San Mateo — PRETRIAL ORDERS

Source: https://sanmateo.courts.ca.gov/system/files/civil/dept-20-ptc-order.pdf

1 Order by the Court

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

9 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

10 ____________________, Case No. ____________________ 11 Plaintiff, 12 PRE-TRIAL ORDER NO. 1 vs.13 ASSIGNED FOR ALL PURPOSES TO 14 JUDGE MICHAEL L. MAU, DEPT. 20 ____________________, 15 Defendants. ACTION FILED: _ ____________ 16 PTC DATE: _ ____________ 17 MSC DATE: ____________ 18 TRIAL DATE: ____________ 19

20

21 WHEREAS the Court wishes to ensure that the Court, the parties, and the witnesses in all civil22 cases are prepared to begin the trial on the actual date that the trial is scheduled; and23 WHEREAS the Court wishes to establish clear and uniform requirements for pretrial conferences24 and trials in all civil cases;25 Pursuant to the Court’s inherent authority, THE COURT ISSUES THE FOLLOWING AS ITS26 PRE-TRIAL ORDER in this case. Note, this Pre-Trial Order applies to cases proceeding as either a Court27 Trial or Jury Trial.28

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 1

1 INTRODUCTION

2 A summary of the deadlines established by this order is provided below:

3 SUMMARY TABLE OF DEADLINES

4 EVENT DEADLINE 5 Serve (but not file): At least 42 days before the Pretrial Conference 6 1. Proposed motions in limine; 2. Proposed jury instructions; 7 3. Proposed verdict form(s); 8 4. Proposed witness lists; and 9 5. Proposed exhibit lists Meet and confer regarding pretrial At least 35 days before the Pretrial10 conference – including motions in limine, Conference proposed jury instructions, proposed jury11 questionnaire (if any), proposed verdict form(s), and witness and exhibit lists12 File and serve motions in limine At least 21 days before the Pretrial 13 (oppositions due 7 days later, see below). Conference

14 Trial Brief (10-page limit) At least 14 days before the Pretrial Conference 15 Parties must also file a joint pretrial 16 conference statement, and provide one (1) binder (no more than 2-3 inches wide) to 17 the Court with the following: 1. Proposed jury instructions;18 2. Proposed verdict form(s); 19 3. Proposed voir dire and jury questionnaire (if any);20 4. Proposed statement of the case; 21 5. Witness lists; 22 6. Exhibit lists, including any disputed exhibits; 23 7. Deposition designations and objections24 8. Motions in limine (in a separate 25 binder), with oppositions (if any); see instructions below. 26 Pretrial Conference will be held At least 14 days before the Trial Date 27 Deliver to the Court at least four (4) sets of At least 7 days before the Trial Date 28 trial exhibits in binders (no more than 2-3 inches wide) and on a thumb drive.

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 2

1 The parties must make every effort to raise and, if possible, resolve pretrial and trial issues early.

2 While the Court understands that trial is not entirely predictable, the parties must frontload all evidentiary

3 and legal disputes to the extent possible. Issues that surface unnecessarily on the eve of trial or during trial

4 waste time and are strongly disfavored. With this understanding, ALL DEADLINES AND

5 REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED BY THIS ORDER ARE SUBJECT TO MODIFICATION AT THE

6 DISCRETION OF THE COURT.

7 UNLAWFUL DETAINERS

8 1. In all Unlawful Detainer cases, all the above Pre-Trial requirements are DUE AT THE

9 DAY AND TIME OF YOUR JOINT PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE & TRIAL DATE.

10 Typically, unlawful detainers will be referred from the Civil Commissioner on a Friday,

11 and your Pre-Trial Conference & Trial date is the following Monday so plan accordingly.

12 MOTIONS IN LIMINE

13 2. The parties are encouraged to resolve trial issues with one another as soon as possible. The

14 parties shall meet and confer no later than thirty-five (35) days before the Pretrial

15 Conference to determine whether any evidentiary issues may be resolved by stipulation. No

16 party may file a motion in limine without first making a good faith effort to resolve the

17 evidentiary issue with the opposing party.

