Magistrate Judge Margo A. Rocconi -- United States District Court, Central District of California

Courtroom 790, 7th Floor, Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse, Los Angeles

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Key Traps — Where Counsel Gets Caught

1. NO courtesy copies to chambers required EXCEPT for emergency motions or requests — do not default to LR 5-4.5 chambers-copy habits
2. Pre-motion video conference is OPTIONAL, but request must be a joint email under 200 words describing dispute + confirming impasse + cc all parties
3. IDC scope is limited: NOT useful for broader disputes about relevance, proportionality, burden, or privilege under FRCP 26 — reserve for recalcitrant misconduct, discrete disputes, or scheduling
4. No relief will be ordered during the informal video conference absent a fully-briefed motion — do not expect a ruling to come out of the IDC itself
5. Pronouns and honorifics accommodated via confidential letter to chambers, docket filing, or signature block — an actual on-record practice, not just tolerance
6. Boilerplate Rule 34(b)(2) objections in document responses may draw discovery sanctions — the Standing Order singles them out by name
7. Meet-and-confer email exchanges may SUPPLEMENT but NOT REPLACE telephonic or in-person conferences — pro forma emails are per se inadequate
8. Telephonic appearance request due at least 5 court days before hearing AND must be by formal pleading — informal request or day-of call insufficient
9. Special appearances FORBIDDEN — counsel of record must personally appear; no covering-counsel workaround
10. Under-seal filings require BOTH e-filed application AND hard-copy delivery to 12th-floor mailbox by noon next court day AND a chambers email flagged 'UNDER SEAL REQUEST'

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Motion Days	Civil Motions: Unless otherwise directed by the Court, civil motions are heard on Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. It is not necessary to clear a civil motion date with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk (CRD) prior to filing the motion; however, counsel shall check the Closed Motion Dates before filing a motion. The Court may take a motion under submission without oral argument. See Local Civil Rule 7-15. The parties are reminded of their obligation under Local Civil Rule 7-3, if applicable, to meet and confer about the subject of a motion at least 7 days before filing. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]
Chambers Copies	Conditional UNLESS OTHERWISE ORDERED, NO COURTESY COPIES TO CHAMBERS IS REQUIRED, EXCEPT FOR EMERGENCY MOTIONS OR REQUESTS. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]
Tentative Rulings	Tentative Rulings: If the Court determines that issuing a tentative ruling is appropriate, the ruling will be provided to counsel when counsel checks in with the CRD. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]
Remote Appearances	Telephonic Appearances: Any party who wishes to appear at a hearing by telephone shall make such a request at least five court days before the hearing. Telephonic appearances are not allowed absent permission of the Court given on showing of good cause. Requests shall be made by formal pleading. Special Appearances: The Court does not permit special appearances. Counsel of record shall appear at all court proceedings. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

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Before You File

Motion Days & Times

Civil Motions: Unless otherwise directed by the Court, civil motions are heard on Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. It is not necessary to clear a civil motion date with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk (CRD) prior to filing the motion; however, counsel shall check the Closed Motion Dates before filing a motion. The Court may take a motion under submission without oral argument. See Local Civil Rule 7-15. The parties are reminded of their obligation under Local Civil Rule 7-3, if applicable, to meet and confer about the subject of a motion at least 7 days before filing. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]

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At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional UNLESS OTHERWISE ORDERED, NO COURTESY COPIES TO CHAMBERS IS REQUIRED, EXCEPT FOR EMERGENCY MOTIONS OR REQUESTS. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]

Proposed Orders

All proposed orders approving stipulated protective orders must be submitted (1) in Word format, and (2) including the full text of the stipulated protective order. Model Protective Order and Expedited Review: Parties submitting a stipulated protective order for the Court's approval shall receive expedited consideration if (1) the parties' stipulated protective order is substantially based on the attached model protective order, and (2) along with the proposed stipulated protective order, the parties provide a redline comparing the model and stipulated protective orders by e-mail to MAR_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]

