1309 ADMINISTRATION OF CIVIL LITIGATION
- POLICY
This rule is adopted pursuant to the Trial Court
Delay Reduction Act (Government Code §68600 et seq.), and shall
apply to all general civil actions, and all limited civil actions
as specified, filed after January 1, 1988 except those actions excluded
by Government Code §68608, §68620, and such other actions
specified by the court. It is the policy of
this court pursuant to the above Act to manage all civil cases from
the time the complaint
is filed and to achieve dispositions in such
civil cases as expeditiously as possible. Counsel and parties to
any civil action subject to
this rule shall have an affirmative duty to
diligently and expeditiously prepare such cases for trial.
-
ASSIGNMENT OF ALL PURPOSE JUDGE
Upon filing of the complaint in general civil
cases, the Court shall randomly assign a
judge to hear the case for all purposes
and shall notice the Plaintiff of the selection
of the all purpose judge. The Court shall
also set a Case Management Conference 120 days from
the date of filing of the complaint and send
notice to the Plaintiff of the assigned, all purpose judge and the
date
set for the Case Management
Conference.
All parties brought into the case shall be immediately
noticed by Plaintiff of the assignment of the
all-purpose judge and of the date set for the Case
Management Conference. A Proof
of Service
of the assigned, all purpose judge and date
of the Case Management Conference shall be filed
by Plaintiff with the Court within five (5) days
after service. Plaintiff shall be required to
provide such notice to all parties, including, but
not limited to, defendants, cross-defendants
and intervenors. Failure to give notice and file
proof thereof may result in the imposition of sanctions.
- PROOF OF SERVICE OF COMPLAINT
Within 60 days after filing of the complaint,
the plaintiff(s) in general and limited civil
actions shall file with the court proof of service
upon the defendant(s). If plaintiff(s) cannot
with reasonable diligence serve process on
all named defendants within that time period,
plaintiff(s) may do one of the following:
(1) file a motion to extend time to serve the defendant(s)
no later than 60 days from the date the initial
complaint was filed. Such motion shall be
set for hearing on the Civil Law & Motion Calendar within 20 days
after filing and such motion shall be accompanied by a declaration stating
the reason(s) why the complaint cannot be timely served in accordance
with this rule; or (2) file an application for an ex parte order to
extend time for service of process within such 60-day period, provided
that plaintiff(s) uses the form application approved by the court. If
the application for an ex parte extension is denied, the court shall
order the applicant to appear on the Civil Law & Motion Calendar
and show cause why the application should
be granted.
It is the policy of this court to disfavor
delays in serving or extensions of time to
answer any pleading.
- CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
The court shall conduct a case management
conference 120 days from the date that the
complaint was filed in all general and limited
civil cases. Each counsel shall file the
Case Management Conference
statement not later than 15 calendar days
before the 120 day Case Management Conference
in accordance with Local Court Rule 1102
and Rule 212 of the California Rules of Court. At
the Case Management Conference, the court shall consider
alternative dispute resolution
(ADR) methods, including,
but not limited to, mediation, all forms
of arbitration, early settlement conferences,
use of special masters or referees, private
judicial decisions
and judge pro tems. If the court deems it
appropriate,
the court may assign the case to an ADR proceeding
prior to setting the case for trial.
Counsel attending the Case Management Conference
shall be thoroughly familiar with the case
and shall have discussed with their clients
ADR methods and settlement procedures, and
have authority to act on behalf of their
clients in these matters.
Any unlawful detainer case
not actually disposed of or set for trial within 45 days from
the date of filing of the complaint may be set
for case management conference to determine
the status of such case.
- ORDERS TO SHOW CAUSE
If proof of service of the complaint is not
filed and no timely motion to extend the
time for such action has been set for a
hearing in general or limited civil cases, the court
may issue an order to show cause. At any
order to show cause hearing or at any other
hearing pursuant to this rule, the court may
make such orders
as appropriate to eliminate delay, including
but not limited to, requiring the immediate
service of pleadings, the limitation
of discovery, law
and motion, or other pretrial procedures,
and any such other orders as may be required
to cause the case to proceed expeditiously.
In cases
that are filed on or after January 1, 1991,
the court shall not require shorter time
periods than those specified in Government
Code §68616.
If the court at any time finds that any
party or attorney has not proceeded with due diligence,
the court may impose any sanctions authorized
by law or local court rules including,
but not limited to, dismissal of the case or
striking of the pleadings as well as monetary
sanctions.
- UNINSURED MOTORIST CASES
The court may designate appropriate cases
as "Uninsured Motorist." Cases
designated by the court as "Uninsured Motorist" may have additional
time, not to exceed 180 days, providing that counsel files a declaration
and order to designate the case as "Uninsured Motorist" with
the court within 60 days after the complaint
was filed. The declaration shall state that
the case is a personal injury
or property damage action
filed against a defendant(s) who is an uninsured
motorist and plaintiff(s) claim is subject
to an arbitration provision of an insurance
policy which applies to all or part of the
loss claimed.
- DIFFERENTIATION OF CASES
In accordance with Rule 2105(c) of the California
Rules of Court, the Superior Court hereby
presumes that a case is subject to the disposition
goal under case-management Plan I, i.e.,
disposition within 12 months of filing of
the complaint. The court may modify the assigned
case-management plan at any time for good
cause shown.
- MINIMUM TIME PERIODS FOR DELAY REDUCTION
CASES
Pursuant to Government Code §68612, this rule and any court policies
and procedures adopted pursuant to this rule, shall take precedence
over any conflicting statutory provisions or California Rules of Court,
except those provisions relating to time periods set forth in Government
Code §68616 for cases filed on or after January 1, 1991.
(Adopted: 07-01-99; As Amended 07-01-01 & corrected on
07/19/01; As Amended, eff. 01-01-03)
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