Danielle Reyas v. Google, Inc.

Filing 4

STANDING ORDER by Judge John F. Walter: READ THIS ORDER CAREFULLY. IT CONTROLS THE CASE AND DIFFERS IN SOME RESPECTS FROM THE LOCAL RULES. (kbr)

Danielle Reyas v. Google, Inc.

Doc. 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ) Case No. CV 10-3886-JFW (AJWx) ) ) STANDING ORDER Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) Google, Inc., ) ) Defendants. ___________________________ ) Danielle Reyas, et al., READ THIS ORDER CAREFULLY. IT CONTROLS THE CASE AND DIFFERS IN SOME RESPECTS FROM THE LOCAL RULES. This action has been assigned to the calendar of Judge John F. Walter. Court. Both the Court and counsel bear responsibility for the progress of litigation in Federal To secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action, all counsel are ordered to familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local Rules of the Central District of California, the General Orders of the Central District and the Judge's Procedures and Schedules found on the website UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

Dockets.Justia.com

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for the United States District Court for the Central District of California (www.cacd.uscourts.gov). IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 1. Service of the Complaint: The plaintiff shall promptly serve the Complaint in accordance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 4 and shall file the proof(s) of service pursuant to the Local Rules. The plaintiff is hereby notified that failure to serve the Complaint within 120 days as required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(m) will result in the dismissal of the Complaint against the unserved defendant(s). 2. Presence of Lead Counsel: Lead trial counsel shall Only ONE attend all proceedings before this Court, including all scheduling, status, and settlement conferences. unless otherwise permitted by the Court. 3. Electronic Filing and Courtesy Copies: (a) Within ten days of a party's initial appearance, lead trial counsel shall file a declaration entitled, "Declaration of Lead Trial Counsel re: Compliance with General Order 07-08" which shall notify the Court that counsel has registered as an "ECF User." The declaration shall include counsel's "E-Mail Address of Record" and shall state whether counsel has consented or elected not to consent to service and receipt of filed documents by electronic means. If counsel has not consented to the service and receipt of filed documents by electronic means, counsel shall immediately file and serve via U.S. Postal Service on all parties who have appeared in the action a Notice advising all
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attorney for a party may be designated as lead trial counsel

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parties that counsel has elected not to consent to electronic service of documents in this action. Any counsel who elects not to accept service or receipt of documents by electronic means shall be required to serve all documents in the action via U.S. Postal Service. (b) All documents that are required to be filed in an electronic format pursuant to General Order No. 08-02 shall be filed electronically no later than 4:00 p.m. on the date due unless otherwise ordered by the Court. Any documents Any filed electronically after 4:00 p.m. on the date due will be considered late and may be stricken by the Court. documents which counsel attempt to file electronically which are improperly filed will not be accepted by the Court. (c) Counsel are ORDERED to deliver 2 courtesy copies of all documents filed electronically in this action to Chambers. For each document filed electronically, one On the first page of each courtesy copy shall be marked "CHAMBERS COPY" and the other shall be marked "COURTESY COPY." courtesy copy, in the space between lines 1 - 7 to the right of the center, counsel shall include the date the document was e-filed and the document number. The courtesy copies shall be delivered to Chambers no later than 10:00 a.m. on the next business day after the document was electronically filed. All documents must be stapled or bound by a two prong The "COURTESY COPY" of all fastener, and all Exhibits to Declarations or Request for Judicial Notice must be tabbed. Motions must be three-hole punched at the left margin with oversized 13/22" hole size, not the standard 9/32" hole size.
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(d) For any document that is not required to be filed electronically, counsel are ORDERED to deliver 1 conformed courtesy copy of the document to Chambers at the time of filing. (e) If the Court has granted an application to file documents under seal, the Court's courtesy copies shall include a complete version of the documents including any sealed documents with an appropriate notation identifying that portion of the document that has been filed under seal. For example, if the Court orders Ex. A to a Declaration filed under seal, the Court's courtesy copies of the Declaration should include Ex. A as an attachment with a notation that it was been filed under seal pursuant to the Court's order. (f) When a proposed order accompanies an electronic filing, a WordPerfect or Word copy of the proposed order, along with a copy of the PDF electronically filed main document shall be e-mailed to [e-mail]. The subject line of the e-mail shall be in the following format: court's divisional office, year, case type, case number, document control number assigned to the main document at the time of filing, judge's initials and filer (party) name. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the denial or striking of the request or the Court may withhold ruling on the request until the Court receives the required documents. 4. Discovery : (The Magistrate Judge's initials
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(a) All discovery matters have been referred to a United States Magistrate Judge.

