Judge John W. Holcomb -- United States District Court, Central District of California

Courtroom 9D, 9th Floor, Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse, 411 W. 4th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701

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Key Traps — Where Counsel Gets Caught

1. Uses PAGE limits not word limits: motions and oppositions capped at 25 pages, replies at 12 pages — L.R. 11-6.1's 7,000-word rule expressly overridden
2. Motions and replies must cite to Westlaw rather than Lexis 'wherever possible' — a judge-specific citator preference most practitioners will miss
3. All appearances IN PERSON in Courtroom 9D Santa Ana — court does NOT conduct telephonic or video hearings at all
4. Ex parte opposition due 24 hours after receipt — 'not the next court day' — and court takes a dim view of Friday or pre-holiday ex parte filings absent true emergency
5. Withdrawal or non-opposition to a motion must be noticed to the court by 12:00 noon on the TUESDAY preceding the Friday hearing — sanctions may issue for failure
6. Continuances: crowded trial schedule, incomplete discovery, or 'not ready for trial' are expressly INSUFFICIENT to show good cause — need significantly more detail
7. Motion hearings only on Fridays at 9:00 a.m. in Santa Ana; a motion noticed for a holiday or non-session day is automatically bumped to the next Friday without notice
8. Mandatory chambers copies required for motions, ex parte apps, and related docs; deliver to 9D courtesy box or FedEx/UPS by 5:00 p.m. first court day after filing (blue-backing waived, L.R. 11-3 still applies)
9. Font size must be 14-point or larger under L.R. 11-3.1.1 — specifically called out; documents must be PDF-published, not scanned

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Motion Days	§11.a. Time for Hearing Motions. Motions shall be filed and set for hearing in person, in Courtroom 9D of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, located at 411 W. 4th Street, Santa Ana, California, in accordance with L.R. 6-1. Motions will be heard on Fridays commencing at 9:00 a.m. Any motion noticed for a holiday or a day that the Court is not in session may automatically be set to the next Friday without further notice to the parties. [holcomb-john \| motion_hearing_days]
Motion Limit	§11.b. Length and Format of Motions. Notwithstanding L.R. 11-6.1 & 11-6.2, Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed 25 pages. Only in rare instances, and for good cause shown, will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. Wherever possible, counsel shall cite to Westlaw rather than Lexis. [holcomb-john \| page_limits_motions]
Reply Limit	§11.b. Replies (which are optional) shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances, and for good cause shown, will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [holcomb-john \| page_limits_replies]
Chambers Copies	Conditional §6. Mandatory Chambers Copies shall be delivered to the Courtesy Box, located outside of Courtroom 9D on the ninth floor of the United... [holcomb-john \| chambers_copies_details]
Tentative Rulings	JPS: Tentative Rulings: The Court does not typically issue tentative rulings. [holcomb-john \| tentative_rulings]
Remote Appearances	§18. Telephonic and Video Appearances. The Court does not conduct telephonic or video hearings. All appearances will be made in person in Courtroom 9D of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, located at 411 W. 4th Street, Santa Ana, California. [holcomb-john \| remote_appearances]
Discovery	§10. All discovery matters have been referred to a United States Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the District Judge's initials in the case number assigned to the matter. [holcomb-john \| discovery_referral]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

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Before You File

Motion Days & Times

§11.a. Time for Hearing Motions. Motions shall be filed and set for hearing in person, in Courtroom 9D of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, located at 411 W. 4th Street, Santa Ana, California, in accordance with L.R. 6-1. Motions will be heard on Fridays commencing at 9:00 a.m. Any motion noticed for a holiday or a day that the Court is not in session may automatically be set to the next Friday without further notice to the parties. [holcomb-john | motion_hearing_days]

Notice Period

JPS: It is not necessary to clear a hearing date with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk before filing a motion. §11.a. Motions shall be filed and set for hearing… in accordance with L.R. 6-1. [holcomb-john | motion_notice_days]

Motion Page / Word Limit

§11.b. Length and Format of Motions. Notwithstanding L.R. 11-6.1 & 11-6.2, Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed 25 pages. Only in rare instances, and for good cause shown, will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. Wherever possible, counsel shall cite to Westlaw rather than Lexis. [holcomb-john | page_limits_motions]

Opposition Limit

§11.b. Notwithstanding L.R. 11-6.1 & 11-6.2, Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed 25 pages. [holcomb-john | page_limits_oppositions]

Reply Limit

§11.b. Replies (which are optional) shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances, and for good cause shown, will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [holcomb-john | page_limits_replies]

Font & Formatting

§5. The Court also specifically directs litigants to L.R. 11-3.1.1, requiring that all documents use a font size of 14-point or larger. [holcomb-john | font_formatting]

Footnote Policy

Silent on footnote policy. [holcomb-john | footnote_policy]

