Magistrate Judge Steve Kim -- United States District Court, Central District of California

Courtroom 540, 5th Floor, Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse, Los Angeles

warning

Key Traps — Where Counsel Gets Caught

1. Discovery filings must include in the caption: '[Discovery Document: Referred to Magistrate Judge Steve Kim]' — omission signals the document to the wrong docket
2. Every discovery motion must attach a completed Supplemental Certification of Counsel — motions filed without it may be struck with no further notice or warning
3. Judge Kim has no authority to alter another judge's Rule 16 schedule — motions filed too late to hear and comply before the fact discovery cutoff may be summarily dismissed as untimely
4. IDC requires TWO meet-and-confer attempts (not one) consistent with LR 37-1 before the movant may email the Request for Informal Discovery Conference form to CRD
5. IDC is not automatic — it requires agreement of the parties AND Judge Kim's discretion; without both, parties are pushed back to formal LR 37 procedure
6. Formal discovery motions require a consolidated Joint Stipulation grouping disputes involving the same issue under one section with a consolidated position statement (LR 37-2.1)
7. Settlement conference calendar routinely booked 2+ months out — proposed dates must be at least 3 weeks in advance, and Judge Kim will not extend the district judge's ADR deadline for you
8. Remote settlement conferences by video are granted case by case for good reason — travel cost and burden alone is NOT adequate reason
9. Proposed orders must be emailed in Microsoft Word to SK_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov — physical courtesy copies not required except for emergencies

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Chambers Copies	Conditional Mandatory Chambers Copies: Electronic copies of proposed orders must be emailed to chambers in Microsoft Word format to... [mj-kim-steve \| chambers_copies_details]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

mail Subscribe to Judge Kim procedures email updates

Primary sources. No fluff. Straight to your inbox.

chevron_right

Before You File

chevron_right

At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional Mandatory Chambers Copies: Electronic copies of proposed orders must be emailed to chambers in Microsoft Word format to SK_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. Physical copies are not required, unless otherwise ordered, except for emergency motions or requests. If a physical copy is necessary, please deliver to Judge Kim's drop box located outside Suite 1200 (Roybal Clerk's Office) on the 12th Floor. If mailing a courtesy copy, please address as follows: Clerk to Judge Steve Kim, Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 255 E. Temple Street, Suite 1200, Los Angeles, CA 90012. [mj-kim-steve | chambers_copies_details]

chevron_right

Before the Hearing

chevron_right

Background Rules

Discovery Dispute Procedure

Discovery Motions: Discovery filings should include in the caption: '[Discovery Document: Referred to Magistrate Judge Steve Kim].' Unless otherwise ordered, parties must file discovery motions in accordance with Local Rules 37-1 to 37-3. Disputed discovery requests involving the same issue(s) should be logically grouped under one section in the parties' Joint Stipulation with a consolidated position statement by each side. L.R. 37-2.1. The Court may take a discovery motion under submission without oral argument at any time. Absent an emergency, ex parte applications are not an allowed method of bringing a discovery dispute to the attention of the Court. L.R. 37-3. [mj-kim-steve | discovery_dispute_procedure]

Discovery Motion Process

IMPORTANT: Before filing a discovery motion, all counsel must read and be familiar with Judge Kim's Standing Order on Civil Discovery, available for download below. No discovery motion may be filed unless the Notice of that motion attaches a completed Supplemental Certification of Counsel, which is available below. Any discovery motion filed without that completed Supplemental Certification may be struck with no further notice or warning. Discovery motions filed without enough time to hold a hearing and to permit the parties to comply with any associated order before the fact discovery cutoff set by the district judge may be summarily dismissed as untimely without prejudice to renewing the motion if the parties later obtain an extension of that cutoff by the district judge for good cause under F.R.C.P. 16. N.B. Judge Kim has no authority to alter a Rule 16 scheduling order set by another judge. [mj-kim-steve | discovery_motion_process]

Sources & Currency

description CDCA Judge Procedures & Schedules — Official Court Page

verified Procedures verified . Verify now →

All C.D. Cal. Judges

Aenlle-Rocha Anderson Bernal Birotte Blumenfeld Bristow Carter Castillo Christensen Court Donahue Early Eick Fairbank Fischer Fitzgerald Frimpong Garnett Gee Hatter Holcomb Hsu Hwang Kato Kaufman Kim ← Klausner Kronstadt Kwok Marshall McCormick Mircheff Murillo Olguin Oliver Park Pym Ramirez Almadani Richlin Roberts Rocconi Sagar Scarsi Scott Selna Slaughter Snyder Spaeth Staton Stevenson Sykes Valenzuela Vera Viramontes Walter Wilson Wright Wu