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follow the Judge's initials next to the case number.) in the caption to ensure proper routing. Clerk to schedule matters for hearing. Counsel are

All

discovery documents must include the words "DISCOVERY MATTER" directed to contact the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom Deputy All decisions of the Magistrate Judge shall be final, subject to modification by the District Court only where it is shown that the Magistrate Judge's Order is clearly erroneous or contrary to law. Any party may file and serve a The motion for review and reconsideration before this Court. calendar days of service of a written ruling or within fourteen calendar days of an oral ruling that the Magistrate Judge states will not be followed by a written ruling. The motion must specify which portions of the ruling are clearly erroneous or contrary to law and support the contention with a memorandum of points and authorities. the Magistrate Judge. (b) Unless there is a likelihood that upon motion by a party the Court would order that any or all discovery is premature, counsel should begin to actively conduct discovery before the Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(f) conference because at the Scheduling Conference the Court will impose tight deadlines to complete discovery. 5. Motions: This Court hears (a) Time for Filing and Hearing Motions: Motions shall be filed in accordance with the Local Rules.
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moving party must file and serve the motion within fourteen

Counsel shall

deliver a courtesy copy of the moving papers and responses to

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motions on Mondays commencing at 1:30 p.m.

Once a party has No

noticed a motion for hearing on a particular date, the hearing shall not be continued without leave of Court. supplemental briefs shall be filed without leave of Court. Courtesy copies shall be provided to the Court in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Order. No motion shall be noticed Documents for hearing for more than 35 calendar days after service of the motion unless otherwise ordered by the Court. not be considered by the Court. Many motions to dismiss or to strike could be avoided if the parties confer in good faith (as they are required to do under the Local Rules)1 especially for perceived defects in a Complaint, Answer, or Counterclaim which could be corrected by amendment. See, e.g., Eminence Capital, LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir. 2003)(where a motion to dismiss is granted, a district court should provide leave to amend unless it is clear that the Complaint could not be saved by any amendment). liberality." The Ninth Circuit requires that this policy favoring amendment be applied with "extreme Morongo Band of Mission Indians v. Rose, 893 F.2d 1074, 1079 (9th Cir. 1990). not filed in compliance with the Court's requirements will

Among other things, Local Rule 7-3 requires counsel to engage in a pre-filing conference "to discuss thoroughly. . . the substance of the contemplated motion and any potential resolution." Counsel should discuss the issues with sufficient detail so that if a motion is still necessary, the briefing may be directed to those substantive issues requiring resolution by the Court. Counsel should resolve minor procedural or other nonsubstantive matters during the conference.
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These principles require counsel for the plaintiff to carefully evaluate the defendant's contentions as to the deficiencies in the Complaint, and in many instances, the moving party should agree to any amendment that would cure a curable defect. In the event the Court grants a motion to dismiss without prejudice to re-filing an amended complaint, the plaintiff shall file an amended complaint within the time period specified by the Court. A redlined version of the amended complaint shall be delivered to chambers indicating all additions and deletions to the prior version of the complaint. If no time period is specified by the Court, the plaintiff shall file an amended complaint within ten calendar days of the date of the order granting the plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint. Failure to file an amended complaint within the time allotted will result in the dismissal of the action with prejudice. In addition to the requirements of the Local Rules, all motions to amend the pleadings shall: (1) state the effect of the amendment; (2) be serially numbered to differentiate the amendment from previous amendments; and (3) state the page, line number(s), and wording of any proposed change or addition of material. The parties shall deliver to Chambers a redlined version of the proposed amended pleading indicating all additions and/or deletions of material. (b) Length and Format of Motion Papers: Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to
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motions shall not exceed 25 pages. 12 pages.

Replies shall not exceed

Only in rare instances and for good cause shown Courtesy copies of all evidence in support of