18 3. Motions in limine must be e-filed with the Clerk’ Office no later than twenty-one (21) days

19 before the Pretrial Conference. Oppositions, if any, must be e-filed with the Clerk’s Office

20 no later than fourteen (14) days before the Pretrial Conference. No replies will be permitted

21 without leave of the Court. Late filings may not be accepted by the Court.

22 4. Each party must submit one tabbed binder with its own motions in limine in numerical order

23 with the opposition immediately behind the motion within the same tab, i.e. Plaintiff should

24 submit one binder, and Defendant should submit one binder. Any declarations or requests

25 for judicial notice submitted by the parties in support of or in opposition to the motions in

26 limine along with any attached exhibits may be submitted in a separate tabbed binder. The

27 binders must be submitted to the Court with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement.

28 Binders should be no more than 2-3 inches wide.

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 3

1 5. Each motion in limine should address a single, separate topic and shall be limited to five

2 (5) pages in length unless otherwise permitted by the Court. Each motion should be clearly

3 identified as “Plaintiff’s or Defendant’s Motion in Limine No. Re:

4 _________________,” with the blanks filled in as appropriate.

5 6. Each opposition is also limited to five (5) pages unless otherwise permitted by the Court.

6 7. Each party shall file only one (1) declaration and/or one (1) request for judicial notice to

7 support all motions in limine, and one (1) declaration and/or one (1) request for judicial

8 notice to support all oppositions to motions in limine. The parties need not include a copy

9 of the operative complaint and/or cross-complaint.

10 8. Each party must also submit a hard copy and a Word version of all proposed orders. Each

11 proposed order must provide enough specificity so that a witness will be able to understand

12 what testimony is prohibited.

13 9. Please see Judge Mau’s Civil Webpage and the “Motions in Limine” tab for standard and

14 deemed granted motions in limine, and for limits (only five (5) contested without leave).

15 10. The motions in limine will be heard at the Pretrial Conference or at such other time as the

16 Court may direct.

17 JURY INSTRUCTIONS (if applicable)

18 11. The parties shall file a JOINT set of jury instructions, arraigned in the order the parties

19 propose the Court give the instructions, with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement. The

20 parties must include copies of the actual instructions and NOT merely a list of instruction

21 numbers.

22 12. Parties are invited to use the Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI).

23 Any modifications made to a form instruction must be plainly identified.

24 13. The Court will give copies of the final instructions to the jury to review during

25 deliberations. Therefore, the parties are NOT to include headings indicating which party

26 requested the instruction, or whether the instruction was given as proposed, modified,

27 rejected, etc. Rather, the top of the first page should include only the CACI number and

28 title. The footer may include the case name and number, and page number.

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 4

1 14. Instructions upon which the parties agree shall be identified as “Stipulated Instruction No.

2 ___ Re: __________” with the blanks filled in as appropriate.

3 15. If the parties disagree on an instruction, each party’s proposed version of the disputed

4 instruction shall be provided and identified as “Disputed Instruction No. ___ Re:

5 __________ Offered by __________.” All proposed versions of the same instruction

6 shall bear the same number. Following each disputed instruction, each party shall explain,

7 in no more than one page, why the Court should give that party’s proposed instruction or

8 why the instruction should or should not be given.

9 16. Any changes to the proposed jury instructions ordered by the Court must be made by the

10 parties and submitted to the Court by the deadlines set by the Court at the Pretrial

11 Conference or by any other deadline set by the Court.

12 VERFICT FORM (if applicable)

13 17. The parties shall file either joint proposed verdict form(s) or, if they disagree, separate

14 proposed verdict forms with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement.

15 18. Any changes to the proposed verdict form(s) ordered by the Court must be made by the

16 parties and submitted to the Court in Word format by the deadline set at the Pretrial

17 Conference or by any other deadline set by the Court.

18 VOIR DIRE and JURY QUESTIONNAIRE (if applicable)

19 19. The Court will conduct the initial voir dire guided by the Standards of Judicial

20 Administration, standard 3.25(c). If the parties want the Court to ask any particular

21 questions from those Standards or any additional questions, they should jointly submit

22 those questions (and any objections) with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement.

