Mendocino County trial binder and trial document requirements

A pretrial conference may be held in any long cause matter on the civil active list whether scheduled for jury trial or court trial. The pretrial conference must be attended by counsel who will try the case and all unrepresented parties.

Verified against the consolidated rules PDF effective 7/1/2026, Chapter 2 Civil Court Rules. Every deadline in rules 2.3(b), 2.3(c) and 2.4(a) runs off this conference, so if none is set only the trial brief has a stated fallback. The rule says pretrial conference throughout. It never says trial readiness conference or final status conference, and neither phrase appears anywhere in the civil chapter. Rows below use the schema token trc_date for this event because the schema has no pretrial conference token. Neither long cause nor civil active list is defined in the rules. The 7/06/2026 calendar plan (rev. 12/30/2025) puts Civil / Probate PTCs Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. in Courtroom E before Hon. Ann Moorman, who holds the 2026 unlimited civil assignment, with civil court and jury trials Mondays at 9:00 a.m.

Settlement Conference Statement. A detailed Settlement Conference Statement must be submitted pursuant to California Rules of Court rule 3.1380(c).

Timing comes from the incorporated state rule, not from the local rule, so run CRC 3.1380(c) for the deadline. Mendocino publishes no local civil MSC statement form. MFL-153 Mandatory Settlement Conference Statement sits in the Family group on the court's forms page and does not apply. Do not borrow Local Rule 4.10(a)(1), the family law five calendar day lodging deadline, which is a different chapter. Per the 7/06/2026 calendar plan, unlimited civil settlement conferences are heard Wednesdays at 9:15 and 10:45 a.m. in Courtroom F before Atty. James Ghidella, identified as the Unlimited CV Sett Conf Official, not before the trial judge.

Parties claiming damages in a personal injury action must bring all reports and records of all examining doctors to the settlement conference. A list of all special damages claimed, with supporting evidence, must be available for examination by the settlement conference judge. The special damages for each plaintiff should be up to date, listed separately, totaled, and categorized as health care (including medical, hospital, ambulance, and drugs) and loss of earnings, if any.

Written for personal injury. In a construction defect case the analogous package is the cost of repair, the investigative costs and the out of pocket repairs, which rule 2.7(c) reaches through its catch all for all other documents pertinent to settlement.

All parties will organize, in advance, and bring to the conference such medical reports and records, any depositions (with relevant pages and lines pre-marked), photographs, books, records, diagrams, maps, bills, contracts, memoranda, and all other documents pertinent to settlement of the case for examination by the settlement conference judge.

The pre-marked deposition pages and lines requirement is the closest the civil rules come to a designation obligation, and it attaches to the settlement conference, not to trial.

All parties will set forth the date, amount, and terms of the highest offer and the lowest demand by each party, as well as the insurance coverage limits available to each party defendant or plaintiff.

The coverage limits disclosure is a local addition to CRC 3.1380(c) and is worth flagging to a defense carrier ahead of the conference.

All parties must ascertain whether there are claims or liens which may affect a settlement. A written request to attend the settlement conference must be sent to such claimants, lienholders or their representatives and a copy of the request must be brought to the settlement conference.

The written request is itself a document to be produced at the conference, so send it far enough ahead to have proof of it.

Appearance at Mandatory Settlement Conference. All persons whose consent is required to settle a case, including but not limited to named parties, corporate officer(s) or insurance representatives, must personally attend the mandatory settlement conference unless excused by the court.

Subdivision (g)(1) reads: "Remote Appearance. Any party who wishes to appear via telephone must contact the settlement conference official to arrange the telephonic appearance. Video appearances at mandatory settlement conferences are not allowed." Subdivision (g)(2) lets the court require personal attendance even where travel exceeds 150 miles, which matters for a carrier representative coming from out of the area.

Trial Binders: Trial binders containing multiple exhibits will not be marked with evidence tags. Each exhibit must be separately marked for identification.

Independently confirmed by full text search of the rules PDF. The word binder appears exactly once in the document, here. The word notebook appears exactly once, in the history table. No tab scheme, no index requirement, no joint binder, no copy count, no lodging date, nothing about paper versus electronic. A former rule 2.30 titled Trial Notebook existed but it sat in the CEQA series (renumbered from old rule 23.11, alongside 2.21 Ordering the Administrative Record through 2.29 Settlement Meeting, all previously 23.x) and it was repealed effective 1/1/2021 per the history table in the same PDF.

