Allen, et al v. County of Lake, et al

Filing 124

Notice of Reference and Order re Discovery Procedures. Signed by Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu on 07/29/2015. (dmrlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 7/29/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MONA ALLEN, et al.,

Case No. 14-cv-03934-TEH (DMR)

Plaintiffs,
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v.
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COUNTY OF LAKE, et al.,

NOTICE OF REFERENCE AND
ORDER RE: DISCOVERY
PROCEDURES

Defendants.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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TO ALL PARTIES AND COUNSEL OF RECORD:
The above matter has been referred to Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu for resolution of

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all discovery matters. [Docket No. 122.] In his Order of Reference, the Hon. Thelton E.

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Henderson ordered the parties to meet and confer and to file a joint letter of not more than 8 pages

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explaining their discovery dispute. Any such letter shall be filed by no later than August 13,

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2015. Defendants’ motions to compel (Docket Nos. 120, 121) are denied without prejudice. The

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parties shall not include the issue of sanctions in their joint letter. Defendants may seek leave to

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file a motion for sanctions after the court rules on the substantive discovery disputes.

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Going forward, the parties shall comply with the procedures in this order, the Federal

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Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Northern District of California’s Local Rules, General Orders,

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and Standing Orders. Local rules, general orders, standing orders, and instructions for using the

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Court's Electronic Case Filing system are available at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov. Failure to

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comply may result in sanctions.

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RESOLUTION OF DISCOVERY DISPUTES
In order to respond to discovery disputes in a flexible, cost-effective and efficient manner,

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the court uses the following procedure. The parties shall not file formal discovery motions.

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Instead, as required by the federal and local rules, the parties shall first meet and confer to try to

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resolve their disagreements. The meet and confer session must be in person or by telephone, and

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may not be conducted by letter, e-mail, or fax. If disagreements remain, the parties shall file a

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joint letter no later than five business days after the meet and confer session, unless otherwise

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directed by the court. Lead trial counsel for both parties must sign the letter, which shall

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include an attestation that the parties met and conferred in person or by telephone regarding all

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issues prior to filing the letter. The letter must also include a paragraph listing relevant case

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management deadlines, including (1) the fact and expert discovery cut-off dates; (2) the last day

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to hear or file dispositive motions; (3) claim construction or class certification briefing deadlines

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and hearing dates; and (4) pretrial conference and trial dates. Going issue-by-issue, the joint letter
shall describe each unresolved issue, summarize each party’s position with appropriate legal

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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authority, and provide each party’s final proposed compromise before moving to the next issue.

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The joint letter shall not exceed eight pages (12-point font or greater; margins no less than one

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inch) without leave of court. Parties are expected to plan for and cooperate in preparing the

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joint letter so that each side has adequate time to address the arguments. In the rare instance

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that a joint letter is not possible, each side may submit a letter not to exceed three pages, which

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shall include an explanation of why a joint letter was not possible. The parties shall submit one

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exhibit that sets forth each disputed discovery request in full, followed immediately by the

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objections and/or responses thereto. No other information shall be included in the exhibit. No

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other exhibits shall be submitted without prior court approval. The court will review the

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submission(s) and determine whether formal briefing or proceedings are necessary. Discovery

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letter briefs must be e-filed under the Civil Events category of Motions and Related Filings >

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Motions - General > "Discovery Letter Brief".

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The court has found that it is often efficient and beneficial for counsel to appear in person

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at discovery hearings. This provides the opportunity to engage counsel, where appropriate, in

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resolving aspects of the discovery dispute while remaining available to rule on disputes that

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counsel are not able to resolve themselves. For this reason, the court expects counsel to appear

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in person. Permission to attend by telephone may be granted upon written request made at least

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one week in advance of the hearing if the court determines that good cause exists to excuse
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personal attendance, and that personal attendance is not needed in order to have an effective

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discovery hearing. The facts establishing good cause must be set forth in the request.

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In emergencies during discovery events (such as depositions), any party may, after exhausting

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good faith attempts to resolve disputed issues, seek judicial intervention pursuant to Civil L.R. 37-

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1(b) by contacting the court through the courtroom deputy. If the court is unavailable, the

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discovery event shall proceed with objections noted for the record.

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CHAMBERS COPIES AND PROPOSED ORDERS

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Pursuant to Civil L.R. 5-1(e)(7) and 5-2(b), parties must lodge an extra paper copy of

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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certain filings and mark it as a copy for “Chambers.” All chambers copies should be three-hole
punched, and must include tabs between exhibits.
Any stipulation or proposed order submitted by an e-filing party shall be submitted by

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email to [e-mail] as a word processing attachment on the same day the

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document is e-filed. This address should only be used for this stated purpose unless otherwise

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directed by the court.
PRIVILEGE LOGS

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If a party withholds responsive information by claiming that it is privileged or otherwise

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protected from discovery, that party shall promptly provide a privilege log that is sufficiently

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detailed for the opposing party to assess whether the assertion of privilege is justified. Unless the

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parties agree to alternative logging methods, the log should include: (a) the title and description of

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the document, including number of pages or Bates-number range; (b) the subject matter addressed

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in the document; (c) the identity and position of its author(s); (d) the identity and position of all

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addressees and recipients; (e) the date the document was prepared and, if different, the date(s) on

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which it was sent to or shared with persons other than its author(s); and (f) the specific basis for

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the claim that the document is privileged or protected. Communications involving trial counsel

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that post-date the filing of the complaint need not be placed on a privilege log. Failure to

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promptly furnish a privilege log may be deemed a waiver of the privilege or protection.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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______________________________________
u
DONNA M. RYU
a M. Ry
United States Magistrate nn
ge Do Judge
Jud

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Dated: July 29, 2015

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