Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_12-cv-02109/USCOURTS-cand-3_12-cv-02109-2/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 28:1441 Petition for Removal - Employment Discrimination

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

GERI MARIDON,

Plaintiff(s),

v.

COMCAST CORP.,

Defendant(s).

___________________________________/

No. C-12-02109 EMC (DMR)

NOTICE OF REFERENCE AND ORDER

RE DISCOVERY PROCEDURES

TO ALL PARTIES AND COUNSEL OF RECORD:

The above matter has been referred to Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu for all discovery

matters. 

Parties shall comply with the procedures in this order, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,

and the Northern District of California’s Local Rules, General Orders, and Standing Orders. Local

rules, general orders, standing orders, and instructions for using the Court's Electronic Case Filing

system are available at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov. Failure to comply with any of the rules or

orders may be a ground for sanctions.

RESOLUTION OF DISCOVERY DISPUTES

In order to respond to discovery disputes in a flexible, cost-effective and efficient manner,

the court uses the following procedure. The parties shall not file formal discovery motions. Instead,

as required by the federal and local rules, the parties shall first meet and confer to try to resolve their

Case 3:12-cv-02109-EMC Document 23 Filed 01/02/13 Page 1 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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disagreements. The meet and confer session must be in person or by telephone, and may not be

conducted by letter, e-mail, or fax. If disagreements remain, the parties shall file a joint letter no

later than five business days after the meet and confer session, unless otherwise directed by the

court. Lead trial counsel for both parties must sign the letter, which shall include an attestation

that the parties met and conferred in person or by telephone regarding all issues prior to filing the

letter. Going issue-by-issue, the joint letter shall describe each unresolved issue, summarize each

party’s position with appropriate legal authority; and provide each party’s final proposed

compromise before moving to the next issue. The joint letter shall not exceed ten pages without

leave of court. Parties are expected to plan for and cooperate in preparing the joint letter so

that each side has adequate time to address the arguments. In the rare instance that a joint letter

is not possible, each side may submit a letter not to exceed four pages, which shall include an

explanation of why a joint letter was not possible. The parties shall submit one exhibit to the letter

that only sets forth each disputed discovery request in full, followed immediately by the objections

and/or responses thereto. No other information shall be included in any such exhibit. No other

exhibits shall be submitted without prior approval by the court. The court will review the

submission(s) and determine whether formal briefing or proceedings are necessary. Discovery

letter briefs must be e-filed under the Civil Events category of Motions and Related Filings >

Motions - General > "Discovery Letter Brief". 

In the event that a discovery hearing is ordered, the court has found that it is often efficient

and beneficial for counsel to appear in person. This provides the opportunity, where appropriate, to

engage counsel in resolving aspects of the discovery dispute while remaining available to rule on

any disputes that counsel are not able to resolve. For this reason, the court expects counsel to appear

in person. Permission for a party to attend by telephone may be granted, in the court's discretion,

upon written request made at least one week in advance of the hearing if the court determines that

good cause exists to excuse personal attendance, and that personal attendance is not needed in order

to have an effective discovery hearing. The facts establishing good cause must be set forth in the

request. 

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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In emergencies during discovery events (such as depositions), any party may, after

exhausting good faith attempts to resolve disputed issues, seek judicial intervention pursuant to Civil

L.R. 37-1(b) by contacting the court through the courtroom deputy. If the court is unavailable, the

discovery event shall proceed with objections noted for the record. 

CHAMBERS COPIES AND PROPOSED ORDERS

Pursuant to Civil L.R. 5-1(e)(7) and 5-2(b), parties must lodge an extra paper copy of certain

filings and mark it as a copy for “Chambers.” Please three-hole punch the chambers copy and

submit it to the Oakland Clerk’s Office. 

Any stipulation or proposed order submitted by an e-filing party shall be submitted by email

to dmrpo@cand.uscourts.gov as a word processing attachment on the same day the document is efiled. This address should only be used for this stated purpose unless otherwise directed by the

court.

PRIVILEGE LOGS

If a party withholds information that is responsive to a discovery request by claiming that it

is privileged or otherwise protected from discovery, that party shall promptly prepare and provide a

privilege log that is sufficiently detailed and informative for the opposing party to assess whether a

document’s designation as privileged is justified. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(5). The privilege log shall

set forth the privilege relied upon and specify separately for each document or for each category of

similarly situated documents:

(a) the title and description of the document, including number of pages or

Bates-number range; 

(b) the subject matter addressed in the document; 

(c) the identity and position of its author(s); 

(d) the identity and position of all addressees and recipients; 

(e) the date the document was prepared and, if different, the date(s) on which it was

sent to or shared with persons other than its author(s); and 

(f) the specific basis for the claim that the document is privileged or protected.

Case 3:12-cv-02109-EMC Document 23 Filed 01/02/13 Page 3 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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Communications involving trial counsel that post-date the filing of the complaint need not be

placed on a privilege log. Failure to furnish this information promptly may be deemed a waiver of

the privilege or protection.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: January 2, 2013 

DONNA M. RYU

United States Magistrate Judge

Case 3:12-cv-02109-EMC Document 23 Filed 01/02/13 Page 4 of 4