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At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional §6. Mandatory Chambers Copies shall be delivered to the Courtesy Box, located outside of Courtroom 9D on the ninth floor of the United States District Court, 411 W. 4th Street, Santa Ana, California 92701, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the first court day following the e-filing. Alternatively, counsel may transmit such conformed copies via FedEx, UPS, or other overnight service, for delivery no later than 5:00 p.m. on the first court day following the e-filing, addressed to the Chambers of Judge John W. Holcomb, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Room 9-160, 411 W. 4th Street, Santa Ana, California 92701. All Mandatory Chambers Copies shall comply with the document formatting requirements of L.R. 11-3, except for the blue-backing requirement of L.R. 11-4.1, which is hereby waived. [holcomb-john | chambers_copies_details]

ECF Stamp Requirements

§5. Electronic Filing and Formatting. All documents required to be e-filed in this matter can be found in General Order No. 10-07 (as updated and amended) and L.R. 5-4. The Court specifically directs litigants to L.R. 5-4.3.1, requiring that all electronically filed documents be created by publishing the document to PDF, and not by scanning paper documents. The Court also specifically directs litigants to L.R. 11-3.1.1, requiring that all documents use a font size of 14-point or larger. [holcomb-john | ecf_stamp_requirements]

Proposed Orders

§7. Proposed Orders. Each party filing or opposing a motion or seeking the determination of any matter shall serve and electronically lodge a proposed order that sets forth the relief or action sought and a brief statement of the rationale for the decision with appropriate citations. [holcomb-john | proposed_orders]

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Before the Hearing

Tentative Rulings

JPS: Tentative Rulings: The Court does not typically issue tentative rulings. [holcomb-john | tentative_rulings]

Prohibition / Ex Parte Contact Re Tentatives

Silent on tentative ruling prohibition. Not applicable: federal court does not issue tentative rulings. [holcomb-john | tentative_ruling_prohibition]

Oral Argument

Silent on oral argument default. [holcomb-john | oral_argument_default]

Remote Appearances

§18. Telephonic and Video Appearances. The Court does not conduct telephonic or video hearings. All appearances will be made in person in Courtroom 9D of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, located at 411 W. 4th Street, Santa Ana, California. [holcomb-john | remote_appearances]

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Background Rules

Chambers Contact

§17. Communications with Chambers. Unless requested to do so, counsel shall not attempt to contact the Court or its staff by telephone or by any other ex parte means. Counsel are directed to review the Central District's website at www.cacd.uscourts.gov for the Local Rules, filing procedures, judges' procedures and schedules, calendars, forms, and Pacer access. Counsel may contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Clarissa Lara, by telephone at 714-338-4736 or by email at Clarissa_Lara@cacd.uscourts.gov only in the event that counsel cannot find the desired information through all available resources. [holcomb-john | chambers_contact_restrictions]

Discovery Referral

§10. All discovery matters have been referred to a United States Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the District Judge's initials in the case number assigned to the matter. [holcomb-john | discovery_referral]

Discovery Motion Process

§10. Discovery. All discovery matters have been referred to a United States Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the District Judge's initials in the case number assigned to the matter. The words 'DISCOVERY MATTER' shall appear in the caption of all documents relating to discovery to insure proper routing. Unless the assigned Magistrate Judge explicitly waives the Mandatory Chambers Copy rule, counsel shall deliver Mandatory Chambers Copies of discovery-related papers to the assigned Magistrate Judge (rather than to this Court). [holcomb-john | discovery_motion_process]

Ex Parte Applications

§15. Ex Parte Applications. The other parties' opposition, or notice of non-opposition (which notice may be provided telephonically to the Courtroom Deputy Clerk (714-338-4760)), to an ex parte application is due 24 hours—not the next court day—after the other parties' receipt of the ex parte application. In view of that 24-hour deadline for opposition papers, in the absence of a true emergency, the Court takes a dim view of applicants who file their ex parte applications on Fridays or on the day before a court holiday. [holcomb-john | ex_parte_notice]

Settlement Notification

§11.e. Withdrawal of, or Non-Opposition to, Motions. In the event that the parties resolve a pending motion, they must notify the Court immediately. Sanctions may issue for failure to comply with this requirement, or the broader requirement set forth in L.R. 7-16 that any party who intends to withdraw a motion, not to oppose a motion, or to seek a continuance of the hearing date for a motion, must notify the Court by 12:00 noon on the Tuesday preceding the hearing date. [holcomb-john | settlement_notification]

Lead Counsel

§8. Presence of Lead Counsel. Lead trial counsel for each party must attend every status conference, scheduling conference, and pretrial conference set by the Court. Failure of lead trial counsel to appear for those proceedings is a basis for sanctions. [holcomb-john | lead_counsel_requirement]

Under Seal Filings

Silent on under seal requirements. [holcomb-john | under_seal_requirements]

Continuances & Calendar Conflicts

§16. Stipulations. Stipulations extending scheduling dates set by this Court are not effective unless and until approved by the Court. Continuances will be granted only upon a showing of good cause. The assertion that the parties have not concluded their discovery efforts does not constitute 'good cause' to extend the case schedule. The assertion that the parties are not ready for trial does not constitute 'good cause.' The assertion that counsel has a crowded trial schedule—without significantly more detail and explanation—does not constitute 'good cause.' [holcomb-john | continuances_calendar_conflicts]

Sources & Currency

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