Magistrate Judge Karen E. Scott -- United States District Court, Central District of California

Courtroom 6D, 6th Floor, Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse, Santa Ana

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Key Traps — Where Counsel Gets Caught

1. ALL parties are EXCUSED from delivering chambers copies until further order — a standing waiver most CA-CD magistrates have not granted
2. AI is treated as a Rule 11 verification issue, not a mandatory disclosure — signing a brief created in whole or in part with AI certifies the signer has checked and verified the cited authorities
3. Tentative rulings ARE issued (federal-atypical for a magistrate) — check the 'Tentative Rulings' tab on JPS and/or the courtroom about 30 minutes before hearing
4. If all parties submit on the tentative, notify the CRD — no appearance required; a live-hearing avoidance path most federal judges do not offer
5. Discovery motion caption MUST include '[Discovery Document: Referred to Magistrate Judge Karen E. Scott]' — omission is a technical filing defect
6. IDC letter briefs capped at 3 PAGES per party, due at least 24 HOURS before the IDC, filed on the docket (not just emailed) — hard letter-brief limit
7. IDC hearings PREFERRED at 9:30 a.m. — do not propose afternoon times unless that block is truly unavailable
8. Moving party must e-file a 'Notice of Discovery Motion and Telephonic Conference' as part of the IDC setup — pure email scheduling is not enough
9. Unanswered meet-and-confer letters/emails do NOT satisfy the LR 37-1 obligation — must be followed by a phone call to preserve the record
10. Proposed discovery orders may NOT merely say 'motion granted' — must state the specific relief for each discovery request in dispute
11. Sanctions requests must SPECIFY the authority (Rule / statute / inherent power) — a boilerplate 'and for sanctions' will not carry
12. Regular civil motions: 25 pages OR 7,000 words (LR 11-6.1) — but joint stipulations under LR 37-2.1 are NOT subject to these limits
13. Under-seal filings must HIGHLIGHT the proposed redactions in the unredacted version — failure to highlight may result in denial without prejudice
14. Ex parte 24-hour opposition clock: if the deadline lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it rolls to the same time on the next non-holiday day — Court typically waits before ruling

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Motion Days	HEARINGS: Unless otherwise directed by the Court, civil motions are heard on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. It is not necessary to clear a motion date with the Court's courtroom deputy clerk ('CRD') prior to filing the motion, although the Court reserves the right to sua sponte continue motions or decide them on the papers without oral argument. Please check closed motion hearing dates prior to filing. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]
Motion Limit	LENGTH LIMITATIONS FOR BRIEFS: Local Rule 11-6.1. A handwritten brief or a brief prepared using a typewriter may not exceed 25 pages, excluding the caption, table of contents, table of authorities, signature block, and any indices and exhibits. All other memorandums of points and authorities, pretrial briefs, trial briefs, and posttrial briefs (including motions, oppositions, and replies) may not exceed 7,000 words. Discovery motions in the form of a joint stipulation are not subject to these limits but are governed by Local Rule 37-2.1. IDC letter briefs: no more than 3 pages in length. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]
Chambers Copies	Conditional CHAMBERS COPIES: ***ALL PARTIES ARE EXCUSED FROM DELIVERING CHAMBERS COPIES OF E-FILED DOCUMENTS TO THE COURTHOUSE UNTIL FURTHER ORDER OF... [Judge Scott Procedures Page]
Tentative Rulings	TENTATIVE RULINGS: Tentative rulings may be issued as appropriate. If issued, they will be available by clicking on the 'Tentative Rulings' below, and/or approximately 1/2 hour prior to the hearing in the courtroom. If all parties submit on the tentative ruling, please advise the CRD, and no appearance will be required. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]
Remote Appearances	TELEPHONIC APPEARANCES: Any party who wishes to appear at a hearing by telephone must file such a request at least two business days before the hearing. SPECIAL APPEARANCES: The Court typically does not permit special appearances. Counsel of record shall appear at all court proceedings, unless prevented by extraordinary circumstances. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

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Before You File

Motion Days & Times

HEARINGS: Unless otherwise directed by the Court, civil motions are heard on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. It is not necessary to clear a motion date with the Court's courtroom deputy clerk ('CRD') prior to filing the motion, although the Court reserves the right to sua sponte continue motions or decide them on the papers without oral argument. Please check closed motion hearing dates prior to filing. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

Motion Page / Word Limit

LENGTH LIMITATIONS FOR BRIEFS: Local Rule 11-6.1. A handwritten brief or a brief prepared using a typewriter may not exceed 25 pages, excluding the caption, table of contents, table of authorities, signature block, and any indices and exhibits. All other memorandums of points and authorities, pretrial briefs, trial briefs, and posttrial briefs (including motions, oppositions, and replies) may not exceed 7,000 words. Discovery motions in the form of a joint stipulation are not subject to these limits but are governed by Local Rule 37-2.1. IDC letter briefs: no more than 3 pages in length. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

