UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
STANDING ORDER RE CIVIL CASES
JUDGE BETH LABSON FREEMAN
I. CONFORMITY TO RULES
Parties and counsel shall comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Civil
Local Rules, the General Orders of the Northern District of California, and this Court’s
standing orders, all of which are available at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov. Failure to
comply with any of these rules or orders may be grounds for monetary sanctions,
dismissal, entry of default judgment, or other appropriate sanctions.
II. COMMUNICATION WITH THE COURT
Parties and counsel shall not communicate ex parte with Judge Freeman or her chambers
staff. Parties and counsel may contact Judge Freeman’s Courtroom Deputy Clerk,
Tiffany Salinas-Harwell, at 408-535-5381 or
[email protected] with inquiries
regarding scheduling or other appropriate matters.
III. SCHEDULING
A. Civil Motions
Civil motions are heard by reservation only on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. Hearing
dates may be reserved by contacting Judge Freeman’s Courtroom Deputy Clerk,
Tiffany Salinas-Harwell, at 408-535-5381 or
[email protected].
When reserving a hearing date, the attorney or party must inform Ms. Salinas-
Harwell of the number and type(s) of motions to be filed. Once a hearing date is
reserved, the motion(s) shall be filed within 14 days thereafter. If no motion has
been filed by the 15th day, the reservation will expire and the moving party must
obtain a new reservation before filing the motion(s).
B. Case Management Conferences
Case Management Conferences are heard on Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. via Zoom
Webinar. A joint Case Management Statement shall be filed at least 7 days
before each Case Management Conference. The joint Case Management
Statement shall comply with the “Standing Order for All Judges of the Northern
District of California – Contents of Joint Case Management Statement” and Civil
Local Rule 16-9.
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C. Final Pretrial Conferences
Final Pretrial Conferences are heard on Thursdays at 1:30 p.m.
A joint Pretrial Statement and Order shall be filed at least 14 days before the final
Pretrial Conference in compliance with Judge Freeman’s Standing Order Re Civil
Jury Trials or Standing Order re Civil Bench Trials, whichever is applicable.
D. Trials
Trial is conducted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. and on Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thursdays typically are dark.
IV. MOTIONS
A. Page Limits
1. 25 pages; 25 pages; 15 pages
Absent leave of Court, the page limits for the following types of motions
and proceedings shall be 25 pages for the motion or opening brief, 25
pages for the opposition or response brief, and 15 pages for the reply brief:
motions brought under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12, 23, 56, 59, or
65; motions for judgment on the pleadings; motions for certification of a
collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act; motions brought
under California’s anti-SLAPP statute; social security appeals; and claim
construction briefing. Parties shall comply with Civil Local Rule 7-2(b),
requiring that within the 25-page limit the moving party shall include the
notice of motion, a concise statement of relief requested, and points and
authorities supporting the motion.
2. Daubert Motions
Daubert motions may not exceed 10 pages per expert, and each side is
limited to a total of 25 pages for Daubert motions. The parties are
responsible for scheduling Daubert hearings at least 60 days before trial.
Alternatively, parties may include Daubert motions in their final pretrial
motions in limine. Each side is limited to 5 motions in limine of 5 pages
each. If a Daubert motion is presented as a motion in limine, only one
expert may be addressed per motion in limine.
3. Post-Trial Motions
Each side is limited to a total of 25 pages for all post-trial motions, which
must be presented in a single brief.
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4. 10 pages; 10 pages; 5 pages
Absent leave of Court, the page limits for all other types of motions and
proceedings, except for those addressed above or those as to which
specific page limits are set forth in the Civil Local Rules or the Court’s
Standing Orders, shall be 10 pages for the motion or opening brief, 10
pages for the opposition or response brief, and 5 pages for the reply brief.
Motions subject to the 10-page limit include, but are not limited to:
motions to remand; motions to compel arbitration; motions for leave to
amend; motions for stay; motions for default judgment; motions for
sanctions; motions for attorneys’ fees; and motions for interlocutory
appeal.
5. Joinder
If a party files its own motion and joins in another party’s motion, both the
party’s own motion and the joined motion will count toward the party’s
page limits. Excess pages will not be considered by the Court.
