Mariposa County trial binder and trial document requirements

A settlement conference is required in all civil trial matters except domestic and short cause matters (one day or less). The time and date of the mandatory settlement conference will be set at the Case Management Conference. At the request of any party or on the Court's own motion, the Court may set a settlement conference in addition to the mandatory conference.

Verified verbatim against the PDF. This is the only pretrial conference the civil rules create. Section 3 runs Rule 3.1 through Rule 3.7 and contains no trial readiness conference, final status conference or issue conference. The MSC date comes off the Case Management Order under Rule 3.3(c). The court's Civil Case Management Program overview says the same: a purpose of the CMC is "to determine the parties' readiness for trial and to assign reasonable mandatory settlement conference and trial dates." Rule 3.5 sits in Section 3, Civil Cases. Family law has its own settlement conference rule at Rule 4.10, confirmed as Section 4 and not applicable here.

Trial counsel, parties, and persons with full authority to settle the case must personally attend the conference, unless excused by the Court for good cause shown. If any consent to settle is required for any reason, the party with that authority must be personally present at the conference.

Verified verbatim. The same subdivision continues: "If, however, an insurance carrier has no claims offices within California and the Court has been notified, the personal attendance of a representative of the insurer shall not be required, but a representative of the insurer shall be required to be immediately available by telephone until released by the Court, regardless of the time zone." And: "The Court may impose sanctions in the event of an unexcused absence of a principal or insurer." Second paragraph, verified verbatim: "Where the consent of a spouse, business partner, or other person is necessary to achieve settlement, counsel shall, prior to the date set for the settlement conference, obtain the attendance of that person, even if not a party to the litigation."

Each plaintiff or party seeking affirmative relief or recovery shall be prepared to make his or her minimum request, and each defendant shall be prepared to make his or her highest offer.

Verified verbatim. Second paragraph of the same subdivision, also verified verbatim: "In each case counsel who attends the conference shall be thoroughly familiar with the case and shall be prepared to discuss it."

All counsel or self-represented litigants shall, at least five (5) Court days prior to the scheduled settlement conference, file with the Clerk of the Superior Court and serve on each party, a mandatory settlement conference statement containing the following: 1. The names of all parties, including interveners and their representatives; 2. A detailed discussion of all facts and laws pertinent to the issues of liability and damages involved in the case; 3. A good faith settlement demand and itemization of economic and non-economic damages by each plaintiff; 4. A good faith offer of settlement by each defendant.

Verified verbatim, including the capitalized "Court days," which are court days and not calendar days. This is the only pretrial paper the civil rules require any party to file. Note the itemization on the plaintiff side: economic and noneconomic damages broken out, per plaintiff. The court publishes no local MSC statement form, so the statement is prepared as a pleading. Correcting the draft: the rule is silent on whether the statement is joint or per party. Safe practice is for each party to file its own carrying its own demand or offer, but the rule does not say so and nothing in it bars a combined statement.

For a meaningful conference, all attorneys and/or the parties must agree to participate in good faith. Any failure of an attorney or self-represented litigant to prepare for, appear at, and participate in a settlement conference, unless good cause is shown for such failure, may result in sanctions.

Verified verbatim. "Prepare for" is the hook that makes a missing or thin MSC statement sanctionable, since Rule 3.5(d) is the preparation the rule contemplates. That linkage is an inference, not a holding.

If at the time of the scheduled settlement conference, plaintiff or those parties seeking affirmative relief fail to appear, the Court may order the trial date vacated and/or impose monetary sanctions. Written notice thereof will be mailed to all parties or their counsel of record as ordered by the Court.

Verified verbatim. Second half of the subdivision, verified verbatim across the page 13 break: "If the defendant or other responsible party fails to appear at the settlement conference and good cause is not shown, the Court may impose sanctions by way of costs, actual expenses, and counsel fees and order the case to proceed to trial on the date assigned." Losing the trial date is the sharpest consequence in the civil rules. Rule 3.5(g) adds that if settlement fails, "counsel should expect and be prepared to proceed to trial on the date scheduled."

To the extent possible parties must use instructions promulgated or sponsored by the California Judicial Council.

Verified verbatim. The subdivision is headed "Use of Pre-Approved Instructions." Matters for an SB 800 or construction defect trial, where several theories have no CACI instruction and special instructions are unavoidable. Rule 3.6(d)(2) sets the format for those.