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At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional CHAMBERS COPIES: ***ALL PARTIES ARE EXCUSED FROM DELIVERING CHAMBERS COPIES OF E-FILED DOCUMENTS TO THE COURTHOUSE UNTIL FURTHER ORDER OF THE COURT.*** Electronic copies of proposed orders in Microsoft Word format must be e-mailed to the Court at KES_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

Proposed Orders

PROPOSED ORDERS FOR DISCOVERY MOTIONS: The moving party shall submit a proposed order per the procedures in Local Rule 5-4.4. The proposed order may be submitted with the Joint Stipulation or with the Supplemental Memorandum. The proposed order shall not merely say 'motion granted.' The proposed order shall state what relief is requested for the discovery requests in dispute. Electronic copies of proposed orders in Microsoft Word format must be e-mailed to the Court at KES_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

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Before the Hearing

Tentative Rulings

TENTATIVE RULINGS: Tentative rulings may be issued as appropriate. If issued, they will be available by clicking on the 'Tentative Rulings' below, and/or approximately 1/2 hour prior to the hearing in the courtroom. If all parties submit on the tentative ruling, please advise the CRD, and no appearance will be required. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

Remote Appearances

TELEPHONIC APPEARANCES: Any party who wishes to appear at a hearing by telephone must file such a request at least two business days before the hearing. SPECIAL APPEARANCES: The Court typically does not permit special appearances. Counsel of record shall appear at all court proceedings, unless prevented by extraordinary circumstances. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

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Background Rules

Chambers Contact

CONTACTS WITH CHAMBERS: Inquiries regarding the status of a motion, stipulation, proposed order or other filing should be made by checking the online docket. If the information sought is unavailable, counsel may contact the Court's CRD. Counsel are not allowed to call chambers or the Court's law clerks unless specifically directed to do so by the Court or the Court's CRD. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

Discovery Dispute Procedure

DISCOVERY MATTERS: Discovery motions are to be calendared before the magistrate judge unless otherwise ordered by the district judge. Compliance with Local Rule 37-1 is required, unless the parties use the informal procedures. Parties may not rely on unanswered letters or emails to satisfy their obligation to meet and confer. Unanswered correspondence must be followed with a phone call. All proposed protective orders and other filings pertaining to discovery shall include in the caption: '[Discovery Document: Referred to Magistrate Judge Karen E. Scott].' [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

Discovery Motion Process

FORMAT OF DISCOVERY MOTIONS: Local Rule 37-2.1: The stipulation shall contain all issues in dispute and, with respect to each such issue, the contentions and points and authorities of each party. Parties should comply with this requirement by grouping together discovery that implicates the same issue(s) and making each argument that implicates multiple discovery requests only once. PROPOSED ORDERS FOR DISCOVERY MOTIONS: The proposed order shall not merely say 'motion granted.' The proposed order shall state what relief is requested. SANCTIONS REQUESTS: The moving party shall specify the authority for any requested sanctions. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

Ex Parte Applications

EX PARTE APPLICATIONS: Compliance with Local Rules 7-19 and 7-19.1 is required. An ex parte application is usually considered on the papers only. An opposition should be served and filed within 24 hours of the electronic filing of the application. However, if the 24-hour period would end on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period continues to run until the same time on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. In most cases, the Court will wait until that time before ruling. If needed, the Court will schedule a hearing. Discovery disputes should generally not be brought to the Court's attention in an ex parte application. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

Under Seal Filings

PROCEDURE FOR PRESENTING DOCUMENTS ELECTRONICALLY FOR SEALING: Attorneys are required by Local Rule 79-5.2 to electronically file all sealed documents and applications for leave to file under seal in regular civil cases. When filing both an unredacted and a redacted version, the unredacted version should highlight the proposed redactions so that the Court can see what materials the moving party wants to redact without needing to manually compare the redacted and unredacted versions. Failure to provide such highlighting may cause the Court to deny the sealing application without prejudice. [Judge Scott Procedures Page]

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AI & Style Preferences

AI Disclosure Requirement

GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ('AI'). Counsel are hereby put on notice that AI tools used to draft legal briefs can make mistakes (sometimes called 'hallucinations'), including citing non-existent legal authorities. As part of counsel's duties under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, anyone who signs a brief or other court filing that was created, in whole or in part, using AI, certifies to the Court that they have checked and verified the accuracy of the cited legal authorities.

Sources & Currency

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