Judge Christina A. Snyder -- United States District Court, Central District of California

Courtroom 8D, 8th Floor, Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez United States Courthouse, Los Angeles

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Key Traps — Where Counsel Gets Caught

1. Snyder DOES issue tentative rulings — provided in court on hearing day; courtroom opens 20 minutes before calendar call so counsel can pick them up
2. Court does not reserve hearing dates for motions — counsel must self-comply with L.R. 7 notice periods without CRD confirmation
3. Civil motions heard Mondays at 10:00 a.m. (not the 1:30 p.m. default)
4. Ex parte opposition window is 48 HOURS (not the more common 24 hours) from delivery of moving papers
5. Mandatory chambers copies required for e-filed docs — delivered to 4th floor mailbox by 12:00 p.m. the first court day after filing
6. Antitrust, patent, and federal securities cases: TWO mandatory chambers copies required (not one)
7. Chambers copies must be 2-hole punched with efile notification date visible on/as the first page, and tabbed to separate exhibits/declarations
8. Do NOT circumvent page limits by filing multiple motions purporting to address separate issues — such motions will not be considered without prior leave
9. Telephonic oral argument permitted only if all parties consent, argument is limited, and calendar allows — request must be filed 3 business days out and CRD notified by the Wednesday before
10. All chambers communications go to the CRD only, with copies to all counsel — do not contact chambers directly by phone or writing

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Motion Days	JPS §1 MOTIONS IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES: Motions shall be heard on each Monday of the month at 10:00 a.m., unless otherwise ordered by the Court. If Monday is a national holiday, the succeeding Monday shall be the motion day and all matters noticed for such Monday stand for hearing on the following Monday without special order or notice. Motions in criminal cases shall be heard on each Monday of the month at 1:30 p.m. Special Note: The Court does not reserve hearing dates for any motions. [snyder-christina \| motion_hearing_days]
Motion Limit	JPS §1: Motion papers should comply with the Local Rules. Briefs should not exceed the page limits authorized by the Local Rules. The Court will rarely grant leave to file briefs that exceed the authorized page limits. Counsel are admonished not to circumvent page limits by filing multiple motions which purport to address separate issues in a case. Such motions will not be considered unless counsel obtains leave to file more than one motion or to file a brief that exceeds the page limits authorized by the Local Rules. [snyder-christina \| page_limits_motions]
Reply Limit	Silent on page limits replies. [snyder-christina \| page_limits_replies]
Chambers Copies	Conditional JPS §8: The Court requires that mandatory copies of electronically filed documents be delivered to the judge's mail box outside the Clerk's... [snyder-christina \| chambers_copies_details]
Tentative Rulings	JPS §2/§7 ARE TENTATIVE RULINGS ISSUED? Generally, prior to argument, written tentative rulings are provided to counsel on the date of the scheduled hearing, in court. The courtroom is open to the public twenty (20) minutes before calendar call, upon which counsel may obtain such written tentative rulings, if available. In some cases, counsel will be notified that the motion has been taken under submission and that counsel need not appear for oral argument. §1: The Court provides oral or written tentative rulings on most motions. [snyder-christina \| tentative_rulings]
Remote Appearances	JPS §5: Judge Snyder will permit oral argument on calendared motions to be heard telephonically if (a) all involved parties consent to the telephone hearing, (b) the parties anticipate presenting limited argument, and (c) the Court's calendar permits such telephone oral argument to be heard. Arrangements for telephone hearings must be made by filing a request and proposed order no later than three business days prior to the scheduled hearing. The Courtroom Deputy Clerk must be notified by the moving party of all counsels' intention to participate in a telephone hearing by the Wednesday prior to the Monday hearing date. [snyder-christina \| remote_appearances]
Discovery	JPS §4 CIVIL DISCOVERY MOTIONS: Judge Snyder has a blanket referral of all discovery matters to be handled by the Magistrate Judge to whom the case is assigned. Unless the Court has issued a contrary order, all discovery motions should be set before the Magistrate Judge to whom this case is assigned. [snyder-christina \| discovery_referral]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

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Before You File

Motion Days & Times

JPS §1 MOTIONS IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES: Motions shall be heard on each Monday of the month at 10:00 a.m., unless otherwise ordered by the Court. If Monday is a national holiday, the succeeding Monday shall be the motion day and all matters noticed for such Monday stand for hearing on the following Monday without special order or notice. Motions in criminal cases shall be heard on each Monday of the month at 1:30 p.m. Special Note: The Court does not reserve hearing dates for any motions. [snyder-christina | motion_hearing_days]

Notice Period

JPS §1: Motion papers should comply with the Local Rules. Special Note: The Court does not reserve hearing dates for any motions. Counsel refer to the applicable rules regarding notice of any matter being set upon the Court's calendar (See, e.g., Local Rule 7). [snyder-christina | motion_notice_days]

Motion Page / Word Limit

JPS §1: Motion papers should comply with the Local Rules. Briefs should not exceed the page limits authorized by the Local Rules. The Court will rarely grant leave to file briefs that exceed the authorized page limits. Counsel are admonished not to circumvent page limits by filing multiple motions which purport to address separate issues in a case. Such motions will not be considered unless counsel obtains leave to file more than one motion or to file a brief that exceeds the page limits authorized by the Local Rules. [snyder-christina | page_limits_motions]

Opposition Limit

Reply Limit

Silent on page limits replies. [snyder-christina | page_limits_replies]