At the commencement of trial counsel shall serve upon all other parties participating in the trial and deliver to the trial judge a written request captioned in the action and entitled "Instructions Requested by (name of party)," to which shall be attached an edited copy of all instructions requested, with one instruction per page and a five-inch margin at the top of the page which may, however, include typical CACI headings, which will not be read to the jury. The parties may submit additional typewritten or printed instructions which shall contain the authorities relied upon, shall be sequentially numbered and shall follow the standard CACI format. The parties should be prepared to provide to all jurors and alternates a copy of all written instructions, if so required by the trial judge.

Verified verbatim. The subdivision is headed "Service of Jury Instructions." This is the only document the Mariposa civil rules require a party to hand up in connection with trial, and it is due at the start of trial, not before it. Three formatting traps: one instruction per page, a five inch top margin, and authorities on the special instructions. The juror-copy line is contingent on the trial judge, so bring enough sets for the panel plus alternates. What the rule does not require: no proposed verdict forms, no joint set, no meet and confer on instructions, and no advance lodging. Contrast the criminal counterpart at Rule 6.4(c), which requires a filed list of CALCRIM instructions on the first day of trial before jury selection. That rule is criminal and does not reach a civil case.

The following motions in limine are deemed granted. Written motions should not be submitted on these issues: a. Motion excluding evidence of collateral source; b. Motion excluding evidence of, or mention of, insurance coverage; and c. Motion excluding offers to settle and/or settlement discussions.

Verified verbatim once the printed page number 14, which falls between items b and c in the PDF, is removed. Nothing else was changed. The offset token "do_not_file" means there is no deadline because the relief is automatic and the rule directs that no written motion be submitted. Practical effect in a construction defect trial here: do not burn a limine slot on insurance or settlement negotiations, and do not assume a broader collateral source order than the rule gives.

All other motions in limine shall be filed and served on opposing counsel no later than 4:00 p.m., six (6) court days prior to the scheduled trial date.

Verified verbatim. Court days, and a hard 4:00 p.m. cutoff. Correcting an error in the source draft: Rule 1.1(b)(1) does NOT set clerk's office hours. It says "The Court will be open for judicial business from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on all court days," and Rule 1.1(b)(2) sends you to the posted hours: "The clerk's office: The hours of operation are posted at the Courthouse and on the Court's website." The posted hours are 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., per the court's site-wide notice effective October 1, 2021 and the Civil Division page. So the 4:00 p.m. rule deadline falls an hour after the counter closes, and a paper filing has to be in by 3:00 p.m. E-filing through Odyssey eFileCA is available and the court encourages it but does not require it. The rule requires filing and service, not lodging. The local rules say nothing about whether the two court day extension for electronic service under CCP 1010.6(a)(3)(B) reaches this deadline, so count backward under CCP 12c and treat 4:00 p.m. on the 6th court day as the outer limit.

Written opposition to in limine motions, if any, shall be filed and served on opposing counsel no later than 4:00 p.m., three (3) court days prior to the scheduled trial date. Failure to submit written opposition to In Limine motions will not preclude oral opposition to the motions at the time of trial.

Verified verbatim. Written opposition is optional by the rule's own terms. The rule provides no reply deadline and no reply right. Same 3:00 p.m. counter-close problem as the moving deadline, see the note on the 6 court day row.

The deposit of advance jury fees, and of daily fees and mileage, shall be made as required by California Code of Civil Procedure section 631.

Verified verbatim. The local rule adds no county-specific deadline. Timing comes from CCP 631 itself.

Failure to deposit advance or daily fees as required will be deemed a waiver of trial by jury. The Court, in its discretion, may proceed to trial without a jury, dismiss an empaneled jury, upon such terms as may be just, proceed with a jury.

Verified verbatim. The final clause reads as printed in the PDF and appears to be missing a conjunction before "proceed with a jury." That is the court's text, not a transcription error. Separately, the Civil Case Management Program overview warns in capitals that failure to appear at a CMC "MAY RESULT IN WAIVER OF A PARTY'S RIGHTS (such as the right to a jury trial), SANCTIONS, AND, POSSIBLE DISMISSAL OF THE ENTIRE ACTION." That document is court-published explanation, not rule text.

At the Case Management Conference, the Court will enter a Case Management Order setting a schedule for subsequent proceedings, and otherwise providing for management of the case as specified in California Rules of Court, Rule 3.728.

Verified verbatim. This is the delegation point. The rule does not list trial documents, and the court publishes no template Case Management Order, so whether a given case carries trial-document deadlines depends on the CMO actually entered. The Civil Case Management Program overview adds that cases are presumed Plan 1, a 12 month track, and may be designated Plan 2 (18 months) or Plan 3 (24 months) on an appropriate showing at the CMC, with trial dates set accordingly. It also says the first CMC is set not less than 120 days out and that parties must meet and confer under CRC 3.724 at least 30 days before the CMC.