Pursuant to the order setting the action for pretrial conference, counsel must file a Joint Pretrial Statement or separate Pretrial Statement no less than five (5) business days before the scheduled pretrial conference. Pretrial statements will not exceed 10 pages.

trc_date here means the pretrial conference, the court's own name for the event. The rule says business days, and the local rules never define business day anywhere in the document. The 10 page cap has to absorb all 21 required content items in 2.3(b)(3), which makes it the tightest drafting constraint in the set. There is no local form for the civil pretrial statement.

Form and Contents of Pretrial Statement. The pretrial statement must include the name of the parties submitting the statement, set forth the nature of the action, and include the following items in the following order:

trc_date means the pretrial conference. I counted the lettered items in the PDF: a through u, 21 of them. (a) jurisdiction and venue, (b) substance of the action, (c) undisputed facts, (d) disputed facts, (e) disputed evidence, (f) relief sought with an itemization of monetary damages, (g) abandoned issues, (h) previous motions and their disposition, (i) witnesses, (j) exhibits schedules and summaries, (k) discovery documents, (l) discovery or motions, (m) stipulations, (n) amendments and dismissals, (o) settlement, (p) agreed statement, (q) bifurcation or separate trial of issues, (r) appointment and limitation of experts, (s) estimate of trial time, (t) attorney's fees, (u) miscellaneous. Items (c) and (s) matter in a construction defect case: (c) puts agreed facts into the record without testimony or exhibits, and (s) asks for a court day estimate for each party's case.

Witnesses: List of all witnesses likely to be called at trial, in person or by deposition, with a description of the substance of the testimony to be given after each name. Impeachment or rebuttal witnesses are excluded from this list.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. The witness list lives inside the 10 page pretrial statement, so a multi expert case feels the page cap here. The rule attaches no express preclusion to an omitted witness, unlike the exhibit item at 2.3(b)(3)(j), which does.

Exhibits, Schedules, and Summaries: List of all documents and items to be offered as exhibits at trial including a description of its substance, purpose, and identity of the sponsoring witness after each exhibit. Only listed exhibits will be permitted at trial except as otherwise provided in the pretrial order. Impeachment or rebuttal exhibits are excluded from this list.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. This is the only self executing preclusion in the Mendocino civil trial rules. Naming the sponsoring witness for each exhibit is the part most easily missed.

List of Exhibits Pursuant to Local Rule 2.5. On or before the date of the pretrial conference

trc_date means the pretrial conference. Quoted as printed, with no closing period in the original, confirmed in the PDF. This is a second, later exhibit list deadline sitting alongside the exhibit item inside the pretrial statement at 2.3(b)(3)(j), which is due five business days earlier. Work to the earlier one.

Meet and Confer re Trial Exhibits: Before the Pretrial Conference, parties must meet and discuss documentary evidence, including any deposition excerpts, discovery responses, summaries, charts, or other physical evidence each party may offer at trial. The parties must attempt to resolve any objections that may arise. Any unresolved evidentiary issues must be brought to the court's attention at the pretrial conference.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. The offset token before_event means the rule requires the meeting to happen before the conference but states no number of days. This is the closest thing Mendocino has to a deposition designation procedure, since deposition excerpts are named here.

Depositions and Administrative Records: Any depositions or administrative records submitted to the court as exhibits must be submitted on a USB flash drive clearly labeled with the case name, case number, and contents of the USB drive.

No delivery deadline is stated for the USB drive in 2.5(b). Local Rule 2.11 imposes the parallel USB requirement for administrative records lodged outside the exhibit context, requiring the drive be labeled ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD with the case name, case number and the name of the submitting party.

Pre-Marking Exhibits for use at Trial: Parties are encouraged to pre-mark exhibits for use at trial. The clerk will be available to pre-mark exhibits at the pretrial conference and before court starts on each day of trial. Please do not ask the clerk to pre-mark exhibits while court is in session.

trc_date means the pretrial conference, and the rule also reaches each trial morning. Corrected from the draft, which read the rule as the clerk doing the pre-marking. The rule says the clerk will be available to do it. Encouraged, not mandatory, which is unusual. Plan to arrive early on day one with the exhibits assembled.

Exhibit List: Each party will provide the clerk with a list of exhibits including a brief description of each item that the party expects to offer at trial.

This is the clerk's working copy, separate from the exhibit list filed and served under 2.3(c)(6). The rule sets no time for delivering it, so pair it with the pre-marking window in 2.5(c).