will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. or in opposition to a motion, including declarations and exhibits to declarations, shall be separated by a tab divider on the bottom of the page. If evidence in support of or in opposition to a motion exceeds twenty pages, the courtesy copies of the evidence must be in separately bound volumes and include a Table of Contents. If such evidence exceeds fifty pages, the Court's courtesy copies of such evidence shall be placed in a slant D-ring binder with each item of evidence separated by a tab divider on the right side. All documents contained in the binder must be three hole punched with the oversized 13/32" hole size, not the standard 9/32" hole size. Typeface shall comply with the Local Rules. NOTE: If Times Roman is used, the font size must be no less than 14; if Courier is used, the font size must be no less than 12. Footnotes shall be in the same typeface and font size as the text and shall be used sparingly. Documents which do not conform to the Local Rules and this Order will not be considered. (c) Citations to Case Law: Citations to case law must identify not only the case being cited, but the specific page referenced. (d) Citations to Other Sources: Statutory references should identify, with specificity, which sections and
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subsections are being referenced (e.g., Jurisdiction over this claim for relief may appropriately be found in 47 U.S.C. § 33, which grants the district courts jurisdiction over all offenses of the Submarine Cable Act, whether the infraction occurred within the territorial waters of the United States or on board a vessel of the United States outside said waters). Statutory references which do not specifically indicate the appropriate section and subsection (e.g., Plaintiffs allege conduct in violation of the Federal Electronic Communication Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2511, et seq.) are to be avoided. the section referenced. (e) Proposed Orders: Each party filing or opposing a motion or seeking the determination of any matter shall prepare and submit to the Court a separate Proposed Order in accordance with General Order 08-02. The Proposed Order shall set forth the relief or action sought and a brief statement of the rationale for the decision with appropriate citations. Caveat: Failure to respond to any motion shall be deemed by See the Court as consent to the granting of the motion. Local Rules. 6. Ex Parte Applications: Ex parte applications are See Mission Power Eng'g Co. solely for extraordinary relief. Citations to treatises, manuals, and other materials should similarly include the volume and

v. Continental Cas. Co., 883 F. Supp. 488 (C.D. Cal. 1995). Applications that fail to conform with the Local Rules, including a statement of opposing counsel's position, will
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not be considered.

In addition to electronic service, the

moving party shall immediately serve the opposing party by fax or hand service and shall notify the opposing party that any opposition must be filed not later than twenty-four hours after the filing of the ex parte application. If counsel do not intend to oppose the ex parte application, counsel must inform the Courtroom Deputy Clerk by e-mail or telephone. The Court considers ex parte applications on the papers and usually does not set the matters for hearing. Courtesy copies of all moving, opposition, or non-opposition papers shall be provided to the Court in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Order. The Courtroom Deputy Clerk will notify counsel of the Court's ruling or a hearing date and time, if the Court determines a hearing is necessary. 7. Applications or Stipulations to Extend the Time to File any Required Document or to Continue Any Date: No applications or stipulations extending the time to file any required document or to continue any date are effective until and unless the Court approves them. stipulations must set forth: (a) the existing due date or hearing date, as well as all dates set by the Court in the Scheduling and Case Management Order, including the discovery cut-off date, the Pre-Trial Conference date, and the Trial date; (b) the new dates proposed by the parties; (c) specific, concrete reasons supporting good cause for granting the extension; and Both applications and

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(d) whether there have been prior requests for extensions by any party, and whether those requests were granted or denied by the Court. All applications and stipulations must be accompanied by a separate and independent proposed order which must be submitted to the Court in accordance with General Order 0802. Failure to submit a separate proposed order may result in the denial of the application or stipulation or the Court may withhold ruling on the application or stipulation until the Court receives a separate proposed order. 8. TROs and Injunctions: Parties seeking emergency or The Court will not rule on any ex parte provisional relief shall comply with Fed.R.Civ.P.65 and the Local Rules. application for such relief for at least twenty-four hours after the filing of the ex parte application; a party may file opposing or responding papers in the interim. paragraph 3 of this Order. 9. Proposed Protective Orders and Filings Under Seal: Proposed Protective orders pertaining to discovery must be submitted to the assigned Magistrate Judge. protective orders should not purport to allow, without further order of Court, the filing under seal of pleadings or documents filed in connection with a hearing or trial before the Court. The existence of a protective order does not alone justify the filing of pleadings or other documents under seal, in whole or in part. Courtesy copies shall be provided to the Court in accordance with

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An application to file documents under seal must meet the requirements of the Local Rules and shall be limited to three documents by a party. The application to file documents There is a strong under seal should not be filed under seal. proceedings and records in civil cases.

presumption of the public's right of access to judicial In order to overcome the presumption in favor of access, the movant must demonstrate compelling reasons (as opposed to good cause) for the sealing if the sealing is requested in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest sought to be protected. Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass'n, 565 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir. 2009), Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172 (9th Cir. 2006), Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003). For each document or other type of information sought to be filed under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons supported by specific facts or legal justification that the document or type of information should be protected. The facts supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by a declaration. Documents that are not confidential or privileged in their entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted and filed separately. explanation of why redaction is not feasible. If a party wishes to file a document that has been designated confidential by another party, the submitting
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The

