Judge P. Casey Pitts · Standing Order for Civil Cases
Courtroom 8, 4th Floor, Robert F. Peckham Courthouse
280 South First Street, San José, CA 95113
Nicole Coleman (she/her), Courtroom Deputy (CRD)
(408) 535-5346 ·
[email protected]
Pretrial Conferences Tuesdays at 10:00 AM
Civil Law & Motion Calendar Thursdays at 10:00 AM
Civil Case Management Conferences Thursdays at 1:00 PM
Confirm Judge Pitts’s availability before noticing any motion.
Scheduling Notes listing unavailable dates are posted at cand.uscourts.gov/pcp
This order supplements the Federal Rules and Civil Local Rules in civil cases before Judge Pitts.
Where indicated, additional details and instructions are included in endnotes.
COMMUNICATING WITH CHAMBERS
• Inquiries. Contact Judge Pitts’s CRD regarding scheduling and other similar inquiries. Do
not communicate ex parte with Judge Pitts or chambers staff unless authorized.
• Requests. Request Court action by stipulation or motion, not via letters or letter briefs.
EMERGENCY REQUESTS
• Submission. When seeking emergency relief (e.g., a temporary restraining order or any
stipulation that needs action within 24 hours), notify Judge Pitts’s CRD by phone and email.
• Notice. Make every reasonable effort to notify the opposing party (and counsel) as early as
possible before seeking emergency relief. Emergency requests must explain such efforts and
may be denied if the moving party’s efforts are insufficient.
• Response. Do not respond to a request for emergency relief until instructed. Judge Pitts will
almost never grant emergency relief without first requesting a response.
SCHEDULING
• Availability. Motions may be noticed for any Thursday at 10:00 AM subject to the
availability of Judge Pitts (listed in his Scheduling Notes) and the 35-day notice period.
• Rescheduling. Requests to continue a hearing or CMC are due 72 hours in advance.
• In-Person. Hearings are in person unless specifically indicated on the docket. Motions to
have a remote hearing by Zoom are due one week in advance and are not always granted.1
PRONOUNS & HONORIFICS
• Pronouns and honorifics may be indicated in pleadings, a separate letter, or at hearings.
Effective August 2024
Judge Pitts · Standing Order for Civil Cases
CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES & SCHEDULES
• Statements. Joint Case Management Statements are due 7 days before the conference.
Statements should clearly identify any disputes the parties need the Court to resolve.
• Postponing. If a pending motion to dismiss is dispositive of an entire case, the parties may
stipulate to hold the initial CMC 60 days or more after the hearing.
• Attorneys. The attorney appearing at a CMC need not be lead counsel but must have full
authority to make decisions about any issue that may arise.
• Proposed Schedule. CMC statements should propose a full litigation schedule, including
deadlines to amend pleadings and complete ADR. Rather than including a date for the
pretrial conference and trial, the schedule shall include a date for a trial-setting conference.
When proposing dates, allow:
o no more than 24 months between the initial CMC and the trial-setting conference
(absent justification);
o at least 20 weeks between the dispositive motion filing deadline and trial-setting
conference;
Use absolute dates (e.g., Jan. 1, 2024) rather than relative ones (e.g., 60 days after an order).
• Motions to Exclude Expert Testimony must be filed by the dispositive motions deadline.
• ADR. Cases will generally not be referred for a settlement conference with a magistrate
judge unless the parties have already completed a different form of ADR.
• Amendment. Rule 15 requires the Court to “freely give leave” to amend “when justice so
requires.” Do not unreasonably withhold consent to amendment. If agreement cannot be
reached, motions to amend are due by the deadline for amending the pleadings.
• Modification. Once set, case schedules and trial dates will only be modified for good cause.2
MOTIONS & BRIEFING
• Briefing Schedule. Parties may stipulate to a motion briefing schedule that differs from the
default. Allow at least 14 days between the final filing and the hearing. Hearings on motions
for summary judgment or substantive motions in patent cases should allow 21 days.
• Citations. Citations and factual assertions must be completely accurate. Misrepresentations
of law or fact, however subtle, may result in sanctions. Judge Pitts prefers Westlaw citations.
• Page Limits. Requests to enlarge page limits are rarely granted. 3
• Footnotes. Footnotes must be in at least 12-point type and should be used sparingly.
• Reply Briefs. If multiple parties file separate opposition briefs to a motion, the moving
party must file a single consolidated reply brief complying with the default page limits.
• No Chambers Copies. Do not submit chambers copies unless requested.
• Filing Documents. File each motion, supporting declaration, and exhibit on ECF as a
separate searchable PDF with a clear name and description.
• Redline Amendments. Attach as an exhibit to any amended or proposed amended pleading
a redlined document showing the changes made to the previously filed pleading.
• Evidence and Exhibits. Submit a joint appendix of evidence if possible. Where each party
relies on the same exhibit, cite an already filed exhibit rather than filing a duplicate.
• Objections to Evidence. Object to evidence within briefs. Do not file separate pleadings.
