Action and Protection Foundation et al

Filing 8

NOTICE OF REFERRAL AND ORDER RE: DISCOVERY PROCEDURES. Telephonic status Conference set for 3/27/2014 11:00 AM before Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler.. Signed by Judge Laurel Beeler on 3/14/2014. (Attachments: # 1 Standing Order)(lblc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/14/2014)

1
2
3
4

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
STANDING ORDER FOR
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE LAUREL BEELER
(Effective February 18, 2014)

local rules, the general orders, this standing order, and the Northern District’s general standing order

7

for civil cases titled “Contents of Joint Case Management Statement.” These rules and a summary of

8

electronic filing requirements (including the procedures for emailing proposed orders to chambers) are

9

available at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov (click “Rules” or “ECF-PACER”). The parties’ failure to

10

comply with any of the rules may be a ground for monetary sanctions, dismissal, entry of judgment, or

11
For the Northern District of California

Parties must comply with the procedures in the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure, the

6

United States District Court

5

other appropriate sanctions.

12

A. CALENDAR DATES AND SCHEDULING

13

1. Motions are heard on the first and third Thursdays of the month: civil motions at 9:30 a.m. and

14

criminal motions at 10:30 a.m. Case management conferences are every Thursday: criminal cases at

15

10:30 a.m. and civil cases at 11:00 a.m. Parties should notice motions under the local rules and need

16

not reserve a hearing date in advance if the date is available on the court’s calendar (click “Calendars”

17

at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov). Depending on its schedule, the court may reset or vacate hearings.

18

Please call courtroom deputy Lashanda Scott at [phone] with scheduling questions.

19

B. CHAMBERS COPIES

20

2. Under Civil Local Rule 5-1(b), parties must lodge a paper “Chambers” copy of any filing. The

21

chambers copy must have the ECF header on each page, use exhibit tabs, and be three-hole-punched and

22

two-sided (unless another format makes more sense (e.g., for spreadsheets, pictures, or exhibits). Parties

23

need not submit copies of certificates of service, certificates of interested entities or persons, consents

24

or declinations to the court’s jurisdiction, stipulations that do not require a court order (see Local Civil

25

Rule 6-1), and notices of appearance or substitution of counsel. Please read Civil Local Rule 79-5

26

carefully regarding the requirements for filing documents under seal and providing copies.

27

C. CIVIL DISCOVERY

28

3. Evidence Preservation. After a party has notice of this order, it must take the steps needed to

STANDING ORDER FOR UNITED STATES
MAGISTRATE JUDGE LAUREL BEELER

1

preserve information relevant to the issues in this action, including suspending any document destruction

2

programs (including destruction programs for electronically-maintained material).

3

4. Production of Documents In Original Form. When searching for material under Federal Rule

4

of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) or after a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34(a) request, parties (a) must

5

search all locations – electronic and otherwise – where responsive materials might plausibly exist, and

6

(b) to the maximum extent feasible, produce or make available for copying and/or inspection the

7

materials in their original form, sequence, and organization (including, for example, file folders).

45(d)(2)(A), it must produce a privilege log as quickly as possible, but no later than fourteen days after

10

its disclosures or discovery responses are due unless the parties stipulate to, or the Court sets, another

11
For the Northern District of California

5. Privilege Logs. If a party withholds material as privileged, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5) and

9

United States District Court

8

date. Privilege logs must contain the following: (a) the subject matter or general nature of the document

12

(without disclosing its contents); (b) the identity and position of its author; (c) the date it was

13

communicated; (d) the identity and position of all addressees and recipients of the communication;

14

(e) the document’s present location; (f) the specific privilege and a brief summary of any supporting

15

facts; and (g) the steps taken to ensure the confidentiality of the communication, including an

16

affirmation that no unauthorized persons received the communication.

17

6. Expedited Procedures for Discovery Disputes. The parties may not file formal discovery

18

motions. Instead, and as required by the federal rules and local rules, the parties must meet and confer

19

to try to resolve their disagreements. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1); Civil L. R. 37-1. After attempting

20

other means of conferring such as letters, phone calls, or emails, lead counsel for the parties must meet

21

and confer in person. (If counsel are located outside of the Bay Area and cannot confer in person, lead

22

counsel may meet and confer by telephone.) Either party may demand such a meeting with ten days'

23

notice. If the parties cannot agree on the location, the location for meetings will alternate. Plaintiff's

24

counsel will select the first location, defense counsel will select the second location, and so forth. If the

25

parties do not resolve their disagreements through this procedure, the parties must file a joint letter brief

26

of no more than five pages instead of a formal motion five days after lead counsels' in-person meet-

27

and-confer. The letter brief must be filed under the Civil Events category of “Motions and Related

28

Filings > Motions – General > Discovery Letter Brief.” Lead counsel for both parties must sign the

STANDING ORDER FOR UNITED STATES
MAGISTRATE JUDGE LAUREL BEELER

2

1

letter and attest that they met and conferred in person. The joint letter must set out each issue in a

2

separate section and include in that section each parties’ position (with appropriate legal authority) and

3

proposed compromise. (This process allows a side-by-side analysis of each disputed issue.) If the

4

disagreement concerns specific discovery that a party has propounded, such as interrogatories, requests

5

for production of documents, or answers or objections to such discovery, the parties must reproduce the

6

question/request and the response in its entirety in the letter. The court then will review the letter and

7

determine whether future proceedings are necessary. In emergencies during discovery events such as

8

depositions, the parties may contact the Court pursuant to Civil Local Rule 37-1(b).

9

D. CONSENT CASES
7. In cases that are assigned to Judge Beeler for all purposes, the parties must file their written

11
For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

10

consent or declination of consent to the assignment of a United States Magistrate Judge for all purposes

12

as soon as possible. If a party files a dispositive motion (such as a motion to dismiss or a motion for

13

remand), the moving party must file the consent or declination simultaneously with the motion, and the

14

party opposing the motion must file the consent or declination simultaneously with the opposition.

15

8. The first joint case management conference statement in a case must contain all of the

16

information in the Northern District’s standing order titled “Contents of Joint Case Management

17

Statement.”

18

information contained in an earlier statement and instead should report only progress or changes since

19

the last case management conference and any new recommendations for case management.

Subsequent statements for further case management conferences must not repeat

20

E. SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS

21

9. Motions for summary judgment must be accompanied by a joint statement of the material facts

22

that the parties agree are not in dispute. The joint statement must include – for each undisputed fact –

23

citations to admissible evidence. The parties must comply with the procedures set forth in Civil Local

24

Rule 56-2(b). The parties may not file – and the Court will not consider – separate statements of

25

undisputed facts. Failure to stipulate to an undisputed fact without a reasonable basis for doing so may

26

result in sanctions. See Civil L. R. 56-2(b).

27
28

IT IS SO ORDERED.
_______________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge
STANDING ORDER FOR UNITED STATES
MAGISTRATE JUDGE LAUREL BEELER

3