23 20. If the parties wish to use a jury questionnaire, the parties must file a joint proposed jury

24 questionnaire, or if they disagree, separate proposed jury questionnaires with the Joint

25 Pretrial Conference Statement. The Court’s preference is not to have a questionnaire.

26 PROPOSED STATEMENT OF THE CASE FOR THE JURY (if applicable)

27 21. The parties must file a joint proposed statement of the case to be read to the jury during

28 voir dire with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement. Unless the case is complex, this

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 5

1 statement should not exceed one-page double spaced. The statement should be neutral

2 rather than argumentative. The parties shall include the names of attorneys and witnesses

3 to be read to the jury. See, Standards of Judicial Administration, standard 3.25(b).

4 WITNESS LISTS

5 22. Each party must file a joint list of all the witnesses that the party intends to call at trial

6 with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement.

7 The joint witness list must be in tabular form and contain the following:

8 a. Name of the witness;

9 b. Title of the witness, if any;

10 c. Brief description of the subject matter of the witness’ anticipated testimony; and

11 d. Estimated length of the direct examination, cross-examination, and any redirect, and

12 cross-redirect. The total estimated time for all witnesses should be shown.

13 e. The parties shall also submit their deposition designations and objections with the Joint

14 Pretrial Conference Statement. The parties must submit copies of the excerpts of the

15 designated portions of the deposition transcripts, NOT a list of page and line numbers.

16 23. The parties must jointly submit one binder with a joint pleading that has the designations,

17 objections and responses followed by tabs for each witness with the designation highlighted

18 in yellow and any objections bracketed in red. The designating party shall provide the

19 opposing parties with the designation(s) and highlighted sections two weeks before the

20 statement is due. The parties shall then meet-and-confer about any objections at least five

21 days before the binder is due.

22 24. Unless a party can demonstrate good cause, the deposition of each witness shall be

23 introduced only once, i.e., all parties’ designations will be presented together rather than in

24 each party’s case.

25 25. Any witness who is not identified on a party’s witness list is subject to exclusion in the

26 reasonable exercise of the Court’s discretion.

27 TRIAL EXHIBITS

28 26. Each trial exhibit must be clearly pre-marked with the trial exhibit number. The back of the

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 6

1 last page of each trial exhibit must include the completed Court exhibit tag. (See Appendix

2 A.) The trial exhibit list must begin with the plaintiff’s first exhibit number. Defendant’s

3 exhibit numbers must be sequenced to begin after the plaintiff’s exhibit numbers.

4 27. Exhibits shall be numbered. No letters may be used. The parties must agree on a block of

5 numbers to fit the needs of the case (e.g., the plaintiff has exhibits 1-100; the defendant has

6 exhibits 101-200) and make a good faith effort to avoid marking the same exhibit in their

7 respective blocks. If the exact same exhibit is marked by more than one party, then the

8 defendant shall withdraw the duplicative exhibit (but should not renumber its portion of the

9 exhibit list).

10 28. If there is any dispute over which portions of an overlapping exhibit should be introduced

11 into evidence, the parties shall meet and confer in an attempt to informally resolve the issue.

12 If the parties are unable to informally resolve the dispute, then each party shall submit its

13 disputed exhibit with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement and explain, in no more than

14 one double-spaced page, why the Court should use its proposed exhibit.

15 29. To avoid any party claiming “ownership” of an exhibit, all exhibits shall be marked and

16 referred to as “Exhibit No. _____” – and NOT as “Plaintiff’s Exhibit” or “Defendant’s

17 Exhibit.”

18 30. The parties must file a joint exhibit list identifying all the exhibits that the party intends to

19 introduce at trial with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement. The joint exhibit list must be

20 in tabular form and contain the following:

21 a. Exhibit number;

22 b. Brief description of the exhibit (with any bates numbers if they exist);

23 c. Sponsoring witness;

24 d. Date marked for identification (left blank); and

25 e. Date admitted into evidence (left blank).

