Magistrate Judge Rozella A. Oliver -- United States District Court, Central District of California

Courtroom 590, 5th Floor, Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse, Los Angeles

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Key Traps — Where Counsel Gets Caught

1. Consent Program judge — in consent cases motions may be heard any non-holiday weekday except Thursdays, generally by Zoom; non-consent civil motions Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
2. Any use of generative AI (ChatGPT, Harvey, CoCounsel, Bard) requires a separate declaration disclosing use, verifying accuracy, and certifying Rule 11 compliance.
3. Meet-and-confer must include at least one discussion by telephone, video, or in person before contacting the Court — email exchanges alone don't count.
4. Whether a party attempted informal discovery dispute resolution is a FACTOR the Court considers in any future request for discovery-related sanctions.
5. Joint email to RAO_Chambers must confirm (1) meet-and-confer occurred, (2) all parties agree to pursue informal resolution, and (3) briefly describe the issue — no unilateral IDC requests.
6. Discovery disputes must be emailed to the Court 4-6 weeks BEFORE the discovery cut-off; requests without sufficient time for decision within the scheduling order will be denied.
7. Substantive discovery rulings issue only after a hearing OR letter briefing — expect a two-step process even after the IDC.
8. All civil hearings are held telephonically unless the Court notes otherwise; call-in info comes from chambers by email.
9. Special appearances not permitted — counsel of record must appear at all proceedings personally.
10. Ex parte replies not permitted absent leave of Court; opposition due within 24 hours (or one court day); Court cites Mission Power to underscore 'rarely justified.'
11. Chambers copies not required in civil cases unless the Court requests them — but ALL proposed orders must be emailed to RAO_Chambers in Word format.
12. Under-seal requests require CM/ECF filing PLUS an email to RAO_Chambers with the subject line bearing case name, number, and 'UNDER SEAL REQUEST.'
13. Settlement conference scheduling requires contacting chambers at least 8 weeks before the ADR deadline — miss the window and the Court may be unable to offer a workable date.

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Motion Days	JPS Item 01 (Civil Motions): 'Civil Motions are heard on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. It is not necessary to clear a civil motion date with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk (CRD) prior to filing the motion. The Court may take any motion under submission without oral argument.' Initial Standing Order (Motions): 'This Court hears motions in consent cases on any non-holiday weekday except for Thursdays, beginning generally at 10 a.m. Most hearings are held by Zoom, and the moving party may notice their motion for a hearing by Zoom without prior approval of the Court.' (Oliver is a Consent Program judge — the weekday-except-Thursday / Zoom rule applies in consent cases; the Wednesdays 10 a.m. rule applies in non-consent civil cases per JPS.) [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]
Chambers Copies	Conditional Mandatory Chambers Copies: Chambers copies of all e-filed documents are not required unless requested by the Court. Electronic copies of... [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]
Remote Appearances	Telephonic Appearances: All civil hearings are held telephonically unless noted by the Court. Call-in information will be provided by chambers via email. Special Appearances: The Court does not permit special appearances. Counsel of record must appear at all court proceedings. [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

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Before You File

Motion Days & Times

JPS Item 01 (Civil Motions): 'Civil Motions are heard on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. It is not necessary to clear a civil motion date with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk (CRD) prior to filing the motion. The Court may take any motion under submission without oral argument.' Initial Standing Order (Motions): 'This Court hears motions in consent cases on any non-holiday weekday except for Thursdays, beginning generally at 10 a.m. Most hearings are held by Zoom, and the moving party may notice their motion for a hearing by Zoom without prior approval of the Court.' (Oliver is a Consent Program judge — the weekday-except-Thursday / Zoom rule applies in consent cases; the Wednesdays 10 a.m. rule applies in non-consent civil cases per JPS.) [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]

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At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional Mandatory Chambers Copies: Chambers copies of all e-filed documents are not required unless requested by the Court. Electronic copies of proposed orders shall be e-mailed to the Court at RAO_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. Proposed orders must be in Microsoft Word format. [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]

Proposed Orders

Electronic copies of proposed orders shall be e-mailed to the Court at RAO_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. Proposed orders must be in Microsoft Word format. All proposed orders approving stipulated protective orders must be submitted by email to RAO_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov (1) in Word format, and (2) with the full text of the stipulated protective order. [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]

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Before the Hearing

Remote Appearances

Telephonic Appearances: All civil hearings are held telephonically unless noted by the Court. Call-in information will be provided by chambers via email. Special Appearances: The Court does not permit special appearances. Counsel of record must appear at all court proceedings. [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]

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Background Rules

Chambers Contact

Communications with Chambers: Counsel must not attempt to contact the Court or its law clerks by telephone or by any other ex parte means unless contact has been first initiated by Chambers staff. Counsel may contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk with appropriate inquiries. The preferred method of communication with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk is by email to RAO_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov, with opposing counsel copied on the email. [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]

Discovery Dispute Procedure

Informal Discovery Dispute Resolution: Judge Oliver STRONGLY recommends that parties pursue informal discovery dispute resolution prior to filing any discovery motion. Whether a party attempted a good faith resolution of a discovery dispute, including the use of these informal resolution procedures, is one factor that Judge Oliver may consider in any future request for discovery-related sanctions. Prior to contacting the Court, the parties must meet and confer in good faith to attempt to resolve or narrow their disputes, including at least one discussion by telephone, video, or in person. [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]

Discovery Motion Process

Where a District Judge requires any discovery ordered by the Magistrate Judge to be completed by the cut-off, parties generally should email the Court with their dispute no later than 4-6 weeks prior to the cut-off, depending on the discovery at issue. Requests for informal resolution without sufficient time for decision within the strictures of the District Judge's scheduling order will be denied. Based on the joint email, the Court may schedule an informal discovery conference (IDC) or ask the parties to first letter brief their dispute. IDCs are held telephonically. The Court will only issue substantive discovery rulings after a hearing or letter briefing. [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]

Ex Parte Applications

Ex Parte Applications: Strict compliance with Local Civil Rule 7-19 and 7-19.1 is required. Any opposition to an ex parte application should be filed and served within 24 hours (or one court day) of service of the application. Absent leave of court, replies are not permitted. Ex parte applications will generally be decided on the papers, without oral argument. The Court will notify the parties if a hearing is desired. Ex parte applications are solely for extraordinary relief and are 'rarely justified.' See Mission Power Eng'g Co. v. Cont'l Cas. Co., 883 F. Supp. 488, 490 (C.D. Cal. 1995). [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]

Under Seal Filings

Under Seal Documents (Civil and Criminal): CIVIL CASES: A party seeking to file materials for Civil cases under seal must first file the application electronically via the CM/ECF system. After filing the application electronically, the moving party will e-mail the application and a PDF version of the materials to be filed under seal to chambers (RAO_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov). The subject line of the e-mail must bear the name and number, and include 'UNDER SEAL REQUEST'. Judge Oliver is still participating in the Pilot Project for Electronic Submission and Filing of Under Seal Documents for Criminal cases. [Judge Oliver Procedures Page]

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AI & Style Preferences

AI Disclosure Requirement

Artificial Intelligence: Any party who uses generative artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT, Harvey, CoCounsel, or Google Bard) to generate any portion of a brief, pleading, or other filing must attach to the filing a separate declaration disclosing the use of artificial intelligence and certifying that the filer has reviewed the source material and verified that the artificially generated contact is accurate and complies with the filer's Rule 11 obligations.

Sources & Currency

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