Judge Hernan D. Vera -- United States District Court, Central District of California

Courtroom 5B, 5th Floor, Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez United States Courthouse, Los Angeles

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Motion Days	SO §IX.B Time for Filing and Hearing Motions: Motions shall be filed in accordance with Local Rules 6 and 7. This Court hears civil motions on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. If Thursday is a national holiday, motions will be heard on the next Thursday. It is not necessary to clear a hearing date with Judge Vera's Courtroom Deputy Clerk before filing a motion. (JPS) Civil motions are heard on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. Civil motions in limine on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. Criminal motions and criminal motions in limine are heard on Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. [vera-hernan \| motion_hearing_days]
Motion Limit	SO §IX.C Length and Format of Motion Papers: Pursuant to Local Rule 11-6, Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed twenty-five (25) pages absent leave of Court. Replies shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Pursuant to Local Rule 11-8, all Memoranda of Points and Authorities exceeding ten (10) pages must be accompanied by a Table of Authorities and a Table of Contents. SO §X.E.1 Page Limitations (MSJ): Each separately represented party shall be limited to twenty-five (25) pages, exclusive of tables of contents and authorities. [vera-hernan \| page_limits_motions]
Reply Limit	SO §IX.C: Replies shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Only in rare instances and for good cause will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [vera-hernan \| page_limits_replies]
Chambers Copies	Conditional SO §XII Chambers Courtesy Copies of Motion-Related Documents: The Court requires chambers copies of all e-filed motion-related documents... [vera-hernan \| chambers_copies_details]
Tentative Rulings	(JPS) Tentative Rulings: The Court is not issuing tentative rulings at this time. [vera-hernan \| tentative_rulings]
Remote Appearances	SO §IX.F Oral Argument: Effective immediately, the Court will no longer accept requests for remote appearances on any matters, including scheduling conferences. Counsel are directed to appear in person. (JPS) All appearances shall be in person in Courtroom 5B. Effective immediately, the Court will no longer accept requests for remote appearances on any matters, including scheduling conferences. Counsel are directed to appear in person. [vera-hernan \| remote_appearances]
Discovery	SO §VIII Discovery: All discovery matters are referred to the assigned Magistrate Judge. Proposed protective orders must also be submitted to the Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the District Judge's initials next to the case number. [vera-hernan \| discovery_referral]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

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Before You File

Motion Days & Times

SO §IX.B Time for Filing and Hearing Motions: Motions shall be filed in accordance with Local Rules 6 and 7. This Court hears civil motions on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. If Thursday is a national holiday, motions will be heard on the next Thursday. It is not necessary to clear a hearing date with Judge Vera's Courtroom Deputy Clerk before filing a motion. (JPS) Civil motions are heard on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. Civil motions in limine on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. Criminal motions and criminal motions in limine are heard on Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. [vera-hernan | motion_hearing_days]

Notice Period

SO §IX.B Time for Filing and Hearing Motions: Motions shall be filed in accordance with Local Rules 6 and 7. This Court hears civil motions on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. If Thursday is a national holiday, motions will be heard on the next Thursday. It is not necessary to clear a hearing date with Judge Vera's Courtroom Deputy Clerk before filing a motion. For all motions, if the motion date selected is not available, the Court will issue a minute order continuing the date. Closed motion dates can be found on Judge Vera's Procedures and Schedules page. [vera-hernan | motion_notice_days]

Motion Page / Word Limit

SO §IX.C Length and Format of Motion Papers: Pursuant to Local Rule 11-6, Memoranda of Points and Authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed twenty-five (25) pages absent leave of Court. Replies shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Pursuant to Local Rule 11-8, all Memoranda of Points and Authorities exceeding ten (10) pages must be accompanied by a Table of Authorities and a Table of Contents. SO §X.E.1 Page Limitations (MSJ): Each separately represented party shall be limited to twenty-five (25) pages, exclusive of tables of contents and authorities. [vera-hernan | page_limits_motions]

Opposition Limit

Reply Limit

SO §IX.C: Replies shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Only in rare instances and for good cause will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [vera-hernan | page_limits_replies]

Font & Formatting

SO §IX.C Length and Format of Motion Papers: All briefing must use Times New Roman or Courier font. Text must be no less than twelve (12) point font; footnotes shall be no less than ten (10) point font and shall be used sparingly. Counsel shall adhere to Local Rule 5-4.3 with respect to the conversion of all documents to PDF format so that when a document is electronically filed, it is in proper size and is text-searchable. Further, all documents shall be filed in a format so that text can be selected, copied, and pasted directly from the document. [vera-hernan | font_formatting]

Footnote Policy

SO §IX.C: Footnotes shall be no less than ten (10) point font and shall be used sparingly. SO §X.E.1 Page Limitations (MSJ): Each party is limited to the use of a total of eight footnotes. [vera-hernan | footnote_policy]

