Willson et al v. Creighton Capital Management, LLC dba Creighton AI, a Delaware Limited Liability Company et al

Filing 95

Discovery Order (Standing Order attached) (with discovery procedures) (Beeler, Laurel) (Filed on 2/4/2024)

Last revised November 16, 2023

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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San Francisco Division

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STANDING ORDER FOR MAGISTRATE JUDGE LAUREL BEELER

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

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

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for civil cases titled “Contents of Joint Case Management Statement.” The rules are available at

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http://www.cand.uscourts.gov. The parties’ failure to comply with the rules may be a ground for

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monetary sanctions, dismissal, entry of judgment, or other appropriate sanctions.

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CALENDAR DATES AND SCHEDULING

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Motions are heard on Thursdays: civil motions at 9:30 a.m., criminal motions at 10:30 a.m., and

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pretrial conferences at 1:00 p.m. Hearings are in person unless there is a ground for a

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videoconference. Parties may stipulate to a hearing by videoconference one week before any

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hearing. The parties may notice motions (other than discovery motions, discussed below) under the

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local rules for any available Thursday on the court’s calendar (at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov).

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Case-management conferences are on Thursdays: criminal cases at 10:30 a.m. in person and

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civil cases by videoconference at 11:00 a.m. Civil case-management conferences are not recorded

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unless a party asks or is appearing pro se.

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Depending on its schedule, the court may reset or vacate hearings. For scheduling questions,
STANDING ORDER

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please contact courtroom deputy Elaine Kabiling at [e-mail] or 415-522-3140.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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CHAMBERS COPIES

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If filings are voluminous, then the parties must lodge chambers copies that are double-side

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printed and three-hole punched. They must be the electronically filed copies with the

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PACER/ECF-generated header (case number, docket number, date, and ECF page number).

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Exhibits must be tabbed and have a table of contents. If the paper copies are more than two inches

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thick, then the parties must submit them in a binder.

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In addition to paper copies, hyperlinked electronic copies should be submitted if feasible when

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the supporting documents are lengthy. Any pinpoint citations in the briefs must link to the specific

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page in the supporting exhibit. PDF briefs and bookmarked exhibits must be emailed to

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[e-mail]. If the file is too large to email, please lodge a thumb drive or share

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access to a cloud-based hosting platform that allows court employees to download files.

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Otherwise, the parties do not need to submit paper copies and instead can email a chambers

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PDF copy to [e-mail]. Parties do not need to submit electronic copies of

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certificates of service, certificates of interested entities or persons, consents or declinations to the

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court’s jurisdiction, stipulations that do not require a court order (see Civil Local Rule 6-1), or

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notices of appearance or substitution of counsel.

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CASE MANAGEMENT

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1. Less-Experienced Lawyers
The court encourages parties to give less-experienced lawyers an opportunity to participate in
all court proceedings and to let the court know during the scheduling process.

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2. Discovery

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2.1 Privilege Logs

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If a party withholds material as privileged, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5), it must produce a

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privilege log that is sufficiently detailed for the opposing party to assess whether the assertion of
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privilege is justified. The log must be produced as quickly as possible but no later than fourteen

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days after the party’s disclosures or discovery responses are due unless the parties stipulate to, or

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the court sets, another date. Privilege logs must contain the following: (a) the title and description

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of the document, the number of pages, and the Bates-number range, if any; (b) the subject matter

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or general nature of the communication (without disclosing its contents); (c) the identity and

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position of its author; (d) the date of the communication; (e) the identity and position of the

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recipients of the communication; (f) the location where the document was found; (g) the specific

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basis for the assertion that the document is privileged or protected (including a brief summary of

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any supporting facts); and (h) the steps taken to ensure the confidentiality of the communication,

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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including an affirmation that no unauthorized persons received the communication.

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2.2 Discovery Disputes

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If parties have a discovery dispute, then counsel must confer by any means to resolve or narrow

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their dispute. If that process does not resolve the dispute, then lead trial counsel must confer in

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person if possible or at least by videoconference. Either party may demand a conference with one

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week’s notice. The parties then may raise their dispute in a five-page letter brief (12-point font or

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greater, reasonable margins, and page breaks between paragraphs). Lead trial counsel for both

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parties must sign the letter and attest that they met and conferred in person or by videoconference.

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The letter must discuss each dispute separately: each section must have one issue and (1)

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describe the unresolved issue, (2) summarize each party’s position (with citations to the facts and

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legal authority), and (3) provide each party’s final proposed compromise. The parties may submit

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supporting declarations and documentation of up to fifteen pages.

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After the parties submit their dispute, then the court will determine the next steps, including
issuing a ruling, ordering more briefing, or setting a hearing.

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For discovery disputes involving third parties (usually under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

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45), the parties must try to use these procedures and at least must meet and confer (if possible) in

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person or by videoconference for any dispute. If they cannot agree to these procedures, then the

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moving party must file a noticed motion under the local rules and include in the notice a statement

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about its compliance with these procedures.
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For emergencies during events such as depositions, the parties may contact the court under Civil

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Local Rule 37-1(b) by calling courtroom deputy Elaine Kabiling at 415-522-3140 and sending a joint

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email describing the dispute to [e-mail] and [e-mail].

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3. Amended Pleadings
If a party files an amended pleading, it must file as an attachment a blackline compare of the
amended pleading against the last pleading.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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4. Case-Management Statements
The first joint case-management conference statement in a case must have the information in

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the Northern District’s standing order titled “Contents of Joint Case Management Statement.”

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Subsequent statements need not repeat information in earlier statements and preferably will have

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only new information.

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5. Summary-Judgment Motions
The parties may not file separate statements of undisputed facts. See Civil Local Rule 56-2.

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Joint statements of undisputed facts are not required but are helpful. Any joint statement must

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include — for each undisputed fact — citations to admissible evidence.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: November 16, 2023

______________________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge

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STANDING ORDER

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