UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
STANDING ORDER FOR CIVIL CASES BEFORE JUDGE RITA F. LIN
EMERGENCY APPLICATIONS ...................................................................................... 2
SCHEDULING AND HEARINGS .................................................................................... 2
AMENDED PLEADINGS ................................................................................................. 3
CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES ....................................................................... 3
DISCOVERY...................................................................................................................... 4
FILING AND COURTESY COPIES ................................................................................. 5
PROPOSED ORDERS ....................................................................................................... 6
MOTIONS TO SEAL ......................................................................................................... 6
BRIEFS ............................................................................................................................... 7
SUMMARY JUDGMENT ................................................................................................. 7
EXPERTS AND THEIR REPORTS .................................................................................. 8
CLASS ACTIONS .............................................................................................................. 8
ERISA CASES ................................................................................................................. 12
PATENT CASES .............................................................................................................. 12
SECURITIES CASES ...................................................................................................... 13
PARTIES UNREPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY .................................................... 14
The parties shall follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Civil Local Rules, and the
General Orders of the Northern District of California, except as superseded by this Court’s
standing orders.
Paper courtesy copies shall not be submitted unless the Court requests them.
EMERGENCY APPLICATIONS
Counsel should call and email Judge Lin’s Courtroom Deputy to alert the Court of the filing of
any application for a temporary restraining order, a stipulation that requires a response from the
Court within 24 hours, or any other emergency request. If the party seeking emergency relief
does not show that it made every reasonable effort to notify the opposing party, at the earliest
possible time, of its intent to seek emergency relief, the relief will not be granted.
SCHEDULING AND HEARINGS
Parties may consent at any time to proceed before a magistrate judge, which may result in a
faster disposition of a case. Parties are free to withhold consent to proceed before a magistrate
judge without adverse substantive consequences.
For any request, including stipulations, to continue a hearing, case management conference, or a
deadline (other than an extension that the rules allow the parties to arrange between themselves
without a court order), the parties must state how many extensions have been requested, whether
the Court has granted those extensions, and whether the Court has stated that no further
extensions will be granted. The parties must also list all existing deadlines and their proposed
extensions. Absent extraordinary circumstances, stipulations seeking to move a deadline must be
filed by no later than two court days prior to the deadline.
Counsel should not call to reserve hearing dates but should instead check Judge Lin’s calendar
and Scheduling Notes on the Court’s website to make sure the desired date is not blocked and
notice motions for any available date on the civil law and motions calendar. The parties may not
specially set any matter at a time other than the regularly scheduled civil law and motions
calendar without leave of the Court. Counsel for the moving party shall confer with opposing
counsel about a mutually convenient hearing date before noticing any motion.
The Court may notify the parties in advance of the hearing that it will be heard via Zoom rather
than in person, but the default rule is that motions are heard in person. Parties may
stipulate/request to have a hearing by Zoom video, but they must do so at least one week in
advance of the hearing. The Court may deny the request if it believes an in-person hearing
would be more beneficial. The Court is disinclined to hold hearings via Zoom for complex or
dispositive motions, or if counsel for all parties are based locally.
By default, motions to dismiss and remand will be submitted on the papers, and no hearing
will be held. If a hearing is set by the parties, it will automatically be vacated. The Court will
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set a hearing if necessary. The parties are free to request a hearing and explain why a hearing is
necessary, and the request will be considered.
The Court does not generally issue tentative rulings. If the Court determines a hearing is not
necessary, it will usually be vacated no later than two court days before the hearing. Often, a
notice of questions will issue two to three court days before the hearing, to alert the parties of the
Court’s principal questions.
Lengthy PowerPoint presentations will generally not be permitted during argument on motions,
as they circumvent the page limits imposed on briefing. However, counsel may use
demonstratives in responding to the Court’s questions, as long as they are provided to opposing
counsel at least two hours before the hearing. Any such demonstratives will not be part of the
record, so counsel should state verbally for the court reporter the relevant portion of the record
being highlighted on the demonstrative (e.g., “page 5342 of the administrative record” or “page
12, line 5 of the Jones deposition”).