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At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional JPS §8: The Court requires that mandatory copies of electronically filed documents be delivered to the judge's mail box outside the Clerk's Office on the 4th floor of the 1st Street Courthouse, no later than 12:00 p.m. on the first court day following the date when the documents are required filed. Furthermore, mandatory copies shall be 2-hole punched and the efile notification date shall be visible on or as the first page. In all cases asserting claims under the antitrust laws, the patent laws or federal securities laws, counsel must deliver to the Court two (2) mandatory chambers copies. Mandatory copy documents shall include tabs to separate exhibits, declarations, etc. [snyder-christina | chambers_copies_details]

ECF Stamp Requirements

JPS §8: Mandatory copies shall be 2-hole punched and the efile notification date shall be visible on or as the first page. Mandatory copy documents shall include tabs to separate exhibits, declarations, etc., where applicable. [snyder-christina | ecf_stamp_requirements]

Proposed Orders

JPS §8: Counsel shall email any and all proposed orders to the Courtroom Deputy Clerk in 'Word' or 'WordPerfect' format to CAS_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. [snyder-christina | proposed_orders]

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Before the Hearing

Tentative Rulings

JPS §2/§7 ARE TENTATIVE RULINGS ISSUED? Generally, prior to argument, written tentative rulings are provided to counsel on the date of the scheduled hearing, in court. The courtroom is open to the public twenty (20) minutes before calendar call, upon which counsel may obtain such written tentative rulings, if available. In some cases, counsel will be notified that the motion has been taken under submission and that counsel need not appear for oral argument. §1: The Court provides oral or written tentative rulings on most motions. [snyder-christina | tentative_rulings]

Prohibition / Ex Parte Contact Re Tentatives

Silent on tentative ruling prohibition. Not applicable: judge affirmatively issues tentative rulings. [snyder-christina | tentative_ruling_prohibition]

Oral Argument

JPS §1: The Court provides oral or written tentative rulings on most motions. Counsel are encouraged to direct oral argument to the matters raised in the tentative ruling and to submit to any part of the ruling that is not in genuine dispute, where appropriate. The Court will notify counsel if it does not require oral argument on any specific motion. §7: In some cases, counsel will be notified that the motion has been taken under submission and that counsel need not appear for oral argument. [snyder-christina | oral_argument_default]

Remote Appearances

JPS §5: Judge Snyder will permit oral argument on calendared motions to be heard telephonically if (a) all involved parties consent to the telephone hearing, (b) the parties anticipate presenting limited argument, and (c) the Court's calendar permits such telephone oral argument to be heard. Arrangements for telephone hearings must be made by filing a request and proposed order no later than three business days prior to the scheduled hearing. The Courtroom Deputy Clerk must be notified by the moving party of all counsels' intention to participate in a telephone hearing by the Wednesday prior to the Monday hearing date. [snyder-christina | remote_appearances]

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Background Rules

Chambers Contact

JPS §11 NO COMMUNICATION WITH CHAMBERS STAFF: Unless counsel have been expressly authorized to communicate with chambers (e.g., for a telephone status conference with all counsel participating), all oral and written communications must be submitted only to the Courtroom Deputy, Catherine Jeang with copies to all counsel of record. Please do not attempt to communicate in writing or by telephone with chambers. (See Local Rule 83-2.11). [snyder-christina | chambers_contact_restrictions]

Discovery Referral

JPS §4 CIVIL DISCOVERY MOTIONS: Judge Snyder has a blanket referral of all discovery matters to be handled by the Magistrate Judge to whom the case is assigned. Unless the Court has issued a contrary order, all discovery motions should be set before the Magistrate Judge to whom this case is assigned. [snyder-christina | discovery_referral]

Discovery Motion Process

JPS §4 CIVIL DISCOVERY MOTIONS: Judge Snyder has a blanket referral of all discovery matters to be handled by the Magistrate Judge to whom the case is assigned. The Court expects that by the date of the discovery cutoff, all discovery motions to compel will be on file and have been argued (but not necessarily decided). The only discovery that may be conducted after the discovery cutoff date without leave of Court is discovery ordered by the Magistrate Judge for which a timely-filed motion was pending and argued before the discovery cutoff date. Unless the Court has issued a contrary order, all discovery motions should be set before the Magistrate Judge to whom this case is assigned. [snyder-christina | discovery_motion_process]

Ex Parte Applications

JPS §9 PROCEDURES FOR FILING AN EX PARTE APPLICATION: The parties' and counsels' attention is directed to Local Rule 7-19. The moving party shall inform the opposing party or parties that such party or parties shall have 48 hours from the date of delivery of the moving papers to file and serve their opposition papers, if any. No hearing will be held on any ex parte application unless deemed necessary by the Court and in such case counsel will be notified by the Courtroom Deputy Clerk. [snyder-christina | ex_parte_notice]

Under Seal Filings

Silent on under seal requirements. [snyder-christina | under_seal_requirements]

Continuances & Calendar Conflicts

JPS §10 TO REQUEST A CONTINUANCE OF ANY SCHEDULED COURT APPEARANCE: Continuances will only be granted based upon a showing of good cause. Stipulations, including second and subsequent extensions of time to respond to the complaint, are effective ONLY when approved by the Court. (See Local Rule 16-8). §12 CALENDAR CONFLICTS: Any person appearing before the Court must check in with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk prior to calendar call, and advise the Courtroom Deputy Clerk of the calendar conflict. The Court will provide a priority position on the calendar or, hold the matter until the end of the calendar or permit a party to submit on the tentative ruling. [snyder-christina | continuances_calendar_conflicts]

Sources & Currency

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