26 31. Each party must provide the Court with at least four (4) complete sets of exhibits that the

27 party intends to introduce at trial in hard copy in tabbed binders and one (1) complete set of

28 exhibits on a thumb drive at least seven (7) days before the Trial Date. The binders MUST

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 7

1 NOT be identified as “plaintiff’s exhibits” or “defendant’s exhibits.” Each party will be

2 expected to place the official exhibit tag on the back of the last page of each document; the

3 exhibit tags may be obtained from the courtroom clerk, or the parties may copy the template

4 at Appendix A. The four (4) copies needed are one for the Court, one for the witness stand,

5 and one for each side (if there are multiple other parties, then add a copy per party). The

6 Court may require additional copies of those exhibits for trial, including separate exhibit

7 binders for each witness. Exhibit Binders should ideally be no more than 2-3 inches wide.

8 32. Any exhibit that is not identified on a party’s exhibit list is subject to exclusion in the

9 reasonable exercise of the Court’s discretion.

10 MEET AND CONFER

11 33. At least forty-two (42) days before the Pretrial Conference each party must serve on all

12 other parties (but NOT file) its proposed motions in limine, proposed witness list, and

13 proposed exhibit list. Anything that is not included in these served documents – i.e., motions

14 in limine, witnesses, or exhibits – may be subject to denial or exclusion in the reasonable

15 exercise of the Court’s discretion.

16 34. All parties must meet and confer regarding motions in limine, witness and exhibit lists, a

17 pretrial conference statement (if required), and any other issues that may arise at trial no

18 later than thirty-five (35) days before the Pretrial Conference. The meet and confer must

19 take place in person or at a video conference. If the parties wish to meet and confer by

20 telephone, they must obtain permission from the Court. The Court expects meaningful meet

21 and confer in accordance with the following guidelines available at

22 http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/0/documents/ethics/Civility/Atty-Civility-Guide-

23 Revised_Sept-2014.pdf.

24 35. During the meet and confer, the parties must engage in a good faith effort to:

25 a. Resolve any issues raised in the motions in limine;

26 b. Resolve any disagreements re witnesses and exhibits to be introduced at trial; and

27 c. Stipulate to any relevant facts that can be incorporated into the record without supporting

28 testimony or exhibits. Wherever possible, the parties shall stipulate to the admissibility of

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 8

1 any exhibits. If a stipulation is not possible, then the parties shall make every effort to

2 stipulate to the authenticity and foundation for an exhibit absent a legitimate objection.

3 PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT

4 36. The parties shall e-file with the Court a Joint Pretrial Conference Statement at least fourteen

5 (14) days before the Pretrial Conference that contains the following:

6 a. Substance of the Action: A brief description of the parties, the claims and defenses that

7 remain to be decided, and the operative pleading, including the date of filing, that raises

8 these claims and defenses.

9 b. Relief Requested: A detailed statement of all requested relief that itemizes all elements

10 of damages that are claimed.

11 c. Undisputed Facts: A plain and concise statement of all relevant facts to which the parties

12 will stipulate for incorporation into the record without supporting testimony or exhibits or

13 that are undisputed.

14 d. Settlement Discussions: A brief description of the efforts the parties have made to settle

15 the case and a brief statement about whether the parties believe that further negotiations are

16 likely to be productive and what, if anything, would facilitate settlement.

17 e. Estimate of Trial Length: An estimate of the number hours needed for the presentation

18 of each party’s case.

19 f. Miscellaneous: Any other matters that will facilitate the just, speedy, and efficient

20 resolution of the case.

21 37. The parties shall include the following documents in accordance with this Order with their

22 Joint Pretrial Conference Statement and provide courtesy copies to the Court delivered

23 directly to Department 20 by messenger or overnight mail to the Northern Courthouse,

24 Courtroom L, 1050 Mission Road, South San Francisco, CA 94080:

25 a. Joint witness list;

26 b. Joint deposition designation binders (see paragraph 12(e), above);

27 c. Joint exhibit list, including any disputed exhibits; and

28 d. Binders containing the party’s motions in limine, any opposition(s), and any supporting

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 9

1 declarations or requests for judicial notice in support of or in opposition to the motions. The

2 parties must also email the proposed orders in Word format to the Court at

3 dept20@sanmateocourt.org.