The Court strongly encourages parties to permit less experienced attorneys to actively participate
in the proceedings by presenting argument at motion hearings or examining witnesses at trial.
Co-counsel with more experience may still offer argument for a few minutes at the end of the
hearing. Parties may e-mail the Courtroom Deputy in advance of the hearing, with a copy to all
other parties, to notify Judge Lin of their intent to utilize this provision.
AMENDED PLEADINGS
If a party files an amended pleading, they shall concurrently file a redlined or highlighted version
comparing the amended pleading to the prior operative pleading.
CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES
The attorney appearing at a case management conference need not be lead counsel but must have
full authority to make decisions about any issue that may come up during the conference.
If a defendant files a motion to dismiss that is dispositive of the entire case, the parties may
stipulate to vacate the initial case management conference, which will be reset by the Court after
the motion to dismiss hearing. If the Court sets an initial case management conference while a
motion to dismiss remains pending, the case management statement shall propose a full litigation
schedule, including a proposed last day to amend pleadings.
Parties are typically expected to propose a schedule at the initial case management conference
along the following lines:
● The trial date will almost always be 12-16 months after the date of the initial case
management conference. The parties are advised that if a criminal trial is set on a
date that conflicts with a civil trial, the criminal trial will take priority even if the civil
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trial was set first. The civil trial may trail or be reset depending on the status of the
conflicting criminal trial.
● The pretrial conference will be 4 weeks before the trial.
● The last day for a hearing on dispositive motions will be roughly two to three months
before the pretrial conference, with three months preferred for more complex cases.
● The schedule should also include a last day to file dispositive motions and any related
changes to the briefing schedule that differs from the local rules.
● The discovery cutoff will be roughly 3 weeks before the dispositive motions filing
date, which means it will be at least 8 weeks before the dispositive motions hearing
date. (The parties should consider whether to schedule expert discovery before or
after the deadline for filing dispositive motions.)
● The schedule shall include a last date to notice depositions, which shall be at least 30
days before the close of fact discovery.
● A further case management statement will be due 60 days before the close of fact
discovery and shall include an update on the status of discovery, pending and
anticipated discovery disputes, and the anticipated timelines for filing any remaining
discovery motions that need to be resolved prior to the discovery cut-off.
● In cases involving a large amount of document discovery, the parties shall propose a
date for substantial completion of document production.
● The last day to amend pleadings will typically be 60 days after the initial case
management conference.
● The parties should be prepared to present their preferred ADR process at the initial
case management conference, and to propose a deadline for the parties to file a joint
letter updating the court regarding the scheduling of the ADR proceeding (e.g., the
date of the mediation and the name of the mediator).
● In putative class actions, the parties should propose a schedule through the class
certification hearing. Additional dates will be set at a further case management
conference to be scheduled in the order on class certification, but parties should
anticipate in most cases that fact discovery will close around 60 days after the class
certification order issues.
Parties who would like an expedited initial case management conference can request one by
emailing Judge Lin’s Courtroom Deputy.
DISCOVERY
In the vast majority of cases, a magistrate judge will be assigned to preside over all discovery
disputes. Once a magistrate judge is assigned, the parties should familiarize themselves with that
magistrate judge’s standing orders.
Judge Lin sets discovery cut-off dates that are different than the default set by Civil Local Rule
37-3. The discovery cut-off set by Judge Lin is the date by which all discovery must be
completed. This means that all hearings on discovery motions must occur, all orders resolving
those motions must be issued, and all productions must be made by the cut-off date.
Accordingly, all discovery requests shall be served and all discovery motions filed sufficiently in
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advance of the discovery cut-off date to allow enough time for discovery disputes to be presented
to, heard by, and resolved by the Court. Any magistrate judge presiding over discovery is
authorized to terminate as untimely discovery disputes that are presented to the Court too close
to the cut-off date to allow sufficient time for a hearing and resolution before the cut-off date.