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At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional SO §XII Chambers Courtesy Copies of Motion-Related Documents: The Court requires chambers copies of all e-filed motion-related documents (i.e., moving papers, oppositions and replies), as well as all associated exhibits. Chambers copies should be delivered to Judge Vera's chambers copy box located outside of the Clerk's Office on the fourth floor of the First Street Courthouse (350 W. 1st Street, Los Angeles). Mandatory chambers copies must be delivered by no later than noon on the following business day after filing, and shall be "binder ready" (i.e., three-hole punched on the left side, without blue-backs or staples, and with any exhibits tabbed). [vera-hernan | chambers_copies_details]

Proposed Orders

SO §XI Proposed Orders: Each party filing or opposing a motion or seeking the determination of any matter shall serve and electronically lodge a proposed order setting forth the relief or action sought and a brief statement of the rationale for the decision with appropriate citations. In addition, a copy of the proposed order in Word format shall be emailed directly to the Court's chambers email address at HDV_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov on the day the document is electronically filed. [vera-hernan | proposed_orders]

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Before the Hearing

Tentative Rulings

(JPS) Tentative Rulings: The Court is not issuing tentative rulings at this time. [vera-hernan | tentative_rulings]

Oral Argument

SO §IX.F Oral Argument: Effective immediately, the Court will no longer accept requests for remote appearances on any matters, including scheduling conferences. Counsel are directed to appear in person. If the Court deems a matter appropriate for decision without oral argument, the Court will take the matter under submission and notify the parties before the hearing. (JPS) Unless otherwise notified, oral argument will be heard for all noticed motions. [vera-hernan | oral_argument_default]

Remote Appearances

SO §IX.F Oral Argument: Effective immediately, the Court will no longer accept requests for remote appearances on any matters, including scheduling conferences. Counsel are directed to appear in person. (JPS) All appearances shall be in person in Courtroom 5B. Effective immediately, the Court will no longer accept requests for remote appearances on any matters, including scheduling conferences. Counsel are directed to appear in person. [vera-hernan | remote_appearances]

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Background Rules

Chambers Contact

SO §XVI Communications with Chambers: Counsel must not attempt to contact the Court or chambers staff by email, telephone, or by any other ex parte means. Counsel may email proposed signature items in Word format to HDV_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. This email address should not be used for communication with the Court or the Courtroom Deputy. For appropriate matters only, the Courtroom Deputy may be contacted directly at Wendy_Hernandez@cacd.uscourts.gov. Counsel must not contact the Courtroom Deputy regarding the status of any matter before the Court. Calls or emails regarding the status of submitted motions, stipulations, or proposed orders will not be returned. [vera-hernan | chambers_contact_restrictions]

Discovery Referral

Discovery Motion Process

SO §VIII Discovery: All discovery matters are referred to the assigned Magistrate Judge. Proposed protective orders must also be submitted to the Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the District Judge's initials next to the case number. All discovery documents must include the words "DISCOVERY MATTER" in the caption to ensure proper routing. Please do not deliver courtesy copies of discovery documents to Judge Vera's chambers. [vera-hernan | discovery_motion_process]

Ex Parte Applications

SO §XIII Ex Parte Applications: Counsel for the applicant must provide advance notice of the application by telephone and email to all other parties. In addition to the information required by Local Rule 7-19.1, the notice must advise the other parties of the anticipated deadline to oppose the application. The applicant must serve the application by facsimile, email, or personal service, even if electronic service is effected under Local Rule 5-3.2.1. Oppositions to ex parte applications must be filed within 24 hours of the filing of the application, subject to Rule 6(a)(2). [vera-hernan | ex_parte_notice]

Settlement Notification

(JPS) Settlement: When a motion is calendared or under submission, counsel are required to inform the Court promptly of any finalized or imminent settlement that may render the motion moot. [vera-hernan | settlement_notification]

Lead Counsel

Scheduling Order §A.5 Participation of Counsel and Unrepresented Parties: Counsel and any unrepresented parties must attend the scheduling conference in person. The counsel appearing at the scheduling conference need not be lead trial counsel, and may be local counsel. SO §III Appearances by Counsel: To that end, the Court will allow parties to divide their oral argument among two attorneys. Of course, the ultimate decision of who speaks on behalf of the client is for the client and not the Court. [vera-hernan | lead_counsel_requirement]

Under Seal Filings

SO §X.G Under Seal Filings: The Court requires strict compliance with Local Rule 79-5, which governs applications to file documents under seal. When submitting a motion to seal, the filing party must state whether the compelling reasons or good cause standard applies and explain why. The filing party must make a specific showing explaining why each document that it seeks to seal may justifiably be sealed and why the proposed redactions are as narrowly tailored as possible. Sealing must be justified for each individual item -- blanket claims of confidentiality will result in the application to seal being denied. The parties also must meet and confer before filing an application to seal. [vera-hernan | under_seal_requirements]

Continuances & Calendar Conflicts

SO §XIV Continuances: Counsel requesting a continuance or extension of time must lodge a proposed stipulation and order including a detailed declaration of the grounds for the request. Counsel shall avoid submitting such requests less than five (5) court days prior to the expiration of the scheduled date. The Court grants continuances only upon a showing of good cause, focusing on the diligence of the party seeking the continuance and any prejudice that may result if the continuance is denied. Counsel are required to first meet and confer with opposing counsel and include a statement of compliance with Local Rule 7-3. [vera-hernan | continuances_calendar_conflicts]

Sources & Currency

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