6. Multiple Parties per Side
The page limits stated above are per side, not per party. For example, if
multiple plaintiffs or multiple defendants seek summary judgment, the
moving parties may jointly file a single motion for summary judgment that
does not exceed 25 pages, or the moving parties may file separate motions
for summary judgment that do not exceed 25 pages collectively.
Opposition and reply briefs are subject to the corresponding collective
page limits.
7. Miscellaneous
These page limits are maximums, not minimums – counsel and parties are
encouraged to be concise. Title pages, tables of contents, indexes of cases,
and exhibits are not included in these page limits. However, the notice of
motion is included in the page limits, as set forth in Civil Local Rule 7-2.
B. Briefing Schedule
The parties may stipulate to and request Court approval of a briefing schedule that
differs from that set forth in the Civil Local Rules. Under no circumstances may
the reply (or other final brief) be filed less than 14 days before the hearing.
Where possible, the Court prefers 21 days.
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C. Hearing
The filing party is responsible for reserving a hearing date for each motion filed.
Currently, the Court is setting hearings approximately 5 months out. Daubert
motions must be set for hearing at least 60 days before trial. Summary judgment
motions must be set for hearing at least 90 days before trial.
D. Incorporation by Reference Not Permitted
All factual and legal bases for a party’s position with respect to a motion must be
presented in the briefing on that motion. Arguments presented in other briefs or
documents may not be incorporated by reference, except where multiple parties
are sharing page limits pursuant to Section IV.A.6 herein, in which case they may
incorporate by reference only portions of the current briefing before the Court.
E. 12-Point Type and Double-Spaced
All written text, including footnotes and quotations, shall be no less than 12-point
type and shall be double-spaced.
F. Footnotes
Footnotes shall be no less than 12-point type and shall be double-spaced.
Footnotes shall not be used to cite to legal authorities or evidence. All citations to
legal authorities or evidence shall be in the body of the brief. Excessive footnotes
will be disregarded. In general, no more than 5 footnotes per brief should be
necessary.
G. Request for Judicial Notice
A request for judicial notice may be made within the body of a brief or filed as a
document separate from the brief. Exhibits containing documents as to which
judicial notice is requested will not be counted against the requesting party’s page
limits. Whether the request for judicial notice is incorporated into a brief or filed
separately, written argument in support of the request will be counted against the
page limits for the brief to which it relates. Any response to the request for
judicial notice shall be incorporated into the brief filed by the responding party.
H. Highlighting Cited Portions of Depositions and Other Lengthy Documents
The cited portions of depositions and other lengthy documents shall be
highlighted in yellow for ease of reference. Highlighting in colors other than
yellow will result in the document being stricken.
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I. Objections to Evidence
Objections to evidence shall comply with the Civil Local Rules, which require
that objections be contained within the objecting party’s brief. See Civ. L.R. 7-
3(a), (c).
V. MOTIONS TO SEAL
Motions to seal documents shall be filed in accordance with Civil Local Rule 79-5. In
addition, each administrative motion filed pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5(c) and
declaration filed pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5(f)(3) shall include a chart, in the
format set forth below, which includes the following four columns: (1) ECF number or
exhibit number of the document sought to be sealed; (2) description or name of the
document sought to be sealed; (3) portion(s) of the document to seal; and (4) reason(s)
why the document should be sealed, including citation to the applicable declaration.
Each separate document for which sealing is sought shall have its own row in the table.
ECF or Document Portion(s) to Seal Reason(s) for Sealing
Ex. No.
252 Plaintiff’s Motion for Highlighted portions at Contains confidential information
Summary Judgment 4:9-12; 10:2-7. relating to the parties’ licenses
and negotiations with third
parties, and Plaintiff’s internal
financial and business strategies.
See Smith Decl. ¶¶ 3-7. Public
disclosure of this information
would cause harm to Plaintiff. Id.
Each administrative motion filed pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5(c) and declaration
filed pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5(f)(3) shall be submitted in Word format by email
to
[email protected] on the same day of filing.
Chambers copies of sealing motions shall not be sent to the Court. Unredacted chambers
copies of the substantive briefs or exhibits that are the subject of the sealing motion shall
be delivered to the Court, with redactions highlighted in yellow. No chambers copies of
redacted briefs or exhibits shall be delivered to the Court.