The initial case schedule will include a date, about 60 days before the cut-off date, by which the
parties must submit a joint case management statement in which they shall expressly discuss any
anticipated discovery disputes.
In the event that discovery is not referred to a magistrate judge, the following procedures pertain
to discovery disputes before Judge Lin: If the parties cannot resolve their discovery dispute after
a good faith effort in which a live conversation has occurred between counsel, they shall prepare
and file a joint letter of no longer than 5 pages stating the nature and status of their dispute. Both
sides must submit proposed orders as well. No exhibits may be submitted with the letter other
than an excerpt of the specific discovery request or response that is the subject of the letter. The
letter must be filed as soon as possible. The side seeking relief from the Court should prepare its
portion of the letter first and then provide that to the opposing side so that the opposing side may
prepare its response. The party seeking relief from the Court should file the letter. The Court
may resolve the dispute on the papers or schedule a hearing. The joint discovery letter process
does not apply to discovery disputes with third parties.
Parties requesting a protective order are encouraged to base any proposed order on the model
protective orders on the Northern District’s website. When filing a proposed protective order, at
the very beginning of their stipulation or motion, parties must indicate whether they have based
their proposed order on one of the Northern District’s model protective orders. If they have, they
must identify any deviations from the model order by submitting as an exhibit a redline
comparison of their proposed order and the model order.
FILING AND COURTESY COPIES
Paper courtesy copies shall not be submitted unless the Court requests them.
All filing deadlines are at 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) unless otherwise ordered.
All exhibits to motions should be separately filed on ECF. For example, if the motion is Docket
No. 30, and the declaration with 10 exhibits is Docket No. 31, Exhibit A would be filed as
Docket No. 31-1, Exhibit B would be Docket No. 31-2, and so on. Electronically filed
documents must be text-searchable PDFs whenever possible.
When a document filed on ECF is accompanied by more than 10 attachments, the filing party
must also send the documents electronically to Judge Lin’s chambers’ Box.com storage.
Immediately after the ECF filing is complete, please email Judge Lin’s Courtroom Deputy at
[email protected] to request a secure link to upload the documents. Your email should
identify the case number and the docket number associated with the documents you wish to
upload. The uploaded documents should be the file-stamped versions with ECF headers. The
name of each PDF file should include the type of document, a brief description of the document,
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and the docket number. For example, a news release (docket number 61-2) filed as the first
exhibit to a declaration (docket number 61-1), would be, “[61-2] Decl Doe Ex 1 - News
Release.”
If certain attachments have been filed under seal (or provisionally filed under seal with an
accompanying motion to seal), only the unredacted versions of the attachments should be
uploaded to Box.com. The PDF files should be named first with the docket number associated
with the redacted version of the document and second with the document number associated with
the unredacted/sealed version of the document. E.g., “[61-2] [62-2] Decl Doe Ex 1 - News
Release.” All attachments (sealed or unsealed) should then be organized so that they can be
viewed in logical order. If you have concerns about the upload of sensitive documents to
Box.com, please reach out to the Courtroom Deputy.
PROPOSED ORDERS
Proposed orders are not necessary for most substantive motions, such as motions for summary
judgment, motions to dismiss, or preliminary injunction motions. The parties should submit
proposed orders only in connection with administrative motions, ex parte applications, discovery
disputes, and rulings that call upon the court to make factual findings (such as a motion to
approve a class settlement or a motion for attorneys’ fees). All proposed orders should be sent in
Microsoft Word compatible format to
[email protected].
MOTIONS TO SEAL
The Court requires strict compliance with Civil Local Rule 79-5 (with the exception of 79-
5(d)(2), as explained below). The Court strongly disfavors motions to seal. Public access to
court records is a fundamental aspect of our democracy and justice system. The filing party must
make a specific showing as to each statement or document to be sealed. Blanket requests that
make generic reference to “competitive harm” are almost always insufficient. If a party files a
request that is significantly overbroad or fails to provide a specific reason for sealing, the Court
will consider denying the request in its entirety and placing all documents sought to be sealed on
the public docket.
