COURTROOM INFORMATION DEPARTMENT 93 P.I. HUB STANLEY MOSK COURTHOUSE 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA th Floor, Room 631

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1 COURTROOM INFORMATION DEPARTMENT 93 P.I. HUB STANLEY MOSK COURTHOUSE 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA th Floor, Room 631 GENERAL INFORMATION JUDGE ASSIGNED: JUDICIAL ASSISTANTS: COURTROOM ASSISTANT: COURTROOM HOURS: PHONE HOURS: Hon. Dennis Landin Suzanne Gracyk Cherie Vaughn 8:30 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. and 1:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. 8:15 A.M. to 8:30 A.M., 9:30 to 10 A.M., and 3:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. (213) ===================================================================== Answers to most questions concerning courtroom procedures are on the Los Angeles Superior Court website at The website provides a variety of information including online access to the case summaries, case document images, court reservation system (CRS), tentative rulings, orders, notices to attorneys, and state and LASC forms. ***************************************************************************** CALENDAR INFORMATION 8:30 A.M. CALENDAR TRIALS/ORDERS TO SHOW CAUSE/EX PARTES If your case is scheduled to be heard at the 8:30 a.m. calendar and you need to advise the Court that: (a) the case has settled, (b) you have been unexpectedly detained, e.g. by another court or traffic accident, etc., or (c) you need to provide other important information regarding the 8:30 a.m. calendar, please call the Courtroom between 8:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Page 1 of 6

2 EX PARTES You must pay for your ex parte application ($60.00) by 8:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, at the filing window, Room 102 and appear in the courtroom no later than 8:45 a.m. Papers should be filed on the hearing date in the courtroom. To expedite your application, fill out the all appropriate boxes on the Blue Ex Parte Cover Sheet, available on the bulletin board outside the courtroom. In nearly all cases, the Court will rule on the submitted papers. If you did not bring written opposition, the Court will provide paper and time to prepare a response. The Court is generally not able to accommodate ex parte requests to shorten time for motion dates. If the Court Reservation System indicates that the earliest available motion dates are untimely (i.e., within 30 days of trial or after the trial date), the moving party should reserve the earliest available hearing date, and the moving party should then file a noticed motion to continue trial. Do not file an ex parte application for an order shortening time to hear the motion before the trial date unless there is a showing of irreparable harm or danger or other statutory basis for granting ex parte relief. On a stipulated or unopposed continuance of trial, suggest new dates on the Blue Ex Parte Cover Sheet. TRIALS If the case is set for trial, counsel must appear and answer Ready to proceed to trial and have complied with the trial ready documents as set forth Standing Order Re: Final Status Conference, Personal Injury Courts. Once the Court has confirmed that the parties are truly ready for trial, counsel/parties will be ordered to Department 1 for assignment to a trial court. Failure to comply with the requirements of the Standing Order Re: Final Status Conference, Personal Injury Courts may delay your assignment to a trial court. 10:00 A.M. CALENDAR FINAL STATUS CONFERENCE/MOTIONS TO COMPEL FURTHER DISCOVERY If your case will be heard at the 10:00 a.m. calendar and you wish to advise the Court that: (a) the case has settled, (b) you have been unexpectedly detained, e.g. by another court or traffic accident, etc., (c) you need to provide other important information regarding the 10:00 a.m. calendar, or (d) the parties have agreed that the motion will go off calendar, please call the courtroom between 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. FINAL STATUS CONFERENCE Counsel/parties must appear at the Final Status Conference so that the Court may verify that parties/counsel have complied with the Standing Order Re: Final Status Conference, Personal Injury Courts. Page 2 of 6

3 The parties/counsel shall have for inspection at the Final Status Conference the Trial Documents, tabbed and organized in three-ring binders with a table of contents that includes conformed copies of the following. Tab A: Tab B: Tab C: Tab D: Tab E: Tab F: Tab G: Tab H: Tab I: Tab J: Trial Brief (Optional) Motions in Limine Joint Statement to Be Read to the Jury Joint Witness List in Alphabetical Order Joint List of Jury Instructions (Identifying the agreed upon and contested instructions) Joint and Contested Printed and Edited Jury Instructions Joint and/or Contested Verdict Form(s) Joint Exhibit List Joint Chart of Page and Line Designation(s) for all Deposition and Former Testimony Used in Lieu of the Witness Live Testimony Current Operative Pleadings (including the operative complaint, answer, cross-complaint, if any, and answer to any cross-complaint). The parties/counsel shall also have for inspection at the Final Status Conference three sets of tabbed, internally paginated by document, and properly-marked exhibits, organized numerically in three-ring binders. If the parties have a joint signed exhibit list and electronic copies of their respective exhibits, then the parties/counsel will not be required to produce exhibit binders at the FSC. However, exhibit binders may be required by the assigned trial judge when the trial commences. Failure to comply with the Standing Order Re: Final Status Conference, Personal Injury Courts may result in monetary, evidentiary, and/or issue sanctions. MOTION TO COMPEL FURTHER DISCOVERY RESPONSES With limited exception before a motion to compel further discovery responses will be heard, the parties must have undertaken an informal discovery conference ( IDC ). INFORMAL DISCOVERY CONFERENCE Please review information regarding IDC on the Court s website at The PI Courts Amended General Orders, PI Court FAQ and the Request for Informal Discovery Page 3 of 6