Copies of Exhibits: Parties must bring extra copies of documentary exhibits for opposing counsel and the court, including copies of any depositions, administrative records, or excerpts of same. To assist in keeping track of trial exhibits, parties may stipulate to show witnesses copies instead of marked trial exhibits.

The rule sets no copy count. Read with Local Rule 1.8(a)(5), which tells parties who want exhibits marked at a hearing to provide the original to the clerk and have additional copies for the court, the other parties and the witnesses, again with no number.

Post-Trial Return of Exhibits: Unless otherwise ordered, all exhibits will be returned to the custody of the offering party at the conclusion of trial. Prior to exhibits being returned, parties may request that the clerk provide a certified copy of any exhibits at the requesting party's expense.

Matters for the appellate record. If the case is going up, ask for certified copies before the exhibits leave the courthouse. Local Rules 1.16 and 1.17 cover copies of exhibits and return of exhibits generally in civil, family law and probate, and 1.17 requires the custodial party to keep them in the same condition until 60 days after final judgment or dismissal. Caution on the cross reference: 1.16 points to "local rule 1.17 and 2.8(g)" for return of exhibits, which is stale after the 7/1/2026 renumbering. The civil provision is 2.5(g).

Exhibits. Exhibits may be e-filed five (5) business days before the hearing and must be served on all parties a minimum of two (2) business days prior to the hearing date.

The anchor token court_order stands in for the hearing date, since the schema has no hearing date token. Narrowed from the draft, which stated the physical media requirements under this quote. Scope caution: the rule is written around hearings, it sits in the general filing rule, and nothing in it or in Local Rule 2.5 says it reaches trial exhibits. E-filing is mandatory for all civil unlimited actions under Local Rule 1.8(a)(3)(d), so this is the route for anything e-filed. The rule's internal cross reference to "section 1.7(a)(4) above" is stale after the 7/1/2026 renumbering and should read 1.8(a)(4), confirmed against the history table, which shows 1.8 Filing of Documents renumbered 7/1/26 from previous rule 1.7. E-filed exhibits carry local form MEX-171 Exhibit Cover Sheet. The separate physical media paragraph reads: "Exhibits in other electronic formats (i.e. USB flash drive, CD, DVD, etc.) must be filed in person, at the clerk's window, with local form MEX-175 Electronic Media Exhibit Cover Sheet. They must be clearly labeled with the following: the case name, the case number, and the hearing date, time, and department." and closes "Exhibits filed in an electronic format must be filed five (5) business days before the hearing and served on all parties a minimum of five (5) business days prior to the hearing." Conflict to watch: Local Rule 1.11(i)(8) repeats that same paragraph nearly word for word but ends "a minimum of two (2) business days prior to the hearing." Serve five business days out. MEX-171 and MEX-175 are mandatory use local forms per the rules appendix at pp. 105-106, designated "(Civil, Family, and Probate Matters)," though neither appears in the Civil group on the court's local forms web page.

The court clerk will not print or make copies of exhibits that have been filed prior to a hearing. Parties that request to have exhibits marked during a hearing are required to provide the original exhibit to the court clerk for marking purposes and are required to have additional copies of the exhibit available for the distribution to the court, opposing parties, and witnesses.

The anchor token court_order stands in for the hearing date. Same rule as the row above, different paragraph. E-filing an exhibit does not put paper in front of the judge. Bring the paper. This dovetails with Local Rule 2.5(e) on trial exhibit copies. The same paragraph adds that exhibits not submitted before a hearing and offered during it by a remote party may not be accepted if they are not accessible to the court, the other parties and the witnesses.

Proposed Jury Instructions Pursuant to California Rules of Court rules 2.1055 and 2.1058. No less than five (5) business days before the pretrial conference.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. CRC 2.1055 governs form and the table of contents and index. CRC 2.1058 is the CACI preference. The local rule says nothing about joint versus separate sets, so a party may file its own. Do not borrow the criminal timing at Local Rule 3.6(b), which is a different chapter and a different schedule.

Proposed General or Special Verdict Forms. No less than five (5) business days before the pretrial conference.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. Rule 2.7(f) pulls the same document forward to the mandatory settlement conference in any case requiring special verdicts or findings, so the form is often needed well before the pretrial conference.

Additionally, the attorney for each party requesting a jury trial in a case where the right is not guaranteed by law or in a case in which special verdicts or findings of the jury will be required, must present any special verdict form or interrogatories which will be required for the resolution of the case by the jury.

Easy to miss. It pulls the special verdict form forward from the pretrial conference deadline in 2.3(c)(5) to the settlement conference. In any case going to a special verdict, draft the form for the MSC. The subdivision is headed Duties of Party at Conference and also requires every attending party to be thoroughly familiar with the relevant evidence and prepared to discuss all aspects of the case.