Each document filed under seal must be highlighted to show the proposed redactions. In the rare
situation where a party believes it is appropriate to seal an entire document, the document filed
under seal should be labeled to indicate that sealing is sought in full.
In addition to complying with Civil Local Rule 79-5(c)(3), the proposed order must identify the
applicable legal standard and contain a brief explanation of how that standard and the
requirements under Civil Local Rule 79-5(c)(1) are met.
If counsel has a complicated sealing motion, counsel shall file the Motion to Seal Summary
Table linked under the Standing Orders tab of Judge Lin’s website. Also, if more than 10
documents are sought to be sealed, the filing party must deliver an electronic courtesy copy via
Judge Lin’s chambers’ Box.com storage as detailed above.
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Paper courtesy copies under Civil Local Rule 79-5(d)(2) shall not be submitted, provided that the
document at issue is appropriately filed electronically under seal in an unredacted form.
BRIEFS
For summary judgment motions, class certification motions, motions for approval of class
settlements, and claim construction, the briefs in support of and in opposition to the motions
cannot exceed 25 pages, and reply briefs cannot exceed 15 pages. For all other motions, the
briefs in support of and in opposition to the motions may not exceed 15 pages, and reply briefs
may not exceed 10 pages. These page limits include summaries of argument and exclude the
title page, table of contents, table of authorities, and exhibits. All briefs must use Times New
Roman font (size 12), including in footnotes, and must be double spaced.
Parties shall not include substantive arguments in footnotes, and footnotes shall not be overly
lengthy or used to exceed page limits. The Court may strike any filing that includes footnotes
that do not comply with these requirements.
Motions to increase page limits will rarely be granted, but any such motion must be filed no later
than two court days before the brief is due.
The final brief for any motion should be filed at least 14 days prior to the hearing on the motion.
When citing exhibits (including deposition testimony), briefs should identify the declaration to
which the exhibit is attached, the letter or number of the exhibit, and the relevant page and, if
available, line number (for example: “Smith Decl., Ex. 1, at 22:1-5”).
USE OF GENERATIVE AI TOOLS
Counsel is responsible for providing the Court with complete and accurate representations of the
record, procedural history, and cited legal authorities. Use of generative artificial intelligence
tools is not prohibited, but counsel must personally confirm for themselves the accuracy of any
research conducted by these means, and counsel alone bears ethical responsibility for all
statements made in filings. These obligations also apply to self-represented litigants.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
In the event of cross-motions for summary judgment, the parties must file a total of four briefs
sequentially, rather than three pairs of simultaneous briefs. Unless the parties agree to reverse
the order (which they are free to do on their own), the opening brief is filed by the plaintiff side,
the opening/opposition brief is filed by the defense side, the opposition/reply is filed by the
plaintiff side, and the reply is filed by the defense side. The first two briefs are limited to 25
pages, the third brief is limited to 20 pages, and the fourth brief is limited to 15 pages. The
parties may submit a stipulation and proposed order setting a briefing schedule for the cross-
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motions in advance of the first brief, which will likely be signed so long as the fourth brief is due
no later than 14 days before the hearing date.
The parties shall not file joint or separate statements of undisputed facts in connection with
summary judgment motions.
At the summary judgment hearing and/or in the briefs, the parties should not hesitate to alert the
Court of the need for a prompt ruling in light of their trial preparation schedule.
EXPERTS AND THEIR REPORTS
All witnesses who will provide expert testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, 703, or
705, whether retained or non-retained, must be disclosed and must provide written reports in
compliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B). All expert reports shall number
each paragraph to facilitate any motion practice challenging the specifics of any opinions and
shall include a table of contents. At the beginning of the report, the expert shall list and number
each opinion to be proffered in the report and, if applicable, provide an executive opinion of
each.
Any percipient witness who may also testify at trial with technical expertise akin to an
independent expert shall be identified by name no later than the date of expert disclosures to
allow for deposition, if necessary.
At the time of disclosure of a written report, the disclosing party must identify all written
materials upon which the expert relies in that report and produce those materials if they have not
done so previously.
