Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_15-cv-00908/USCOURTS-cand-3_15-cv-00908-2/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 890
Nature of Suit: Other Statutory Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1331 Fed. Question

---

United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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

STANDING ORDER

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

STANDING ORDER FOR 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE LAUREL BEELER

(Effective October 21, 2014)

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

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

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

electronic filing requirements (including the procedures for emailing proposed orders 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 judgment, or other

appropriate sanctions.

A. CALENDAR DATES AND SCHEDULING

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

Case management conferences are every Thursday: criminal cases at 10:30 a.m. and civil cases at 11:00

a.m. Parties must notice motions under the local rules and need not reserve a hearing date in advance

if the date is available on the court’s calendar (click “Calendars” at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov).

Depending on its schedule, the court may reset or vacate hearings. Please call courtroom deputy

Lashanda Scott at (415) 522-3140 with scheduling questions.

B. CHAMBERS COPIES

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

chambers copy must have the ECF header on each page, use exhibit tabs, and be three-hole-punched and

two-sided unless another format makes more sense (e.g., for spreadsheets, pictures, or exhibits). Parties

need not submit copies of certificates of service, certificates of interested entities or persons, consents

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

Rule 6-1), and notices of appearance or substitution of counsel. Please read Civil Local Rule 79-5

carefully regarding the requirements for filing documents under seal and providing copies.

 C. CIVIL DISCOVERY

3. Evidence Preservation. After a party has notice of this order, it must take the steps needed to

Case 3:15-cv-00908-LB Document 26 Filed 05/30/15 Page 1 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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

STANDING ORDER 2

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

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

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

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

search all locations – electronic and otherwise – where responsive materials might plausibly exist, and

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

materials in their original form, sequence, and organization (including, for example, file folders). 

5. Privilege Logs. If a party withholds material as privileged, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5) and

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

whether the assertion of privilege is justified. The log must be produced as quickly as possible but no

later than fourteen days after its disclosures or discovery responses are due unless the parties stipulate

to, or the court sets, another date. Unless the parties agree to a different logging method, privilege logs

must contain the following: (a) the title and description of the document, the number of pages, and the

Bates-number range; (b) the subject matter or general nature of the document (without disclosing its

contents); (c) the identity and position of its author; (d) the date it was communicated (or prepared, if

that is the more relevant date); (e) the identity and position of all addressees and recipients of the

communication; (f) the document’s present location; (g) the specific basis for the assertion that the

document is privileged or protection (including a brief summary of any supporting facts); and (h) the

steps taken to ensure the confidentiality of the communication, including an affirmation that no

unauthorized persons received the communication. 

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

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

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

initially by email, letter, or telephone to try to narrow their disputes. After trying those means, lead trial

counsel then must meet and confer in person to try to resolve the dispute. (If counsel are located

outside of the Bay Area and cannot confer in person, lead counsel may meet and confer by telephone.)

Either party may demand such a meeting with ten days' notice. If the parties cannot agree on the

location, the location for meetings will alternate. Plaintiff's counsel will select the first location, defense

Case 3:15-cv-00908-LB Document 26 Filed 05/30/15 Page 2 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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

STANDING ORDER 3

counsel will select the second location, and so forth. If the parties do not resolve their disagreements

through this procedure, lead counsel must file a joint letter brief no later than five days after lead

counsels' in-person meet-and-confer. The letter brief must be filed under the Civil Events category of

“Motions and Related Filings > Motions – General > Discovery Letter Brief.” It may be no more than

six pages (12-point font or greater, margins of no less than one inch) without leave of the court. Lead

counsel for both parties must sign the letter and attest that they met and conferred in person. Each issue

must be set forth in a separate section that includes (1) a statement of the unresolved issue, (2) a

summary of each parties’ position (with citations to supporting facts and legal authority), and (3) each

party’s final proposed compromise. (This process allows a side-by-side, stand-alone analysis of each

disputed issue.) If the disagreement concerns specific discovery that a party has propounded, such as

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

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

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

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

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

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

of the dispute to lbpo@cand.uscourts.gov. 

D. CONSENT CASES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Case 3:15-cv-00908-LB Document 26 Filed 05/30/15 Page 3 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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

STANDING ORDER 4

E. SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS

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

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 filed with

the opening brief, and the briefs should cite to that statement. A reasonable process for drafting a joint

statement is as follows: (1) two weeks before the filing date, the moving party proposes its undisputed

facts, and (2) one week later, the responding party replies and the parties meet and confer about any

disagreements. For oppositions, a responding party may propose additional undisputed facts to the

moving party within seven days after the motion is filed and ask for a response within two business

days.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

_______________________________

LAUREL BEELER

United States Magistrate Judge

Case 3:15-cv-00908-LB Document 26 Filed 05/30/15 Page 4 of 4