Lebeau v. Life Insurance Company of North America

Filing 16

Discovery Order Regarding Discovery Procedures.The attached order summarizes the court's procedures for addressing any discovery disputes. (Attachments: # 1 Standing Order)(Beeler, Laurel) (Filed on 4/3/2017)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

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STANDING ORDER FOR
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE LAUREL BEELER
(Effective March 15, 2017)

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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 general standing

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

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summary of electronic filing requirements (including the procedures for emailing proposed orders

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to chambers) are available at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov (click “Rules” or “ECF-PACER”). A
failure to comply with any of the rules may be a ground for monetary sanctions, dismissal, entry of

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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judgment, or other appropriate sanctions.

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I. CALENDAR DATES AND SCHEDULING

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Motions are heard each Thursday: civil motions at 9:30 a.m. and criminal motions at 10:30

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a.m. Case-management conferences are every Thursday: criminal cases at 10:30 a.m. and civil

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cases at 11:00 a.m. Parties must notice motions under the local rules and need not reserve a

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hearing date in advance if the date is available on the court’s calendar (click “Calendars” at

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

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Please call courtroom deputy Roger Moua at [phone] with scheduling questions.

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II. CHAMBERS COPIES

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

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unless another format makes more sense (such as for spreadsheets, pictures, or exhibits that might

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be better lodged electronically). Paper copies must be printed on both sides and three-hole

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punched, and they must be the electronically filed copies with the PACER/ECF-generated header

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(with the case number, docket number, date, and ECF page number). Parties do not need to submit

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copies of certificates of service, certificates of interested entities or persons, consents or

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

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

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79-5 carefully regarding the requirements for filing documents under seal and providing copies.
STANDING ORDER

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III. CIVIL DISCOVERY
1. Evidence Preservation. After a party has notice of this order, it must take the steps needed

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

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

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

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

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(a) must search all locations – electronic and otherwise – where responsive materials might

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

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and/or inspection the materials in their original form, sequence, and organization (including, for

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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example, file folders).
3. Privilege Logs. If a party withholds material as privileged, See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5) and

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45(d)(2)(A), it must produce a privilege log that is sufficiently detailed for the opposing party to

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assess whether the assertion of privilege is justified. The log must be produced as quickly as

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possible but no later than fourteen days after its disclosures or discovery responses are due unless

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the parties stipulate to, or the court sets, another date. Unless the parties agree to a different

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logging method, privilege logs must contain the following: (a) the title and description of the

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

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nature of the document (without disclosing its contents); (c) the identity and position of its author;

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(d) the date it was communicated (or prepared, if that is the more relevant date); (e) the identity

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and position of all addressees and recipients of the communication; (f) the document’s present

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location; (g) the specific basis for the assertion that the document is privileged or protection

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(including a brief summary of any supporting facts); and (h) the steps taken to ensure the

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confidentiality of the communication, including an affirmation that no unauthorized persons

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received the communication.

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

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

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

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may confer initially by email, letter, or telephone to try to narrow their disputes. After trying those
STANDING ORDER

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means, lead trial counsel then must meet and confer in person to try to resolve the dispute. (If

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counsel are located outside of the Bay Area and cannot confer in person, lead counsel may meet

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and confer by telephone.) Either party may demand such a meeting with ten days’ notice. If the

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parties cannot agree on the location, the location for meetings will alternate. The plaintiff’s

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

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If the parties do not resolve their disagreements through this procedure, lead counsel must file a

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joint letter brief no later than five days after lead counsels’ in-person meet-and-confer. The letter

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brief must be filed under the Civil Events category of “Motions and Related Filings > Motions –

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General > Discovery Letter Brief.” It may be no more than five pages (12-point font or greater,

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margins of no less than one inch) without leave of the court. Lead counsel for both parties must

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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sign the letter and attest that they met and conferred in person. Each issue must be set forth in a

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separate section that includes 1) a statement of the unresolved issue, 2) a summary of each parties’

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position (with citations to supporting facts and legal authority), and 3) each party’s final proposed

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compromise. (This process allows a side-by-side, stand-alone analysis of each disputed issue.) If

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

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

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reproduce the question/request and the response in full either in the letter or, if the page limits in

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the letter are not sufficient, in a single joint exhibit. The court then will review the letter brief and

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determine whether formal briefing or future proceedings are necessary. In emergencies during

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discovery events such as depositions, the parties may contact the court through the court’s

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courtroom deputy pursuant to Civil Local Rule 37-1(b) but first must send a short joint email

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describing the nature of the dispute to [e-mail].

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IV. CONSENT CASES

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1. In cases that are assigned to Judge Beeler for all purposes, the parties must file their written

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Statement.” Subsequent statements for further case-management conferences must not repeat

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

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

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V. SUMMARY-JUDGMENT MOTIONS

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The parties may not file separate statements of undisputed facts. See Civil L. R. 56-2. Joint

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statements of undisputed facts are not required but are helpful. Any joint statement must include –
for each undisputed fact – citations to admissible evidence. A joint statement generally must be

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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filed with the opening brief, and the briefs should cite to that statement. A reasonable process for

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drafting a joint statement is as follows: 1) two weeks before the filing date, the moving party

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proposes its undisputed facts, and 2) one week later, the responding party replies and the parties

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meet and confer about any disagreements. For oppositions, a responding party may propose

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additional undisputed facts to the moving party within seven days after the motion is filed and ask

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for a response within two business days.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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______________________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge

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STANDING ORDER

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