Substance of the Action: Description of the claims, defenses, and issues to be decided in impartial and non-argumentative language suitable for reading to the jury at trial.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. The phrase statement of the case does not appear anywhere in the rules PDF, confirmed by full text search. Because the pretrial statement is preferably joint, this language gets negotiated with the defense.

Trial Briefs. On or before the date of the pretrial conference. No later than the Friday before trial in the even that no pretrial conference is scheduled.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. The word even in the published text is a typo for event, quoted as printed and confirmed character for character in the PDF. This is the only trial document with a fallback tied to the trial date itself, which matters because the pretrial conference is discretionary under 2.3(a). Rule 2.3(c) opens "Additional Requirements for Pretrial Conference. Unless otherwise ordered, parties must file with the court and serve on opposing parties' copies of the following:", so all six items in 2.3(c) are file and serve rather than lodge, and all six yield to a contrary order. The rules set no page limit on the trial brief.

Motions in Limine: Unless otherwise ordered, each party must file and serve all motions in limine on significant disputed issues of law and foreseeable procedural or evidentiary issues no less than five (5) business days before the date of the pretrial conference.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. Rule 2.3(c)(2) states the same deadline by cross reference: "Motions in Limine Pursuant to Local Rule 2.4(a). No less than five (5) business days before the pretrial conference." Rule 2.4(a) closes with "Counsel and self-represented litigants must be prepared to argue motions in limine at the pretrial conference," so the motions are heard at the conference rather than on a separate law and motion date.

Written opposition to a motion in limine, if any, must be filed and served at least one (1) business day prior to the pretrial conference.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. Four business day turnaround from the motions to the opposition. The rule provides for no reply.

Counsel and unrepresented parties must meet in good faith to prepare the pretrial statement(s) to narrow down the legal and factual issues which the court will have to try, arrive at stipulations, and attempt settlement of the action at least 15 days prior to the pretrial conference.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. Calendar days here, against the five business day filing deadline in 2.3(b)(1). Practical effect is that the conference work starts about three weeks out.

Discovery Documents: List of all answers to interrogatories and responses to requests for admission that are to be offered at trial.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. Interrogatory answers and RFA responses only. Deposition testimony is handled through the witness list at 2.3(b)(3)(i) and the exhibit meet and confer at 2.5(a), not here.

Jury Voir Dire Questions Pursuant to California Rules of Court rule 3.1549. No less than five (5) business days before the pretrial conference.

trc_date means the pretrial conference. Content and format come from CRC 3.1549, which the local rule incorporates rather than restates.

The court encourages litigants or their counsel to email courtesy copies of filed documents to the court and all parties to the matter. Electronic delivery of courtesy copies is encouraged. Electronic delivery of courtesy copies is not a substitute for filing and service as required by the Code of Civil Procedures, the Penal Code, and the California Rules of Court. All departments will accept electronic delivery of courtesy copies.

The rule lists a generic address for each department, A, B, C, CS, E, F, G, H and TM. Unlimited civil is Courtroom E for 2026 per the court's judicial assignments page, so DepartmentE@mendocino.courts.ca.gov, but confirm the department on the case before sending. The rule sets six specifications: exact electronic copies of the documents as filed, PDF only, the email and attachments copied to all parties who have provided an email address, a file name in the format [case number].[short title of document].[date of hearing].pdf, a combined email and attachment cap of 25 MB, and a warning that the court will not read or consider any text included in the email.

In the event of any failure to comply with the local rules, the California Rules of Court, or any order of the court related thereto, the court may impose upon the offending party, attorney, or both, sanctions which may include, but are not limited to, requiring the filing of an attorney's compliance statement, attorney's case schedule, monetary sanctions, attorney's fees, expenses, striking pleadings, entering the default of any party, dismissal of the action, and/or contempt, and any other sanctions authorized by Government Code § 68609(d) and any other statute.

Quoted with the section symbol as printed, corrected from the draft, which spelled it out. Numbering note: the body of Chapter 1 prints its rule headings without numbers. The number 1.2 for Failure to Comply with Local Rules or Orders of the Court comes from the history table at the back of the same PDF, which is the court's own numbering key. This is the general sanctions rule and it is the only consequence provision reaching the trial document deadlines in rules 2.3 and 2.4. The one self executing consequence in the civil trial rules is the exhibit preclusion in 2.3(b)(3)(j).