Judge Thomas S. Hixson — United States District Court, Northern District of California

Standing Orders — Inline Excerpts

The parties do not need to submit chambers copies, except when requested by a separate order from the Court.

Delivery Address

United States District Court Office of the Clerk 450 Golden Gate Ave, 16th Floor San Francisco, CA 94102

Judge Hixson's Civil Standing Order

[Source: https://cand.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/standing-orders/TSH-Civil-Standing-Order.pdf]

Revised September 9, 2025 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

STANDING ORDER FOR MAGISTRATE JUDGE THOMAS S. HIXSON

Parties shall comply with the procedures in the Federal Rules of Civil or Criminal Procedure, the Northern District of California’s Local Rules and General Orders, and this Standing Order, all of which are available at www.cand.uscourts.gov. Failure to comply may result in monetary sanctions, dismissal, entry of judgment, or other appropriate sanctions.

UNREPRESENTED (PRO SE) PARTIES

Parties representing themselves are invited to visit the “Representing Yourself” section of the Court’s website, https://cand.uscourts.gov/pro-se-litigants/. The site includes information about the Legal Help Center, a free service offered by the Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco.
You may request an appointment by emailing fedpro@sfbar.org or calling 415-782-8982. You will be able to speak with an attorney who may be able to provide basic legal help but not representation. More information is available at https://cand.uscourts.gov/pro-se-litigants/.

SCHEDULING

Law and motion is heard on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. All motions (except criminal duty matters) shall be noticed for any available Thursday. The parties may confirm availability at https://cand.uscourts.gov/judges/hixson-thomas-s-tsh/. For scheduling questions, please contact Judge Hixson’s Courtroom Deputy at tshcrd@cand.uscourts.gov or (415) 522-4067.

DISCOVERY

Discovery disputes are governed by Judge Hixson’s Discovery Standing Order, available at https://cand.uscourts.gov/judges/hixson-thomas-s-tsh/.

CONSENT TO PROCEED BEFORE MAGISTRATE JUDGE

In civil cases that are randomly assigned to Judge Hixson for all purposes, each party should file a consent to the assignment of a United States Magistrate Judge for all purposes, or a request for reassignment to a district judge, as soon as possible. If a party files a dispositive motion (such as a motion to dismiss or a motion for remand), the moving party must file the consent/declination simultaneously with the motion. The consent/declination form is available at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/civilforms. In no event shall the consent or declination be filed later than the deadlines specified in Civil L.R. 73-1(a)(1) and (2).

Revised September 9, 2025 CIVIL CASE MANAGEMENT

Counsel shall meet and confer prior to the case management conference and file a joint statement no later than seven days prior to the conference. The statement shall address the information contained in the Standing Order for All Judges of the Northern District of California, which is available https://cand.uscourts.gov/judges/hixson-thomas-s-tsh/.

The Court strongly encourages parties to permit less experienced attorneys to actively participate in the proceedings by presenting argument at motion hearings or examining witnesses at trial.

Amended Pleadings If a party files a motion to amend or the Court orders a party to file an amended pleading, that party shall concurrently file a redlined or highlighted version comparing the amended pleading to the prior operative pleading.

Documents filed on ECF All exhibits to motions and/or discovery disputes should be separately filed on ECF. For example, if the motion is Docket No. 30, and the declaration with 10 exhibits is Docket No. 31, Exhibit A would be filed as Docket No. 31-1, Exhibit B would be Docket No. 31-2, and so on. All exhibits shall also be filed in a searchable OCR format where possible.

Motions to File Under Seal The parties are reminded that court proceedings are presumptively public. Any request to file a document under seal must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5.

CHAMBERS COPIES AND PROPOSED ORDERS

The parties do not need to submit chambers copies, except when requested by a separate order from the Court.

Any proposed order in a case subject to electronic filing shall be emailed in Word format to tshpo@cand.uscourts.gov. This address is to be used only for proposed orders unless otherwise directed by the Court.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

THOMAS S. HIXSON United States Magistrate Judge

Judge Hixson's Discovery Standing Order

[Source: https://cand.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/standing-orders/TSH-Discovery-Standing-Order.pdf]

Revised February 24, 2026

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

DISCOVERY STANDING ORDER FOR MAGISTRATE JUDGE THOMAS S. HIXSON

This Standing Order informs all parties of the discovery procedures for cases assigned to Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson or referred for purposes of discovery. It addresses all case-related discovery, including that which involves non-parties, and therefore applies whether or not an individual or entity is named in the complaint. Failure to abide by this Standing Order may result in the imposition of sanctions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f) and Civil Local Rule 37-4.

All questions should be directed to Judge Hixson’s Courtroom Deputy at tshcrd@cand.uscourts.gov or (415) 522-4067.

Upon referral from a District Judge or upon the development of an impasse with respect to discovery in a pending case assigned to Judge Hixson, no motions to compel or other motions shall be considered. Instead, the parties must first meet and confer in a good faith effort to resolve their dispute informally. An exchange of written communications does not satisfy the meet and confer requirement.

MEET AND CONFER REQUIREMENTS

If the parties are unable to resolve their dispute informally after a good faith effort, including meet and confer efforts conducted by lead counsel, the parties have two options:

1. If the dispute is straightforward or the parties believe some initial informal guidance from the Court may help them resolve their dispute without the need for briefing, the parties may contact Judge Hixson’s Courtroom Deputy to arrange a telephonic conference.

2. For more complex disputes, the parties shall prepare a joint statement of not more than five pages (12-point or greater font) that contains the following:

a) A cover page (excluded from the five-page limit) with the case caption, an
attestation that the parties met and conferred in good faith to resolve their dispute(s) prior to filing the letter, and the signature of both parties or counsel; b) Each party’s position, including pertinent factual background, requested relief, and
citations to relevant legal authority; and

c) Each party’s final proposed compromise

The joint letter must attach the discovery requests and responses at issue. The parties may also attach any relevant meet-and-confer correspondence, exhibits or affidavits.

The joint statement shall be e-filed (unless the case is exempt from e-filing requirements)
under the Civil Events category of “Motions and Related Filings > Motions – General > Discovery Letter Brief.”

Revised February 24, 2026

Upon review of the parties’ submission(s), the Court will advise the parties of how it intends to proceed. The Court may issue a ruling or schedule a hearing, and at such hearing may issue rulings, order more formal briefing, or set further hearing dates.

CHAMBERS COPIES

The parties do not need to submit chambers copies, except when requested by a separate order from the Court.

PROTECTIVE ORDERS

If parties believe a protective order is necessary, they shall, where practicable, use one of the model stipulated protective orders (available at https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/forms/model- protective-orders/). If the parties’ proposed protective offer differs materially from the model protective order, the parties shall file a statement explaining each modification to the model order, along with a redline version comparing the proposed protective order with the model order.

SANCTIONS

No motion for sanctions may be filed until after the moving party has complied with the requirements above. Motions for sanctions shall be filed separately, pursuant to Federal Rule 37 and Civil Local Rules 7 and 37-4.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

THOMAS S. HIXSON United States Magistrate Judge

View source on NDCA.uscourts.gov →