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Judge Pitts · Standing Order for Civil Cases
• Proposed Orders. File proposed orders on ECF as PDFs and email Word versions to
[email protected]. Proposed orders are only necessary for administrative motions,
ex parte applications, and motions seeking specific relief. 4
• Tentative Rulings. Judge Pitts does not issue tentative rulings.
SEALING MOTIONS
• Justification. Any motion to seal must comply with Local Rule 79-5 and state whether the
compelling reasons or good cause standard applies and why. Make arguments specific to
the portions of documents sought to be sealed. Blanket or generic statements like
“competitive harm” are almost never sufficient. See, e.g., Apple Inc. v. Rivos, Inc., 2024 WL
748394 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 23, 2024) (Pitts, J.). Frivolous, overbroad, or inadequate sealing
motions risk denial, publication without further notice, or sanctions.
• Proposed Redactions. Highlight proposed redactions to any documents sought to be filed
partially under seal. Label documents sought to be entirely sealed accordingly.
• Consolidated Sealing Motions. If the briefing on a substantive motion includes multiple
sealing motions, Judge Pitts requires a single joint motion that consolidates all requests.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
• Motions for summary judgment are subject to Judge Pitts’s separate Standing Order on
Summary Judgment.
DISCOVERY
• In most cases, discovery will be referred to a magistrate judge whose procedures will apply.
• The presumptive limits on discovery set forth in the Federal Rules will govern most cases.
Judge Pitts rarely departs from the default rules unless the parties agree.
HEARINGS
• Vacating Hearings. Judge Pitts may vacate any hearing date and rule on the papers.
• Newer Lawyers. Notify Judge Pitts’s CRD two weeks in advance if an attorney with less
than 7 years of experience will argue. Judge Pitts will consider this in deciding whether to
hold a hearing. Judge Pitts will allow additional argument from a senior attorney if needed.
• Demonstratives. Judge Pitts seldom finds such materials useful and counsel should be
prepared to answer his questions. Send any demonstratives to opposing counsel and Judge
Pitts’s CRD (via email) 48 hours in advance.
UNREPRESENTED PARTIES
• Parties representing themselves can contact the Federal Pro Se Program, which provides
limited free legal services to pro se litigants. Visit Room 2070 of the San José Courthouse,
contact Haohao Song at (408) 297-1480, or visit cand.uscourts.gov/helpcentersj.
CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENTS
• Parties submitting motions for preliminary or final approval of class action settlements
must follow these guidelines: https://cand.uscourts.gov/forms/procedural-guidance-for-
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Judge Pitts · Standing Order for Civil Cases
class-action-settlements/. Parties should include an appendix with their brief that responds
to the specific requirements outlined in the guidelines. (Copying and pasting each listed
item and immediately following it with the parties’ response is best.). Failure to address the
issues identified in the guidelines may result in unnecessary delay or denial of approval.
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Judge Pitts · Standing Order for Civil Cases
Additional Notes
1REQUESTING REMOTE APPEARANCES. Requests to appear remotely via Zoom for a
hearing must be made by administrative motion (not stipulation) at least one week in advance.
Motions may be joint or by a single party for good cause (e.g., burdensome travel, resource
constraints, mobility limits, or party access). Non-parties may request to access a remote hearing
by filing a request on the Northern District’s website (https://cand.uscourts.gov/about/court-
programs/cameras/). Judge Pitts retains full discretion to deny any such requests, and requests
not joined by all parties are more likely to be granted for CMCs than for hearings.
Anyone granted remote access to Zoom proceedings is strictly prohibited from photographing
screenshotting, recording, or rebroadcasting the proceeding. Pursuant to General Order 58,
violating these prohibitions may result in sanctions, including removal of court-issued media
credentials, restricted entry into future hearings, or any other sanctions deemed necessary.
2REQUESTING CHANGES TO DATES & DEADLINES. Submit motions/stipulations to
extend dates and deadlines at least 72 hours before the date at issue. Requests must:
• Explain the justification (Judge Pitts is unlikely to approve changes without good cause,
and without a compelling showing of good cause for changes to trial dates);
• State how many extensions have previously been requested, and indicate the Court’s
rulings on those requests; and
• Include a proposed order listing all future deadlines in the case schedule incorporating
the proposed modifications.
3 REQUESTING ENLARGED PAGE LIMITS. Submit motions/stipulations to enlarge page
limits at least 72 hours before the relevant filing is due. If a request is made by administrative
motion rather than stipulation, any opposition must be filed by the sooner of: (a) 12:00pm one
business day before the filing deadline, or (b) the time allowed by Civil Local Rule 7-11.
4REQUESTING SPECIFIC RELIEF VIA PROPOSED ORDER. Proposed orders are not
necessary for most substantive motions, such as motions for summary judgment and motions to
dismiss. File proposed orders only in connection with administrative motions, ex parte
applications, and motions that ask for specific relief (e.g., a motion for a preliminary injunction
or an application for a temporary restraining order) or factual findings (e.g., a motion to
approve a class settlement or for attorneys’ fees). Proposed orders submitted in connection with
motions for injunctive relief should state the specific relief sought. Proposed orders must be
both filed on ECF in PDF form and emailed in Word form to
[email protected]. Orders
submitted only by email are not deemed filed and may not be seen by the Judge.
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