application to file documents under seal should include an

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party must give any designating party five calendar days notice of intent to file. If the designating party objects, it should notify the submitting party and file an application to file documents under seal within two court days. If the parties anticipate requesting the Court to file more than three documents under seal in connection with any motion, they shall identify all such documents that will be required to support and oppose the motion during the Local Rule 7-3 conference. The parties shall then meet and confer in order to determine if the documents satisfy the "compelling need" standard for "sealing" each document. Thereafter, the parties shall file a joint application and lodge a proposed order to file under seal all such documents with the required showing as to each document. The joint application shall be filed promptly so that the Court may rule on the application before the filing date for the motion. The parties shall not file any pleadings containing documents they have requested the Court to file under seal until the Court acts on the application to file under seal. If an application to file documents under seal is denied in part or in full, the lodged documents will not be filed. The clerk will notify the submitting party, and hold the lodged documents for three court days to allow the submitting party to retrieve the documents. If the documents are not retrieved, the Clerk will dispose of the documents. A redacted version for public viewing, omitting only such portions as the Court has ordered filed under seal shall be promptly filed by the parties after the Court's Order sealing
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the documents.

Should counsel fail to file a redacted

version of the documents, the Court will strike any motion that relies on or relates to the document and/or file the document in the public record. If the Court grants an application to file documents under seal, the Court's courtesy copies shall include a complete version of the documents with an appropriate notation identifying the document or the portion of the document that has been filed under seal. 10. Cases Removed From State Court: All documents filed in state court, including documents appended to the Complaint, Answer(s), and Motion(s), must be re-filed in this Court as a supplement to the Notice of Removal. include a Table of Contents. The supplement must be in a separately bound volume and shall See 28 U.S.C. § 1447(a),(b). If the defendant has not yet answered or moved, the Answer or responsive pleading filed in this Court must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of the Central District. If before the case was removed a motion was pending in state court, it must be re-noticed in accordance with the Local Rules. 11. Status of Fictitiously Named Defendants: This Court adheres to the following procedures when a matter is removed to this Court on diversity grounds with fictitiously named defendants referred to in the Complaint: (See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441(a) and 1447.) /// ///
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(a) Plaintiff shall ascertain the identity of and serve any fictitiously named defendants within 120 days of the date that the Complaint was filed in State Court. (b) If plaintiff believes (by reason of the necessity for discovery or otherwise) that fictitiously named defendants cannot be fully identified within the 120-day period, an ex parte application requesting permission to extend the period to effectuate service may be filed with the Court. granted upon a showing of good cause. The ex parte Such application shall state the reasons therefore, and may be application shall be served upon all appearing parties, and shall state that appearing parties may respond within seven calendar days of the filing of the ex parte application. (c) If plaintiff desires to substitute a named defendant for one of the fictitiously named defendants, plaintiff shall first seek the consent of counsel for all defendants (and counsel for the fictitiously named party, if that party has separate counsel). If consent is withheld or denied, Each party shall have seven plaintiff may apply ex parte requesting such amendment, with notice to all appearing parties. calendar days to respond. The ex parte application and any

response should comment not only on the substitution of the named party for a fictitiously named defendant, but on the question of whether the matter should thereafter be remanded to the Superior Court if diversity of citizenship is destroyed by the addition of the new substituted party. 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c),(d). See

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12. Bankruptcy Appeals: Counsel shall comply with the NOTICE REGARDING APPEAL FROM BANKRUPTCY COURT issued at the time the appeal is filed in the District Court. The matter is considered submitted upon the filing of the final brief. No oral argument is held unless ordered by the Court. 13. Communications with Chambers: Counsel shall not attempt to contact the Court or its Chambers staff by telephone or by any other ex parte means, although counsel may contact the Courtroom Deputy, at [phone] or [e-mail], with appropriate inquiries. To facilitate communication with the Courtroom Deputy, counsel should list their facsimile transmission numbers and e-mail address along with their telephone numbers on all papers. 14. Notice of This Order: Counsel for plaintiff shall immediately serve this Order on all parties, including any new parties to the action. other parties. Caveat: If counsel fail to file the required Joint Rule 26 Report or the required Pre-Trial documents, or if counsel fail to appear at the Scheduling Conference, the Pre-Trial Conference and/or any other proceeding scheduled by the Court, and such failure is not otherwise satisfactorily explained to the Court: (a) the cause shall stand dismissed for failure to prosecute, if such failure occurs on the part of the plaintiff; (b) default judgment shall be entered if If this case came to the Court by noticed removal, defendant shall serve this Order on all

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such failure occurs on the part of the defendant; or (c) the Court may take such action as it deems appropriate.

DATED:

May 26, 2010

JOHN F. WALTER UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

rev 1/4/10
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