CLASS ACTIONS
At the initial case management conference, the parties should be prepared to discuss whether
they prefer to litigate cross-motions for summary judgment on liability with respect to the named
plaintiffs before litigating the issue of class certification. The Court is of the view that this
approach will often save a great deal of time and money and is therefore often in the defendant’s
interest, but it requires the defendant’s consent, since a grant of summary judgment in the named
plaintiff’s favor could end up giving unnamed class members a chance to opt in to a lawsuit
where a legal issue has already been decided against the defendant.
In connection with motions for approval of class settlements, the parties shall comply with the
requirements set forth in the Northern District’s Procedural Guidance for Class Action
Settlements. In addition, the following shall apply:
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Preliminary Approval
The Court conducts a searching inquiry at the preliminary approval stage to avoid the
costs and pitfalls of proceeding to final approval of a settlement that is unlikely to satisfy
Rule 23(e).
Release language should make clear that the class members are releasing claims based
only on the identical factual predicate. Each proposed notice should make that clear as
well. Hesse v. Sprint Corp., 598 F.3d 581, 590 (9th Cir. 2010).
The Court disfavors injunctions of current or future litigation in other courts based on
conduct covered by the release, because the issue is generally better addressed by the
assigned judges for such cases. If the parties seek an injunction, the motion for
preliminary approval must explain why.
If a proposed notice to class members (or prospective class members) requires a written
objection as a prerequisite to appearing in court to object to the settlement, the notice
must specify that this requirement may be excused upon a showing of good cause. The
Court will require only substantial compliance with the requirements for submitting an
objection, and this should be made clear in any notice to class members.
The proposed settlement administrator must submit a declaration in support of the motion
for preliminary approval that describes (a) any money or thing of value the administrator
will receive in connection with administering the settlement beyond the fee described in
the preliminary approval papers, including interest or float on settlement deposits,
payments from depository banks, and any revenue-sharing, ownership percentage, or
markups on settlement services from payment, claims processing, social media, or other
vendors; (b) any amounts that class members or claimants could be charged by the
administrator, its vendors, or its subcontractors in connection with the settlement,
including interchange fees, dormancy fees, or retention of residual balances; (c) whether
data about visitors to the settlement website or other settlement class data will be shared
with third parties not involved in administering the settlement, including via trackers or
pixels; (d) whether artificial intelligence will be used to administer the settlement by the
administrator, its subcontractors, or its vendors and, if so, what safeguards will ensure
accuracy and lack of bias; (e) a detailed fraud prevention plan, of which portions may be
submitted under seal if necessary and which shall include a discussion of the availability
of real-time fraud reporting, assessments to detect if an unusual number of payments are
being sent to linked accounts, and measures taken to avoid unnecessary hurdles for valid
claimants; and (f) any situations in which the administrator resigned or was terminated or
suspended from its settlement administration duties before they were fully completed,
and a description of why. To the extent available, the settlement administrator shall also
include, for its five most recent class settlements, the total dollars spent on settlement
administration (including class notice costs) per valid claim submitted.
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Proposed class counsel’s declaration shall describe (a) what due diligence counsel
performed regarding the proposed administrator’s approach to each of the above issues;
(b) a description of any potential conflict of interest, or potential appearance of conflict of
interest, for counsel or their litigation funder(s) in the selection of the administrator,
including any financial relationship and any large gifts over $500; (c) class counsel’s
assessment of whether settlement funds held in escrow will receive market-rate interest
and be held in appropriately risk-free instruments, and the basis for that assessment; and
(d) the basis for counsel’s conclusion that the proposed administration arrangements
serve the best interests of the settlement class.
Notice and Claims Procedure
The proposed notices, claims forms, and other documents associated with preliminary
approval should be sent in Microsoft Word compatible format to
[email protected].
For large settlements, the parties are encouraged to include an opt-out form and an
objection form.
Proposed notices must be written in plain language without unnecessary acronyms. The
parties should consider using the Notice Project’s model notices, which are available
online. Parties should also ensure that the issues in the Federal Judicial Center’s Notice
Checklist, are covered.
