Magistrate Judge Autumn D. Spaeth -- United States District Court, Central District of California

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

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Key Traps — Where Counsel Gets Caught

1. IN-PERSON meet-and-confer required before ANY discovery motion when both counsel are located within the same CD county — email and phone don't substitute
2. Pro forma or perfunctory email exchanges are NOT adequate pre-filing conferences — emails may supplement but not replace telephonic and in-person meet-and-confer
3. Meet-and-confer must include Rule 26(b)(1) relevance and proportionality factors; boilerplate objections that violate Rule 34(b)(2) may result in sanctions
4. Discovery filings must include in the caption: '[Discovery Document: Referred to Magistrate Judge Autumn D. Spaeth]' — absent an emergency, no ex parte discovery route
5. Formal AI DECLARATION required for any generative AI use — must attach a separate declaration disclosing use and certifying Rule 11 verification of the AI-generated content
6. Chambers copies mandatory for ALL e-filed documents — delivered to 7th-floor drop box by noon the following day; single-sided, three-hole punched, tabbed, NOT blue-backed or two-hole-punched on top
7. Chambers copies an inch or more thick must be placed in a three-ring binder — the binder ready standard is enforced, not aspirational
8. IDC requires TWO meet-and-confer attempts before an informal telephonic conference — form emailed to ADS_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov with 3 dates, dispute statement, positions, meet-and-confer dates, discovery requests, and any supporting documents
9. Zoom/telephonic appearance requests must be filed at least 5 court days before hearing with a declaration establishing good cause — no telephonic appearances by counsel absent extraordinary circumstances; no special appearances
10. Settlement conferences require IN-PERSON attendance by counsel who will try the case AND a client representative with full settlement authority — even if client is outside CD, the representative must appear in person absent good cause
11. Ex parte oppositions due within 24 HOURS of electronic filing of the application — conformed paper copies delivered directly to chambers

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Motion Days	Civil Motions: Civil motions shall be heard on Wednesdays at 10:00 AM, unless otherwise directed by the Court. It is not necessary to clear a civil motion hearing date with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk (CRD) prior to filing a motion; however, counsel shall check the Closed Motion Dates link above before filing a motion. The Court may continue a motion sua sponte or take a motion under submission without oral argument. Requests for Zoom or telephonic appearances must be filed no later than five (5) court days before the hearing and include a declaration establishing good cause. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]
Chambers Copies	Conditional Mandatory Chambers Copies: Mandatory chambers copies of all e-filed documents must be delivered to the chambers drop box located on the 7th... [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]
Tentative Rulings	Tentative Rulings: Tentative rulings may be issued as appropriate. If issued, they will be made available to counsel no sooner than Noon on the business day before the hearing and no later than the time that counsel check in with the CRD on the day of the hearing. If all parties submit on the tentative ruling, they shall advise the CRD and no appearance will be required. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]
Remote Appearances	Appearances by Counsel: The Court does not permit telephonic appearances by counsel for hearings (other than for ex parte applications as ordered by the Court) absent extraordinary circumstances. The Court does not permit special appearances. Counsel of record shall appear at all court proceedings. Requests for Zoom or telephonic appearances must be filed no later than five (5) court days before the hearing and include a declaration establishing good cause. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

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Before You File

Motion Days & Times

Civil Motions: Civil motions shall be heard on Wednesdays at 10:00 AM, unless otherwise directed by the Court. It is not necessary to clear a civil motion hearing date with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk (CRD) prior to filing a motion; however, counsel shall check the Closed Motion Dates link above before filing a motion. The Court may continue a motion sua sponte or take a motion under submission without oral argument. Requests for Zoom or telephonic appearances must be filed no later than five (5) court days before the hearing and include a declaration establishing good cause. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]

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At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional Mandatory Chambers Copies: Mandatory chambers copies of all e-filed documents must be delivered to the chambers drop box located on the 7th floor (by hand or overnight courier) by noon on the following day, unless ordered otherwise. Chambers copies must be single-sided and 'binder ready'. Chambers copies must be three-hole punched on the left side and contain tabs to designate exhibits and declarations. Chambers copies must NOT be blue backed, bound or two-hole punched on the top. If the mandatory chambers copy of a document is an inch or more thick, the filing party should place the court's copy in a three-ring binder, with tabs as called for by the document. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]

Proposed Orders

Proposed Orders: Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.4 and Local Criminal Rule 49-1.3.2(c), unless exempted from electronic filing, parties submitting proposed orders or other proposed documents that require the Court's signature must both lodge the document in PDF format and e-mail a word-processing version of the document to chambers. Electronic copies of proposed orders, in Microsoft Word format, must be e-mailed to the Court at ADS_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. [Judge Spaeth 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 made available to counsel no sooner than Noon on the business day before the hearing and no later than the time that counsel check in with the CRD on the day of the hearing. If all parties submit on the tentative ruling, they shall advise the CRD and no appearance will be required. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]

Remote Appearances

Appearances by Counsel: The Court does not permit telephonic appearances by counsel for hearings (other than for ex parte applications as ordered by the Court) absent extraordinary circumstances. The Court does not permit special appearances. Counsel of record shall appear at all court proceedings. Requests for Zoom or telephonic appearances must be filed no later than five (5) court days before the hearing and include a declaration establishing good cause. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]

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Background Rules

Chambers Contact

Communications with the Court: Inquiries regarding the status of a motion, stipulation, or proposed order shall be made by checking the docket. If such information does not timely appear on the docket when expected, counsel may sparingly contact the CRD for status inquiries. Parties and counsel are not allowed to contact the Court's law clerks or to communicate with Chambers by any means, except as expressly provided herein or otherwise ordered by the Court. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]

Discovery Dispute Procedure

Standing Order on Discovery Disputes: Emails and written correspondence may supplement, but shall not replace, required telephonic and 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. [ADS - Chambers Standing Discovery Order]

Discovery Motion Process

Discovery Matters: Discovery motions are to be set before the Magistrate Judge after checking if the assigned District Judge has a blanket referral policy. All proposed protective orders and other filings pertaining to discovery shall include in the caption: '[Discovery Document: Referred to Magistrate Judge Autumn D. Spaeth].' Absent an emergency, ex parte applications are not an allowed method of bringing a discovery dispute to the attention of the Court. Prior to filing any discovery motion, counsel must meet-and-confer in person if both counsel are located within the same county of the Central District. See L.R. 37-1. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]

Ex Parte Applications

Ex Parte Applications: Ex parte applications shall identify in the caption whether it is 'OPPOSED' or 'UNOPPOSED.' Any opposition shall be served and filed within 24 hours of electronic filing of the application. Conformed paper copies of the filed application and any opposition shall be delivered directly to Chambers. Ex parte applications will ordinarily be decided on the papers without oral argument. The Court will notify the parties if it desires an in-court or telephonic hearing. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]

Under Seal Filings

Under Seal Documents: Parties and counsel in civil cases shall follow the procedures outlined in Local Civil Rule 79-5 for filing under seal documents. Parties and counsel may consult the Guide to Electronically Filing Under Seal Documents in Civil Cases, which is available for download below. In criminal cases, all proposed sealed documents shall be submitted via e-mail to the Chambers e-mail address at ADS_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov and comply with the procedures set forth in the Order regarding the Pilot Project for Electronic Submission and Filing of Under Seal Documents for Criminal Cases. [Judge Spaeth Procedures Page]

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AI & Style Preferences

AI Disclosure Requirement

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

Sources & Currency

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