4 Conference for Personal Injury Courts form (LACIV 239) are all available on LASC website under the Civil Division on the Personal Injury Court page. To allow time for an IDC at least 16 court days before the motion hearing, parties must reserve a hearing on any motion to compel further discovery at 10:00 a.m., on a date at least 60 days after the date when the reservation is made. Counsel must agree on an IDC date and reserve a slot in Department 93 through the Court Reservation System. The reservation requestor must promptly file and serve a completed Request for Informal Discovery Conference for Personal Injury Courts form LACIV 239 and attach the Court Reservation System reservation receipt as the last page. If an IDC reservation is made but no form is filed in Department 93 at least four weeks prior to the IDC, the IDC will not appear on the Court s calendar and will not take place. If an IDC is rescheduled, parties shall submit an updated IDC form. 1:30 P.M. CALENDAR LAW AND MOTION (except Motions to Compel Further Discovery) All law and motion reservation and fee payments are to be made using the Court s Online Reservation System. Court Reservation System Online Services LA Court REMEMBER THAT ALL MOTION FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE, so please select your dates carefully and make sure the following are in order when making your court reservation: Select the correct department, date and type of motion. Incorrect reservations must be canceled, rebooked, and new fees paid. Most motion types are listed in the Court Reservation System menu. All Motions to Compel must use the Motion to Compel type, except for Motion to Compel Further, if not otherwise in the drop-down menu. Remember that you must comply with all notice requirements (e.g. Code of Civil Procedure 473C and 1005) when making your motion reservation and filing papers. This includes a Petition to Approve Minor s Compromise. If you need to cancel or reschedule a motion or an IDC, do so through the Court Reservation System, and an will be automatically sent to the corresponding department. To view tentative rulings on law and motion matters look at Civil Tentative Rulings tab. A copy of the tentative rulings are available in the courtroom on the day of the hearing. Page 4 of 6

5 If you wish to submit on a tentative ruling, please do so via at smcdept93@lacourt.org. Make sure the following information is entered on the subject line: o Submission o Case number and case name o Date of hearing o Who you represent If you submit on a tentative ruling, the Court will still conduct a hearing if any other party appears. By submitting on the tentative, you have, in essence, waived your right to be present at the hearing and you should be aware that the Court may not adopt the tentative and may issue an order which modifies the tentative ruling in whole or in part. FILING INFORMATION All motion, trial, final status conference documents, or any other document requiring the Court s signature are to be filed or received at the filing window in Room 102 or via e-delivery. This department will not accept any documents in the courtroom except ex parte applications, informal discovery conference forms, and mandatory settlement conference briefs. Cases heard in this Department do not have case management conferences, and case management statements are not required. All motions, oppositions, replies and ex parte applications must be tabbed for declarations and exhibits. Deposition testimony must be marked or highlighted. Tabbed conformed courtesy copies of all oppositions and replies must be delivered to the courtroom after filing of the original in Room 102. COURT CALL OTHER COURTROOM INFORMATION Court Call is available for all law and motion matters but not for trial or final status appearances. Trial counsel are expected to appear in person at all Final Status Conference and Trial dates. Contact Court Call at (888) for information. Page 5 of 6

6 CONTINUANCES If you wish to continue a final status conference or a trial date by stipulation, you must submit Form LACIV 242 which is available on the Court s website under the Personal Injury Courtroom Link. Parties may submit a stipulation(s) to continue trial. A maximum of two stipulations to continue trial for a total combined continuance of six months will be allowed. A subsequent request to continue trial will be granted upon a showing of good cause by a noticed motion. This rule is retroactive so that any previously granted stipulation to continue trial will count against this two stipulation rule. Due to the court s backlog of Monday trials, the Court requests that you avoid scheduling trial dates on Mondays, or Tuesdays after a Monday holiday. Final status conferences are typically set 8 court days prior to the trial date. DKW/ep/ts OneDrive/PI Courts/Courtroom Information Page 6 of 6