The notice plan should address whether a significant portion of the class does not speak
English and if so, whether class notice in other language(s) should be provided.
The motion must discuss whether notice by email and/or social media, use of online
claims and opt-out forms, and a website for the settlement are appropriate, and if not,
explain why not. Any email notice shall include a plan for updating email addresses and
making a second attempt at notice if the emails bounce back. Any social media or online
publication notice plan shall explain in detail how widespread viewing of the notice by
likely class members will be accomplished.
In a proposed settlement involving the distribution of money to a class, the motion must
discuss whether unclaimed funds should be redistributed to class members who claimed
their share, and if not, explain why not.
If the settlement requires class members to file claims, as opposed to simply receiving
checks, the motion must address why that is appropriate.
Final Approval
In proposing a schedule for final approval of a class settlement, the parties must ensure
that the motion for attorneys’ fees is filed at least 35 days before the deadline for
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objecting to the settlement. The Court will make parties re-send notices if the motion for
attorneys’ fees is filed late, which can be quite expensive. The proposed order granting
final approval should list all dates relating to the administration of the settlement,
including the dates for when the checks distributing the settlement fund payments will be
mailed to class members.
The parties should file a proposed judgment separately from their proposed order
granting final approval.
The final approval motion shall include an update from the settlement administrator on
any notice problems, repeated issues of confusion among claimants, or fraud issues. If
the notice plan included social media or online publication notice, the settlement
administrator shall also provide information about the number of impressions, settlement
website views, claim forms begun, and claim forms completed.
To permit an accurate lodestar cross-check, the attorneys’ fees motion should be
supported with detailed summaries, including a breakdown of fees by task (e.g., prefiling
investigation, preparing complaint, motion to dismiss, document review, depositions,
mediation, etc.), the blended hourly rate for each task, and a detailed justification for the
work done (e.g., nature of unusually complex work with expert, number of depositions or
documents reviewed, etc.). If the lodestar is on the high side in light of the stage of the
case, attorneys should support their motion with detailed billing records, which they may
seek to file under seal.
Post-Distribution Accounting
Within 21 days after the settlement funds have been fully distributed to class members
(but before distribution to cy pres recipients), class counsel will be required to file a Post-
Distribution Accounting, as described in the Northern District’s Procedural Guidance for
Class Action Settlements.
In addition to the information contained in the Guidance, the post-distribution accounting
must discuss any significant or recurring concerns communicated by class members to
the settlement administrator or counsel since final approval, any fraud or other issues in
settlement administration since final approval, and how any concerns or issues were
resolved. The Post-Distribution Accounting shall also include the administrator’s
calculation of the total dollars spent on settlement administration (including class notice
costs) per valid claim submitted.
The Court will typically withhold 10% of the attorneys’ fees and 100% of the settlement
administration fee granted at final approval until after the Post-Distribution Accounting
has been filed. The proposed order granting final approval should incorporate that
provision, unless the parties’ approval motion explains why that provision would be
particularly burdensome under the circumstances. With the Post-Distribution
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Accounting, class counsel should submit a proposed order releasing the remainder of the
fees.
The Court retains jurisdiction to reduce or claw back fees from class counsel or the
settlement administrator after final approval if serious problems arise in the
administration of the settlement.
ERISA CASES
In the event of cross-motions for judgment under Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, the parties shall file a total of four briefs sequentially, rather than three pairs of
simultaneous briefs, as set forth in the “Summary Judgment” section above. No later than seven
days before the Rule 52 hearing, the parties must also file joint proposed undisputed findings of
fact and conclusions of law, and separately file disputed findings of fact and conclusions of law.
All factual findings must be supported by citations to all pertinent portions of the record.
Proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law shall be brief, written in plain English, and free
of pejorative language. In addition to being filed, the proposed findings and conclusions must be
emailed to the Court (
[email protected]) in Word compatible format.
PATENT CASES
Only one summary judgment motion may be filed per party in each patent case, absent leave of
court. Parties that are related entities are considered one party for purposes of this rule.