4 PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

5 38. A Pretrial Conference is scheduled for ___________, ______ at _____ a.m./p.m. Lead trial

6 counsel for each party must attend in person.

7 39. The Pretrial Conference is deemed to be the commencement of trial for all purposes,

8 including but not limited to discovery and motion cutoff, disclosure of witnesses and expert

9 witnesses, and commencement of all trial-related fees, such as court reporter fees.

10 40. At the Pretrial Conference, each party should be prepared to argue and discuss:

11 a. Motions in limine;

12 b. Witnesses, including objections to deposition designations;

13 c. Exhibits, including A/V needs and protocols.

14 d. Stipulations;

15 e. Trial schedule; and any other issues relating to the trial.

16 f. Scheduling issues for all witnesses and counsel (the Court will generally not allow

17 witness testimony via Zoom absent exceptional circumstances and without express

18 authorization from this department). If any witness requires the use of an Interpreter, that

19 witness and any Interpreter will be required to be present in-person, no exceptions.

20 TRIAL

21 41. An in-person trial is set for __________, _____ at 9:00 a.m. and trial will occur on

22 Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and other days as set by the Court.

23 42. A Mandatory Settlement Conference is initially set for __________, _____ with a Judge to

24 be determined. Check the Court’s website 3-5 days before the scheduled conference for

25 updates, as the date or time is subject to change.

26 43. Once the trial begins, each party shall inform the other parties by 4:00 p.m. the prior

27 business day of the identity of witnesses that the party anticipates presenting at trial the next

28 court day, regardless of whether the witness will be presented live (including by remote

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 10

1 technology), by video deposition, or through a deposition transcript.

2 44. The purpose of this Order is to have the case ready for trial so trial can proceed as efficiently

3 as possible. If the parties wish to modify the schedule because of the specific facts of their

4 case, they may do so by stipulation and order. If they wish to change any of the dates that

5 documents are due to the Court, they should submit a stipulation and proposed order

6 specifying the reasons why they want to change the deadlines. The Court needs sufficient

7 time to review the submissions. Therefore, the Court suggests that if the parties seek to

8 change the deadline of when documents are submitted to the Court, they should only seek

9 to extend the deadlines for specific documents. For example, if there is an issue regarding

10 certain expert(s), the parties should seek to only seek to extend the deadline to file and

11 oppose the specific expert motion(s) in limine but still file all other motions in limine based

12 on the deadlines set in this Order.

13 45. For further information about the procedures in Judge Mau’s courtroom, please review his

14 webpage. If counsel or any staff members have questions about these procedures, please

15 email Department 20 at dept20@sanmateocourt.org and include counsel for all represented

16 parties and self-represented parties in the email.

17 COURT REPORTERS

18 46. The Court has changed its policy regarding providing court reporters for Pretrial

19 Conferences and Trials. Check the Superior Court webpage for further information.

20 INTERPRETERS

21 47. Please review and comply with the Court’s requirements on requesting the services of a

22 Court Interpreter. The Court can allow the use of a privately retained, but still Court

23 certified interpreter, when the Court is unable to provide one.

24

25 IT IS SO ORDERED.

26 Dated: _________________ By: ______________________________________ JUDGE MICHAEL L. MAU 27 SAN MATEO COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT 28

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 11

1 2 APPENDIX A This tag must be attached to the back of the last page of each exhibit: 3

4

5

6

7

8

9 EXHIBIT: ------------------------------------------------10

11 Case Number: ------------------------------------------------12

13 o Marked --------------------------------------- 14 o Identified --------------------------------------- 15 o Admitted --------------------------------------- 16 BY:17 ------------------------------------------------ Clerk of the Superior Court18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

Pretrial Order – Dept. 20 12