CIVIL LAW AND MOTION HEARINGS
CALENDAR PROCEDURES
(Not applicable to Family Law matters)
RULE 8.00 TENTATIVE RULINGS
The Ventura Superior Court adopts the following as the Tentative Ruling Procedure in the civil departments of the court.A. Tentative rulings will be available by 4:00 p.m. on the court day preceding the scheduled date of the hearing. Tentative rulings may be obtained by calling (805) 650-4089 or on the court's Website at www.ventura.courts.ca.gov.
B. No "Notice of Intent to Appear" is required under this rule.
C. Pursuant to California Rules of Court Rule 3.1308(e) this local rule does not require any judge to issue tentative rulings. (Revised effective 1/1/07).
RULE 8.01 NOTICE OF HEARING (Deleted effective 1/1/98)
RULE 8.02 MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES (Deleted effective 1/1/98)
RULE 8.03 INCOMPLETE MOTIONS (Deleted effective 1/1/98)
RULE 8.04 CONTINUANCES AND OFF CALENDAR REQUESTS
A. The Legal Research section receives all of the law and motion files for calendared matters approximately ten (10) days preceding the hearing date. The Legal Research attorneys must be notified by telephone as soon as possible when a matter is to be continued or taken off calendar in order to avoid unnecessary review.
B. All requests to take a matter off calendar shall be in writing and filed with the Court.
C. All continuances of Law and Motion matters shall be for not less than two weeks and shall be by ex-parte application or stipulation and order.
D. To request a continuance of a Small Claims Trial De Novo trial, the requesting party must complete Judicial Council forms “Request to Postpone Small Claims Hearing” (SC-110) and “Order on Request to Postpone Small Claims Hearing” (SC-111) at least ten (10) days before the trial date and pay the appropriate filing fee (see current fee schedule). If the request is submitted less than ten (10) days before the trial, the requesting party must give the court good cause why the request is being filed later. The requesting party shall mail or personally deliver a copy to all parties in the action. (Revised effective 7/1/08)
RULE 8.05 RESTORATION TO CALENDAR
A law and motion matter that has gone off calendar may be restored thereto only upon noticed motion except in an extraordinary situation to be determined by the court in its discretion. (Effective 1/1/97)
RULE 8.06 ARGUMENT (Deleted effective 1/1/05)
RULE 8.07 DISCOVERY (Deleted effective 1/1/98)
RULE 8.08 CONSOLIDATION (Deleted effective 1/1/98)
RULE 8.09 MOTION TO BE RELIEVED AS COUNSEL (Deleted effective 1/1/98)
RULE 8.10 [Reserved]
RULE 8.11 MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND SUMMARY ADJUDICATION (Deleted effective 1/1/98)
RULE 8.12 PROCEDURAL RULES FOR CIVIL TRIALS
A. Length of Trial. A realistic and practical period for trial and argument will be determined after consultation with counsel, based upon the circumstances of each case.
B. Trial Briefs. Trial briefs shall be brief, and not exceed ten pages and are to be filed with the judicial assistant in the assigned department at the initial trial call (the date the parties answer ready for trial).
C. Brevity.
1. Voir dire and examination of witnesses can and will be limited by the court. Such limitation can be agreed upon by counsel and/or court before the trial commences.
2. Objections. State the legal basis only; do not argue objections unless invited by the court.
D. Anticipate Problems.
1. Witness availability problems. Counsel must always have back-up witnesses to eliminate delay. There is no exception to this rule. Each counsel shall notify opposing counsel 24 hours in advance of all witnesses counsel intends to call the following day. Failure to follow this rule may result in exclusion of any witness not so disclosed.
2. Potential evidentiary problems should be anticipated and disclosed to the court, with citations, before the trial commences.