Once the Court adjudicates a sealing motion, if the redactions and sealing granted by the
Court are narrower than what was redacted in the current public versions, the Filing Party
shall refile public versions of the redacted or sealed document(s) within 7 days, unless the
Filing Party submits a renewed sealing motion or a Designating Party submits a renewed
declaration for any document in that filing.
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VI. POST-ANSWER DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS
A. Total Page Limits
Each side is limited to a total of 25 pages for all post-answer dispositive motions,
collectively, including motions for summary judgment and motions for judgment
on the pleadings. For example, if both a motion for judgment on the pleadings
and a motion for summary judgment are filed by defendants, the total briefing
across both motions may not exceed 25 pages. Total page limits for any
oppositions and replies shall be limited to 25 and 15 pages, respectively.
B. One Motion for Summary Judgment per Party
Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, only 1 motion for summary judgment,
partial summary judgment, or summary adjudication may be filed by each party.
C. Summary Judgment Motions Heard 90 Days Before Trial
Summary judgment motions shall be heard at least 90 days before trial.
Generally, the Court will reserve a compliant date at the Initial Case Management
Conference.
VII. MOTIONS FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES
In addition to the motion, memorandum, and evidence, a party moving for attorneys’ fees
must provide the Court with a chart, in the format set forth below, summarizing the hours
expended on the major tasks in the case. While the Court has suggested several
categories of tasks, the moving party may add or modify categories as necessary. The
Court is primarily interested in the number of hours spent per task and per attorney, along
with the effective billing rate associated with those hours. The total number of hours
reflected in this chart must be identical to the number of hours set forth in the fees
motion.
Task Atty A Atty B Atty C
(Billing Rate)
Compl. and Pre-Compl.
Investigation
Discovery
Motion Practice (specify motion)
Settlement Efforts
Client Communication
Miscellaneous (describe)
Total Hours
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VIII. PROPOSED ORDERS
All proposed orders in e-filing cases shall be submitted in Word format by email to
[email protected] on the same day the proposed order is e-filed.
IX. CHAMBERS COPIES
A. Chambers Copies Required only for Pleadings and Substantive Briefing
Chambers copies shall be delivered to the Court within one business day of filing
for the following documents: pleadings; briefing related to substantive motions;
and evidence related to substantive motions. No chambers copies of
administrative motions or other non-substantive motions (including sealing
motions) shall be delivered to the Court.
B. ECF Filing Stamp
Chambers copies shall be generated from ECF after filing so that they bear the
case number, document number, and filing date along the top of the page.
C. Format
In general, chambers copies must be single-sided (printed on only one side of the
page), 2-hole punched at the top, and stapled or fastened with metal prongs.
However, chambers copies of exhibits that are more than six inches thick must be
placed in binders, and chambers copies submitted in connection with a final
Pretrial Conference must be 3-hole punched on the left side. Whether or not in
binders, chambers copies must include numbered bottom tabs between exhibits.
Each chambers copy shall be marked “Chambers Copy” and shall be submitted to
the Clerk’s Office in an envelope marked with the case number and with the
words “Chambers Copy” and “Judge Beth Labson Freeman.”
D. Sealed Documents
When all or a portion of a substantive brief and/or supporting exhibits has been
sealed, the chambers copy of the brief and/or supporting exhibits shall contain a
complete set of the brief and/or supporting exhibits in unredacted form with any
supporting exhibits organized sequentially. Any portions of the substantive brief
and/or exhibits that have been sealed shall be highlighted in yellow. No chambers
copies of redacted briefs or exhibits shall be delivered to the Court.
E. Deposition Transcripts
Deposition transcripts submitted to the Court must be in single-page format.
Transcripts in 4-in-1 format, in which 4 pages of the deposition transcript are
reduced to fit on a single document page, will be disregarded.
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X. UNREPRESENTED PARTIES
Parties representing themselves in the San Jose Division of the Northern District of
California may wish to contact the Federal Pro Se Program, a free program that offers
limited legal services to pro se litigants. Parties may contact the Federal Pro Se Program
by calling 408-297-1480. Additional information regarding the Federal Pro Se Program
is available at http://cand.uscourts.gov/helpcentersj.
Dated: September 9, 2024
BETH LABSON FREEMAN
United States District Judge
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