Riverside Superior Court Filing Rules

OSC responses should not attach copies of already-on-file documents; the response must instead supply the date each filing occurred.

When a party fails to participate in the Issues Conference or cooperate, the remaining party must prepare and sign the proposed documents, and the Proposed Joint Pretrial Statement must include a declaration detailing the attempts to confer or obtain cooperation.

Exhibits referenced at trial must be moved into evidence by the end of that trial day.

A stipulation and order requesting video appearance at a law and motion hearing must be signed by all moving and opposing parties to the motion.

Counsel must meet and confer and file a declaration at least 10 days before the Trial Setting Conference addressing trial dates, bench/jury request, and ADR; failure to file or meet and confer may result in sanctions up to $1,500.

A written response to an Order to Show Cause must be filed at least 5 days before the hearing.

For bench trials, each side must provide the Court, at least five days before the trial date, detailed proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

Noticed motions will not be heard on Fridays except for motions to continue a trial scheduled to begin that Friday.

All trial documents must be filed by 8:30 a.m. the Monday before trial.

A written response to an Order to Show Cause must be filed with the Court at least 5 days in advance of the hearing.

A party obtaining an order must promptly serve it on all parties and file a proof of service with the Court.

Any request to excuse attendance at the MSC must be served on all parties.

Trial counsel must mail a copy of the MSC order to all handling insurance claims professionals immediately upon learning of the order.

Notice of an ex parte hearing must be provided by 10:00 a.m. on the preceding court day.

All visual aids intended for use in opening or closing must be shared with the opposing side, with objections handled outside the jury's presence.

All Department 1 appearances must be made by telephone through the Court's Webex system (CourtCall prohibited), with the clerk providing the call-in number and a constant meeting number of 800-686-489.

Parties must check in with the courtroom clerk by 8:15 a.m. (or call between 8:00-8:15 a.m. if remote) for the 8:30 a.m. calendar.

Parties may request an informal discovery conference by filing a formal stipulation or emailing DeptPS2@riverside.courts.ca.gov with a copy to all counsel; the request must be jointly submitted by all counsel.

Counsel should review all applicable statutes, rules, and the court website before contacting staff; if unresolved, the courtroom assistant can be reached at (760) 992-3415.

A party requesting oral argument must notify the Judicial Secretary by phone and inform all other parties by 4:30 p.m. on the preceding court day.

A desire to engage in private mediation before trial is not, good, good cause to continue a TSC or set a trial date more than six months away.

Trial continuance requests must be by regular noticed motion after showing good cause; ex parte applications by a party may be heard only for cases of emergency hearing, Monday-Friday 8:30 am, no requests will be considered on the day of trial; moving counsel must appear in person, and unilateral requests will only be considered with agreement of the other side.

Requests to excuse attendance at the MSC must be presented at least 10 days before the MSC, supported by a declaration with specified content, and served on all parties.

Requests to continue a hearing, CMC, TSC, or status conference must be labelled as such, supported by a declaration or stipulation showing good cause, and accompanied by a proposed order.

If Department 4 is unavailable for trial, the matter may be assigned to another department, trail, or be continued at the Court's discretion.

Failure to comply with the MSC rules may result in an Order to Show Cause and sanctions of up to $1500, jointly and severally against counsel and parties.

Before filing a fees motion, parties must meet and confer in person or by telephone to resolve fee disputes and request an Informal Fees Conference.

Motions in limine may be brought only when the parties dispute the subject of the motion.

Parties must meet and confer before filing a motion in limine; the Court will not consider motions in limine absent an indication of a meet and confer.

Before pursuing a discovery motion, parties must meet and confer and, if unresolved, request an IDC; a joint brief of no more than three pages is due three court days before the IDC, and failure to first seek an IDC may result in denial of sanctions.

Parties presenting evidence at trial must create a dedicated desktop evidence folder containing all PDF-formatted trial exhibits, separately saved and labeled, plus any impeachment exhibits and depositions.

Exhibits must be pre-marked in numerical order, bate stamped at the bottom of each page if multi-page, and must be marked and reviewed by all counsel before testimony begins.

Each page of each exhibit must bear a unique and consecutive page number.

Impeachment exhibits must be labeled, organized numerically, BATES stamped, and tabbed like other exhibits, enclosed in a labeled envelope or package, and need not be shared in advance with opposing parties.

Every motion in limine must be in writing, numbered sequentially by party, and tailored to the specific issues and evidence of the case.

A party whose jury-trial right has been declared forfeited may not post jury fees until the Court grants relief from the forfeiture.

Jury fees must be deposited on or before the initial CMC date even if the CMC is vacated or continued; failure forfeits the right to a jury trial.

The Court will only consider a request to shorten time or advance a hearing date if the motion is filed with the Clerk's Office, a hearing date is on calendar, and the filing fee is paid or waived.

A request to shorten time for notice or advance a hearing date requires the motion to be filed, a hearing date on calendar, and the filing fee paid (or fee waiver obtained).

A request to shorten notice or advance a hearing date will be considered only after the motion is filed, a hearing date is set, and the appropriate fee is paid or waived.

The explanation of past efforts to resolve the case in a Voluntary Settlement Conference joint request is limited to 2 pages.

Trial briefs must not exceed 15 pages, inclusive of attachments.

Trial briefs are limited to 20 pages, inclusive of attachments.

The parties must file a joint IDC brief of no more than three pages at least three court days before the conference.

The joint IDC brief is limited to 3 pages.

When more than five motions in limine are filed collectively, the parties must submit a hard copy of the motions in a binder with the joint documents required under Rule C.

Unless there are fewer than 10 exhibits, documentary exhibits and photographs must be placed in a loose-leaf notebook with numbered dividers.

Counsel need not lodge copies of out-of-state authorities unless the authority is unavailable on Lexis or Westlaw.

Parties must deliver one tabbed binder containing all joint trial documents to Department PS2 before the matter is called; trial documents are not to be filed separately.

A trial binder in the format available on the Court’s website must be delivered to Department M302 by 9:00 a.m. on the trial date.

Counsel must provide the original and one copy of each listed trial document to the Court on the first day of trial.

When trial documents are filed, parties must deliver five tabbed binders containing exhibits to Department PS4.

The listed joint pretrial documents must be filed in person with the Menifee Clerk by 9:00 a.m. on the trial date, and a website-format trial binder must be delivered to Department M302 by then.