3. Scheduling problems. Prompt notice is mandatory.
E. Pre-marking of Exhibits. All exhibits shall be submitted to the courtroom clerk on the first day of trial for pre-marking. Prior to arriving in the trial department, counsel shall exchange all exhibits with opposing counsel and shall agree and stipulate to foundation and admissibility where possible. Any exhibits as to which admissibility cannot be stipulated should be brought to the attention of the court on the first day of trial. Any exhibits not so pre-marked may be excluded from evidence. The only exceptions are exhibits to be used for impeachment. If counsel wish to have the exhibits pre-marked prior to the first day of trial, they should notify the courtroom clerk for an appointment for this purpose. This practice is encouraged.
F. Stipulate to as many facts as possible.
G. Statement of Case. A statement of the case must be stipulated to by all counsel and jointly prepared, consisting of a brief, concise factual statement of the case. It will be read to the jury panel as an introduction to the case. It is not to exceed one page, and is to be filed with the clerk of the trial department on the first day of trial.
H. Cooperation Between Counsel. Cooperation is the key to expeditious trials; it is essential, expected and professional.
I. Witness Lists. Counsel for all sides shall agree on a single combined list of witnesses who may be called in the trial. The list shall be prepared by counsel for plaintiff. This witness list shall be filed with the clerk in the trial department on the first day of trial, and will be read to prospective jurors.
J. Examination of Witnesses. Prior to calling a witness, counsel shall determine what exhibits will be used during the examination and have those exhibits on the witness stand for easy reference by the witness. The only exception is for exhibits to be used for impeachment.
K. Court-Appointed Expert. The court will appoint its own expert under appropriate circumstances, with costs borne by the parties equally.
L. Jury Instructions and Verdicts. Instructions and verdict forms are to be agreed to outside of trial time.
1. (Deleted effective 7/1/96)
2. Counsel's particular attention is drawn to the Burden of Proof Instruction such as CACI 2.60. Counsel shall agree on the wording of said instruction and submit same to the court before plaintiff rests.
3. Jury instructions prepared by counsel will be accepted only in the format of Exhibit A hereto.
4. Jury verdict forms will be prepared by plaintiff's counsel, but will be agreed upon by all counsel and lodged with the clerk of the trial department before the plaintiff rests.
M. Hypothetical Questions. (Deleted effective July 1, 1995).
N. In Limine Motions. All In Limine Motions shall be in writing, and shall be personally served on the parties and filed with the judicial assistant in the assigned department at the initial trial call (the date the parties answer ready for trial). A motion shall not exceed two pages, including authority, and shall be accompanied by a proposed order.
O. Checklist for Working with the Courtroom Clerk.
1. Check in with the courtroom clerk. If you are an attorney representing a client, provide three (3) business cards and name of your client.
2. File trial briefs and motions in limine.
3. File witness list and statement of the case.
4. Arrange for payment of any jury fees and reporter fees.
5. Pre-mark and exchange exhibits.
6. File request for jury instructions before the plaintiff rests.
7. Lodge all original depositions with the courtroom clerk on the first day of trial.
8. Sign jury stipulation.
9. All depositions, documents, exhibits and other items lodged with the court must be removed from the courtroom by counsel lodging same upon conclusion of proceedings.
10. With regard to messages for counsel during trial, calls to the courtroom should be limited only to urgent messages. Counsel should arrange to check in with their offices during breaks.
P. Procedures Regarding Court Reporters.
1. Side bench conferences with the reporter are not favored. Such conferences consume undue amounts of time and interrupt the continuity of the trial. The record is available for proceedings outside the presence of the jury during recess.
2. "On and off" the record -- the reporter will respond only to instructions of the court relative to going "on and off" the record.
3. Maintain a record of the question and answer that ends each session or inquire of the reporter before the succeeding session.
4. Forty-eight-hour notice is required if a daily transcript is requested. (Revised effective 1/1/07)
EXHIBIT A
CITATIONS OF AUTHORITY
JONES V. SMITH
((1991) 100 Ca.3d O.)
| Request by Plaintiff |
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Requested by Defendant |
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Requested by |
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| Given as Requested |
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Given as Modified |
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Given Court’s Motion |
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| Refused |
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| Withdrawn |
Judge |
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RULE 8.13 EXCHANGE OF EXPERT TRIAL WITNESS INFORMATION (Deleted effective 7/1/06)
