San Mateo — Pretrial Order - Court Trials

Source: https://sanmateo.courts.ca.gov/system/files/civil/dept28_pretrial_order-court_trials.pdf

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7 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 8 COUNTY OF SAN MATEO 9

10 NAME(S), Case No.: ____________ 11 Plaintiff(s), Assigned for all purposes to the Hon. Nicole S. Healy, Department 2812 v.

13 NAME(S), and DOES 1-___, inclusive PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 1

14 Defendant(s). MSC Date: _________15 Trial Date: _________ 16 Pretrial Conf.: _______ Action Filed: ________ 17

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19 WHEREAS the Court wishes to ensure that the Court, the parties, and the witnesses in all civil

20 cases are prepared to begin the trial on the actual date that the trial is scheduled; and

21 WHEREAS the Court wishes to establish clear and uniform requirements for pretrial

22 conferences and trials in all civil cases;

23 Pursuant to the Court’s inherent authority, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

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1 INTRODUCTION

2 1. 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 6 Conference 1. Proposed motions in limine; 7 2. Proposed witness lists; and 3. Proposed exhibit lists 8 Meet and confer regarding pretrial At least 35 days before the Pretrial 9 conference – including motions in limine, Conference and witness and exhibit lists 10 File and serve motions in limine and At least 21 days before the Pretrial 11 oppositions to motions in limine Conference 12 Parties must file joint pretrial conference At least 14 days before the Pretrial statement, and provide to the Court one (1) Conference 13 set of BINDERS NO MORE THAN 2½ INCHES WIDE – with the following: 14 1. Witness lists; 15 2. Exhibit lists, including any disputed exhibits; 16 3. Motions in limine, oppositions, and 17 supporting declarations or requests for judicial notice; and 18 4. Deposition designations and objections

19 Pretrial Conference will be held At least 14 days before the Trial Date

20 Deliver to the Court at least three (3) sets of At least 14 days before the Trial Date trial exhibits in BINDERS NO MORE 21 THAN 2½ INCHES WIDE – and on a thumb drive 22

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

2 issues early. While the Court understands that trial is not entirely predictable, the parties must

3 frontload all evidentiary and legal disputes to the extent possible. Issues that surface unnecessarily on

4 the eve of trial or during trial waste time and are strongly disfavored. With this understanding, ALL

5 DEADLINES AND REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED BY THIS ORDER ARE SUBJECT TO

6 MODIFICATION AT THE DISCRETION OF THE COURT.

7 MOTIONS IN LIMINE

8 3. The parties are encouraged to resolve trial issues with one another as soon as possible.

9 The parties shall meet and confer no later than thirty-five (35) days before the Pretrial Conference to

10 determine whether any evidentiary issues may be resolved by stipulation. No party may file a motion

11 in limine without first making a good faith effort to resolve the evidentiary issue with the opposing

12 party.

13 4. Motions in limine and their oppositions must be e-filed with the Clerk’ Office no later

14 than twenty-one (21) days before the Pretrial Conference. No replies will be permitted without leave of

15 the Court.

16 5. Each party must submit a tabbed binder with its motions in limine in numerical order

17 with the opposition immediately behind the motion within the same tab. Any declarations or requests

18 for judicial notice submitted by the parties in support of or in opposition to the motions in limine along

19 with any attached exhibits must be submitted in a separate tabbed binder. The binders must be

20 submitted to the Court with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement.

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

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

23 as “__________’s Motion in Limine No. ___ Re: ____________,” with the blanks filled in as

24 appropriate.

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

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

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

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1 support all oppositions to motions in limine. The parties need not include a copy of the operative

2 complaint.

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

4 Each proposed order must provide enough specificity that a witness will be able to understand what

5 testimony is prohibited.

6 10. The motions will be heard at the Pretrial Conference or at such other time as the Court

7 may direct.

8 WITNESS LISTS

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

10 with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement.

11 12. The joint witness list must be in tabular form and contain the following:

12 a. Name of the witness;

13 b. Title of the witness, if any;

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

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

16 cross-redirect.

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

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

19 designated portions of the deposition transcripts, NOT a list of page and line

20 numbers.

21 f. The parties must jointly submit one binder with a joint pleading that has the

22 designations, objections and responses followed by tabs for each witness with the

23 designation highlighted in yellow and any objections bracketed in red. The

24 designating party shall provide the opposing parties the designation(s) and

25 highlighted sections two weeks before the statement is due. The parties shall then

26 meet-and-confer about any objections at least five days before the binder is due.

27 Unless a party can demonstrate good cause, the deposition of each witness shall be

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

2 than in each party’s case.

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

4 reasonable exercise of the Court’s discretion.

5 TRIAL EXHIBITS

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

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

8 The trial exhibit list must begin with the plaintiff’s first exhibit number. Defendant’s exhibit numbers

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

10 15. Exhibits shall be numbered sequentially. NO letters may be used. The parties must

11 agree on a block of numbers to fit the needs of the case (e.g., the plaintiff has exhibits 1-100; the

12 defendant has exhibits 101-200), and make a good faith effort to avoid marking the same exhibit in

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

14 shall withdraw the duplicative exhibit (but should not renumber its portion of the exhibit list). If there

15 is any dispute over which portions of an overlapping exhibit should be introduced into evidence, the

16 parties shall meet and confer in an attempt to informally resolve the issue. If the parties are unable to

17 informally resolve the dispute, then each party shall submit its disputed exhibit with the Joint Pretrial

18 Conference Statement and explain, in no more than one double-spaced page, why the Court should use

19 its proposed exhibit.

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

21 referred to as “Trial Exhibit No. ___” – and NOT as “Plaintiff’s Exhibit” or “Defendant’s Exhibit.”

22 17. The parties must file a joint exhibit list identifying all the exhibits that the party intends

23 to introduce at trial with the Joint Pretrial Conference Statement.

24 18. The joint exhibit list must be in tabular form and contain the following:

25 a. Exhibit number;

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

27 c. Sponsoring witness;

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

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

3 19. Each party must provide the Court with at least three (3) complete sets of hard copy

4 exhibits in tabbed BINDERS NO MORE THAN 2½ INCHES WIDE that the party intends to

5 introduce at trial and one (1) complete set of exhibits on a thumb drive at least fourteen (14) days

6 before the Trial Date. The binders MUST NOT be identified as “plaintiff’s exhibits” or “defendant’s

7 exhibits.” Each party will be expected to place the official exhibit tag on the back of the last page of

8 each document; the exhibit tags may be obtained from the courtroom clerk, or the parties may copy the

9 template at Appendix A. The Court may require additional copies of those exhibits for trial, including

10 separate exhibit binders for each witness.

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

12 reasonable exercise of the Court’s discretion.

13 MEET AND CONFER

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

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

16 list. Anything that is not included in these served documents – i.e., motions in limine, witnesses, or

17 exhibits – may be subject to denial or exclusion in the reasonable exercise of the Court’s discretion.

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

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

20 thirty-five (35) days before the Pretrial Conference. The meet and confer must take place in person or

21 by videoconference. If the parties wish to meet and confer by telephone, they must obtain permission

22 from the Court. The Court expects meaningful meet and confer in accordance with the following

23 guidelines available at http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/0/documents/ethics/Civility/Atty-Civility-

24 Guide-Revised_Sept-2014.pdf.

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

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

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

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

2 supporting testimony or exhibits.

3 24. Wherever possible, the parties shall stipulate to the admissibility of any exhibits. If a

4 stipulation is not possible, then the parties shall make every effort to stipulate to the authenticity and

5 foundation for an exhibit absent a legitimate objection.

6 PRETRIAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT

7 25. The parties shall e-file with the Court a Joint Pretrial Conference Statement at least

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

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

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

11 that raises these claims and defenses.

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

13 elements of damages that are claimed.

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

15 parties will stipulate for incorporation into the record without supporting testimony

16 or exhibits or that are undisputed.

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

18 settle the case and a brief statement about whether the parties believe that further

19 negotiations are likely to be productive and what, if anything, would facilitate

20 settlement.

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

22 presentation of each party’s case.

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

24 resolution of the case.

25 26. The parties shall include the following documents in accordance with this order with

26 their Joint Pretrial Conference Statement and provide courtesy copies to the Court delivered between

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1 the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to the Central Courthouse, Department 28, Courtroom I, 800 North

2 Humboldt St., San Mateo, California 94401:

3 a. Joint witness list;

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

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

6 d. Binders containing the party’s motions in limine, any oppositions, and any

7 supporting declarations or requests for judicial notice in support of or in opposition

8 to the motions.

9 27. The parties must also email the proposed orders in Word format to the Court at

10 dept28@sanmateocourt.org.

11 PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

12 28. A Pretrial Conference is scheduled for ________, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. Lead trial

13 counsel for each party must attend in person.

14 29. The Pretrial Conference is deemed to be the commencement of trial for all

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

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

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

18 a. Motions in limine;

19 b. Witnesses, including objections to deposition designations;

20 c. Exhibits;

21 d. Stipulations; and

22 e. Any other issues relating to the trial.

23 TRIAL

24 31. An in-person non-jury trial is set for ________, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. and will occur on

25 Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and such other days as set by the Court.

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1 32. A Mandatory Settlement Conference is set for _______, 2025 with a judge to be

2 determined. (See attached instructions, which are incorporated by reference.) Check the Court’s

3 website 3-5 days before the scheduled conference for updates re mandatory settlement conferences.

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

5 business day of the identity of witnesses that the party anticipates presenting at trial the next court day,

6 regardless of whether the witness will be presented live (including by remote technology), by video

7 deposition, or through a deposition transcript.

8 34. The purpose of this Order is to have the case ready for trial so trial can proceed as

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

10 case, they may do so. If they wish to change any of the dates that documents are due to the Court, they

11 should submit a proposed order specifying the reasons why they want to change the deadlines. The

12 Court needs sufficient time to review the submissions. Therefore, the Court suggests that if the parties

13 seek to change a deadline of when documents are submitted to the Court, they only seek to extend the

14 deadlines for specific documents. For example, if there is an issue regarding certain expert(s), the

15 parties should seek to only seek to extend the deadline to file and oppose the specific expert motion(s)

16 in limine and then file the other motions in limine based on the deadlines set in this Order. For further

17 information about the procedures in Judge Healy’s courtroom, look at her webpage at

18 https://sanmateo.courts.ca.gov/dept28.

19 35. If counsel or any staff members have questions about these procedures, please email

20 Department 28 at dept28@sanmateocourt.org and include counsel for all represented parties and pro

21 per parties in the email.

22 COURT REPORTERS

23 36. The Court has changed its policy regarding providing court reporters for Pretrial

24 Conferences and Trials. Check Judge Healy’s webpage and the Court’s website for further

25 information.

26 Dated: ____________ _______________________________________ NICOLE S. HEALY 27 Judge of the Superior Court

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1 APPENDIX A

2 The tag must be attached to the back of the last page of each exhibit

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8 EXHIBIT: 9 10 Case Number:

11 12 Marked

13 Identified 14 Admitted 15

16 By:

17 Clerk of the Superior Court

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