Technology tutorials will occur via Zoom on the Tuesday civil calendar at 1:30 p.m., and should
generally be set for at least one week before the claim construction hearing. Visual aids are fine,
and should be exchanged at least two hours beforehand. The default time limit will be 90
minutes of shared time, or 45 minutes per side. Judge Lin prefers an interactive tutorial that will
allow her to ask questions.
Claim construction hearings will have a default time limit of 3 hours (90 minutes per side), and
will go back and forth term-by-term. Visual aids or demonstrative exhibits are fine, as long as
they are based on information contained in the papers already filed and are exchanged at least
two hours beforehand. The Court will endeavor to provide the parties with a summary chart of
its tentative claim construction order at least two court days prior to the hearing.
The Court will generally construe no more than ten terms. If more than ten terms are at issue,
the parties must meet and confer before the preparation of the joint claim construction statement
to narrow the number of terms to be construed by the Court and shall jointly propose the ten
terms requiring construction. If a party genuinely believes that more than ten terms need to be
construed, that party may request leave to designate additional terms for construction, pursuant
to Civil Local Rule 7-11. The requesting party must demonstrate good cause and explain why
other methods of limiting the terms at issue (such as the selection of representative terms or any
grouping of terms by issues presented) would be ineffective. The request must be filed no later
than two weeks before the deadline for filing the joint claim construction statement. If good
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cause is shown, the Court will either agree to construe all terms at the originally scheduled
hearing or schedule a second claim construction proceeding on the excess terms. If more than
ten terms are submitted for construction without leave of court, the Court will construe only the
first ten terms listed in the joint claim construction statement.
Prehearing claim construction conferences are generally not held, but parties may address
prehearing issues at the tutorial or request a case management conference to be held at least two
weeks prior to the hearing. If the parties anticipate witness testimony will be necessary, counsel
shall alert the Court via a joint status report and request such a case management conference.
When a patent case also includes patent counterclaims, the Court will generally conduct one
claim construction hearing covering all patents. In that situation, the claim construction briefing
schedule will follow a four-brief sequence, following the page limits outlined above concerning
cross-motions for summary judgment, with the plaintiff filing the first brief.
SECURITIES CASES
Within 14 days of service of the complaint (or consolidated complaint), the plaintiff shall file a
chart summarizing the information required by 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(b)(1) and (2), specifically
identifying the allegations in the operative complaint as follows: (a) each statement alleged to
have been false or misleading; (b) the speaker, date, and medium by which the statement was
made; (c) the reason(s) the statement was false or misleading when made; and (d) the facts
alleged to show that defendant(s) knew the statement false and/or misleading. The chart should
clearly identify which statements or omissions are attributable to which defendants and, for each
such defendant, the facts alleged which give rise to a strong inference that the defendant acted
with the required state of mind at the relevant time. The chart must strictly adhere to the
allegations in operative complaint and may not include any new or supplemental
information or explanation.
If a motion to dismiss is granted with leave to amend, a new chart must be filed with the
amended complaint. That new chart may not include alleged misstatements that were not
included in the prior chart, absent leave of Court or stipulation by the parties pursuant to Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 15.
The chart should be organized in the following format:
Statement The Speaker(s), False and Reasons Facts Giving Rise
No. Date(s), and Misleading Statements Were to a Strong
Medium Statements False and Inference of
Misleading When Scienter
Made
1 When: [date] [Direct quotation [Summarize [Summarize
of the alleged false arguments on arguments on
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Where: [e.g., press and misleading scienter with scienter with
release] statements.] specific references specific references
Speakers: [e.g., to paragraphs in to paragraphs in
CEO] the complaint.] the complaint.]
(Compl. ¶ __ )
PARTIES UNREPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY
Parties representing themselves, without the assistance of a lawyer, should visit the Court’s
website, where they can learn more about the Court’s Legal Help Center, which provides free
assistance for unrepresented parties over the phone. Parties can make an appointment by calling
(415) 782-8982.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: May 7, 2026
Rita F. Lin
United States District Judge
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