No later than fifteen (15) calendar days before the scheduled Case Management Conference, each party shall file with the Court and serve on all other parties a completed Case Management Statement (Judicial Council form CM-110).

Verified verbatim. Anchor note, because the anchor vocabulary has no CMC token: the 15 days run backward from the scheduled Case Management Conference hearing date, not from any court order. Calendar days here, unlike the court-day deadlines in Rules 3.5(d) and 3.6(c)(2). Not a trial document, included because the CMC is the event that produces the trial and MSC dates in this court. Rule 3.3(b), verified verbatim: "Unless notified by the Court that no appearance is necessary, all parties or their attorneys must be present at the conference or appear by telephonic conference call, and must be prepared to discuss all elements of the case inquired into on the Case Management Form and the subjects listed in California Rule of Court, Rule 3.727." The Civil Case Management Program overview adds that a telephonic appearance can be noticed by marking "TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE REQUESTED" on the CM-110 or by a separate request filed not less than three court days before the CMC, and that court reporters are not provided for CMC hearings.

It is the responsibility of the parties to obtain, set up, and operate all audio/visual and other equipment necessary for use during any hearing or trial. Any such equipment proposed to be used shall be approved in advance by the Court.

Verified verbatim. Applies to civil trials through Section 1, which governs all divisions. No deadline is stated for the approval request, and no procedure for making it. Relevant to any construction defect trial running expert graphics or a document display system. Rule numbering confirmed twice: the body heading reads RULE 1.10 and the court's own List of Rules and Effective Dates reads Rule 1.10. The PDF's table of contents is offset by one line in Section 1 and should not be relied on.

Permission must be obtained from the Judge assigned to a hearing or trial before a party may bring dangerous, hazardous, or bulky exhibits into the courthouse. If possible, the party should substitute a photograph, technical report, or dummy object for proposed exhibits which are either:

Verified verbatim, including the trailing colon, which is how the printed rule reads before its two enumerated categories. The substitution suggestion runs to those two categories only: Rule 1.11(a)(1) "Inherently dangerous," a twelve item list of firearms, explosives, flammables, corrosives, controlled substances and bodily fluids, and Rule 1.11(a)(2), verified verbatim: "Large and cumbersome, such as a ladder, sewer pipe, or automobile chassis." That second category covers most destructive testing samples and wall or stucco mockups in a construction defect trial. Rule 1.11(b), verified verbatim: "If any party believes the exhibit should be brought into the courtroom without substitution, an application for permission must be made in writing and shall describe the materials to be brought into the courtroom and the reason a substitution should not be made. The option of viewing the materials at another location may be considered by the Court." No deadline is given for that application.

Reporter services at Trial and for Long Cause Hearings are generally not provided at the expense of the Court. Parties may arrange for the presence of a certified shorthand reporter to serve as an official pro tempore reporter, the costs therefore are recoverable as taxable costs by the prevailing party as otherwise provided by law.

Verified verbatim. A real trial-preparation obligation in this county even though it is not a document. Rule 1.3(b) covers probate, family law and civil proceedings lasting less than one hour with the official reporter subject to a fee deposit under Gov. Code 68086; trial is not in that category. Rule 1.3(b)(2), verified verbatim: "Any party granted a fee waiver by the Court will be exempt from the requirement to pay for court reporting services." Rule numbering confirmed against the body heading and the court's List of Rules and Effective Dates, both of which read Rule 1.3.

All exhibits, depositions, or administrative records retained by the Court in any civil matter shall be disposed of in accordance with California Code of Civil Procedure sections 1952-1952.3.

Verified verbatim once the hyphenated line break in "1952-\n1952.3" is rejoined. Post-trial retrieval, not trial preparation. Included because it is the only other exhibit rule in the civil section and because it tells you the clerk will not hold exhibits indefinitely. Rule 3.7 is the last rule in Section 3.

If a party or an attorney fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with these rules, the California Rules of Court, or any other rules or statutory requirements, the Court may, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, impose any and all sanctions authorized by law.

Verified verbatim. General sanctions rule reaching the whole rule set, so it backs the motion in limine and jury instruction requirements, which carry no consequence of their own. The PDF's table of contents lists this as Rule 1.3 because of the one line offset in the Section 1 contents; the body heading reads RULE 1.2 SANCTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS OF LOCAL RULES and the court's List of Rules and Effective Dates reads Rule 1.2. Cite the body number.