Revised: February 2019
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Meet and Confer Requirement
Before filing a Motion for Summary Judgment, the moving party must call the opposing party
(or, if the party is represented by a lawyer, the opposing party’s lawyer) to discuss and try to resolve
the issue that caused the moving party to consider filing the Motion. The moving party must meet and
confer with the opposing party at least 7 days before filing the Motion. The purpose of this rule is to
encourage parties to resolve problems without having to resort to a formal motion with the Court.
Scheduling a Hearing Date
When you file a Motion for Summary Judgment, you must propose a hearing date—a date on
which you and the other party or the party’s lawyer must appear before the judge assigned to you r
case to orally argue about the Motion. In the Central District of California, the date must be at least 31
days after the date you file the Motion for Summary Judgment and serve a copy by mail. You will write
this date under the title of your Motion.
To schedule a date for the Motion, look at your judge’s schedule and find out when the judge
hears civil motions. To find this information online, do the following:
1) Go to the Central District’s website, at http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov.
2) On the central navigation bar of the website, click on the link, “Judge’s Requirements” and
then, “Judges Procedures and Schedules.”
3) Click on your judge’s name.
4) Read your judge’s procedures and look for the day that he or she hears civil motions. For
example, your judge may hear civil motions every Monday at 1:30 p.m. If that is the case, you
must propose a hearing date on a Monday, 31 days or more after the day you file your Motion.
5) Towards the beginning of each judge’s page, there is a link that says, “Click here to view Closed
Motion Dates.” That page lists the dates on which each judge will not be hearing motions. Click
that link to make sure that you are not scheduling a hearing on a closed motion date.
If you do not have internet access, you should call the court room deputy (CRD) for the judge
assigned to your case.
Filing Your Motion
When you have completed your Motion for Summary Judgment, you must file it with the Civil
Intake Division of the courthouse in which the judge who is hearing the Motion is located. File 1 original
and 2 copies of each document you wish to file with the Civil Intake Division.
You may file your Motion for Summary Judgment with the Court in person or by mail. Keep in
mind that mailing your Motion to the Court may delay the official date on which it is filed. The
addresses for the Civil Intake Division for the Central District of California courthouses are as follows: