the Northern District of California shall apply to all civil
20 actions which involve, in whole or in part, the infringement, invalidity, or unenforceability of a
21 utility patent.
22 VI. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCES
23 The parties are required to submit a joint pretrial statement. It must be filed 14 days
24 before final pretrial conference hearing date and emailed as a Word document to:
25
[email protected].
26 VII. TELEPHONIC APPEARANCES
27 Remote appearances are encouraged. If any party wishes to appear by Zoom video
28 conference, at least five court days in advance of the hearing, that party shall email
4
1
[email protected] to notify the court. If approved, the court will provide access
2 information to the parties.
3 VIII. CONSENT TO MAGISRTATE JUDGE JURISDICTION
4 The judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California have
5 long labored under one of the heaviest caseloads in the nation. Thus, to the extent that this case is
6 not already assigned to a magistrate judge through the Court’s opt-out system, the parties in all
7 civil cases SHALL discuss with their clients their option of consenting to magistrate judge
8 jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). The magistrate judges of this court are highly skilled,
9 experienced trial judges. Moreover, because magistrate judges cannot preside over felony
10 criminal trials, trial dates in civil cases can be set before the assigned magistrate judge with the
11 expectation that the trial will commence on the date scheduled.
12 IX. NOTICE OF THIS ORDER
13 Counsel for plaintiff shall immediately serve this order on all parties, including any new
14 parties added to the action in the future, unless this case came to the court by noticed removal, in
15 which case defendant shall serve this order on all other parties.
16 IT IS SO ORDERED.
17
Dated: June 24, 2026
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
5