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Before the Hearing

Tentative Rulings

Tentative Rulings: If the Court determines that issuing a tentative ruling is appropriate, the ruling will be provided to counsel when counsel checks in with the CRD. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]

Remote Appearances

Telephonic Appearances: Any party who wishes to appear at a hearing by telephone shall make such a request at least five court days before the hearing. Telephonic appearances are not allowed absent permission of the Court given on showing of good cause. Requests shall be made by formal pleading. Special Appearances: The Court does not permit special appearances. Counsel of record shall appear at all court proceedings. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]

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Background Rules

Chambers Contact

Communication with the Court: Inquiries regarding the status of a motion, stipulation, or proposed order should be made by checking the docket. If the information is unavailable, the parties may contact the CRD. Also, please refer to Local Civil Rule 83-2.5. Counsel and the parties must not contact or communicate with the magistrate judge's law clerks unless expressly authorized by the Court or the Court's CRD, the Local Rules, or this Court's rules. Similarly, counsel and the parties may communicate with chambers by means of the Court's email address only as expressly authorized by the Court or the Court's CRD, the Local Rules, or this Court's rules. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]

Discovery Dispute Procedure

Standing Order on Discovery Disputes: Emails and written correspondence may supplement, but shall not replace, required telephonic and/or in-person conferences of counsel to resolve discovery disputes. Pro forma or perfunctory email exchanges shall not be considered adequate pre-filing conferences. If the parties have a dispute on the scope of discovery, they shall include in their meet-and-confer discussions the relevance and proportionality factors set forth in Rule 26(b)(1). Parties responding to document requests shall not use boilerplate objections that violate Rule 34(b)(2). Failure to comply may result in discovery sanctions. [MAR - Standing Discovery Order]

Discovery Motion Process

Discovery Motions: Discovery motions are to be scheduled before the magistrate judge unless otherwise ordered by the district judge. The parties are advised to review the procedures and standing orders of the assigned district judge before filing any discovery motion. Strict compliance with Local Civil Rule 37 is required. The Court may strike any discovery motion filed in violation of this Rule. The Court may also take the motion under submission without oral argument. See Local Civil Rule 7-15. Before filing a discovery motion, counsel must read and be familiar with Judge Rocconi's Standing Order on Discovery Disputes. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]

Ex Parte Applications

Ex Parte Applications: Strict compliance with Local Civil Rules 7-19 and 7-19.1 is required. Any opposition should be served and filed within 24 hours of applicant's oral notice. Conformed paper copies of the filed application and any opposition should be delivered directly to chambers. Absent an emergency, ex parte applications are not an acceptable method of bringing a discovery dispute to the attention of the Court. Ex parte applications must identify in the caption whether 'OPPOSED' or 'UNOPPOSED' and whether the relief has been previously sought via ex parte application. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]

Under Seal Filings

Under Seal Documents — Request to Seal Document(s) ONLY, Not the Application and Order: A party seeking to file materials under seal must first file the application to seal and the declaration giving notice or proof of service electronically via the Court's CM/ECF system. Separately attach a proposed order to the electronically filed application. After electronically filing the application and declaration giving notice or proof of service, the moving party will send an e-mail to the Chambers e-mail (MAR_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov) containing: (1) the application and declaration giving notice or a proof of service; (2) a Word version of the proposed order; and (3) a PDF version of the materials to be filed under seal with a caption page clearly marked 'UNDER SEAL.' The subject line of the e-mail must bear the case name and number and include the phrase 'UNDER SEAL REQUEST.' In addition, the party seeking to file materials under seal must deliver the following to the Judge's mail box, located outside the Clerk's Office (Suite 1200), 12th Floor of the Roybal Federal Building, no later than noon the next court day: (1) one copy each of the Notice of Manual Filing; (2) the Application and declaration giving notice or proof of service; (3) the proposed order; and (4) the proposed under seal documents. The filing party is required to serve copies of the sealed documents on all other parties as applicable and to e-file a proof of service within 24 hours. [Judge Rocconi Procedures Page]

Sources & Currency

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