Napa County trial binder and trial document requirements

Generally. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, Trial Management Conferences are usually held the second to the last court day of the week preceding the week in which the jury will be selected, or, in a court trial, the first witness called. The case will be assigned to a trial judge at the Trial Management Conference. This assignment is deemed the assignment from the master calendar. All in limine motions will be heard at the Trial Management Conference, and the Court will attend to all other trial management issues to facilitate expeditious commencement of trial.

The conference is keyed to the start of jury selection, not to a nominal trial date, and the rule says "usually" and "unless otherwise ordered." In a full five day court week the second to last court day is Thursday, but do not assume it. The court's own calendar page publishes closure schedules for weeks it is dark Monday, or Monday and Tuesday, and Rule 6.5(D) carries its own holiday carve-out, so a holiday week moves the conference. Count backward from the conference date the court actually sets. Every Rule 6.5 deadline runs off this conference, so a continued conference moves all of them, and Rule 6.5(A) confirms it: if the trial date is continued the parties keep their own exhibits until the next scheduled conference.

Deemed First Day of Trial. For all Civil actions other than Unlawful Detainer, The Trial Management Conference is deemed to be the commencement of trial for all purposes, including discovery and motion cutoff, disclosure of witnesses and expert witnesses, and commencement of all trial-related fees, such as jury and court reporter fees.

This is the trap in Napa practice, and it runs the wrong way for anyone who calendars off the trial date. CCP 2024.020(a) sets discovery complete on or before the 30th day and discovery motions heard on or before the 15th day "before the date initially set for the trial of the action," and CCP 2034.230(b) sets the expert exchange "50 days before the initial trial date, or 20 days after service of the demand, whichever is closer to the trial date." This rule pulls the reference point earlier, to the conference, which in a normal week sits four to six days ahead of trial. Calendar the discovery and expert cutoffs off the conference date. On the fee sentence, read Rule 2.14(A) with it: the court provides a shorthand reporter at its own expense in unlimited civil cases, so confirm with the department what is actually being charged.

For all Civil actions other than Unlawful Detainer, in addition to requirements of California Rules of Court, rule 3.1380(c), each party shall, no later than 10 calendar days prior to the scheduled conference, submit to the Court and serve on each other a Settlement Conference Statement that must include a statement of the factual and legal contentions in dispute, a list of all special damages claimed, copies of documentary evidence pertinent to settlement, the highest previous offer and the lowest previous demand, the date when the last face-to-face or telephonic settlement discussion was held between all parties, and a statement as to any special problems relating to settlement such as lack of or disputed insurance coverage.

Calendar days here, unlike the court-day deadlines in Rule 6.5. The rule is additive, so the statement carries both the CRC 3.1380(c) contents (a good faith settlement demand, an itemization of economic and noneconomic damages by each plaintiff, a good faith offer of settlement by each defendant, and a detailed statement of the facts and law on liability and damages) and the six Napa items. CRC 3.1380(c) allows five court days; Napa's 10 calendar days will usually land earlier, so run off the local rule. The disputed-coverage item matters in construction defect work. The rule expressly sets no page limit but asks parties to stay under 25 pages and warns against voluminous exhibit compendia. It does not say when the conference itself is set relative to trial.

In addition to the requirement of Local Rule 3.3, each party shall provide the Court, no later than noon on the Monday prior to the Trial Management Conference (or Tuesday where that Monday is a Court Holiday), with courtesy copies of each of that party's motions in limine, any oppositions thereto, and all declarations in support of the motion and opposition. Said courtesy copies shall be submitted in one or more three-ring binder(s) with binder tabs separating each motion and document relating thereto. Upon agreement, the parties may submit a single binder or set of binders containing all parties' motions in limine.

The offset token means noon on the Monday of the week containing the Trial Management Conference, shifting to Tuesday when that Monday is a court holiday. This is the only binder the Napa civil rules require and it is a motions in limine binder, not a general trial binder. Where the conference falls on a Thursday, the binder is due two court days after the opposition deadline, which leaves almost no assembly time, so in a multi-party case propose the single joint binder early. Paper, three-ring, tabbed by motion, with each motion's opposition and declarations behind the same tab. The rule sets no copy count, index requirement or tab-numbering convention. It stacks on Rule 3.3, so a separate Rule 3.3 courtesy copy is still owed for any e-filed document over 15 pages or any color document.

Parties must provide a courtesy copy of any (1) e-filed document exceeding 15 pages (including exhibits), and (2) any color document (e.g., color photographs, maps, charts). Courtesy copies shall be delivered to Court Counsel or the Clerk of the Court no later than the next court day after filing.

The offset token means the courtesy copy is due no later than the court day after the document is e-filed. This rule runs alongside the trial deadlines and is the one Rule 6.5(D) builds on when it requires the motions in limine binder. In a construction defect trial the color-document trigger catches annotated defect photographs, site diagrams and expert graphics, and it carries no page threshold.

Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 3.1113(i)(1), parties shall not lodge or file copies of cited non-California authorities unless specifically requested by the Court.

Applies to the trial brief and to motions in limine. Useful against the eight page trial brief cap, since copies of out-of-state authority would otherwise eat the courtesy-copy binder.

Witness Lists. The parties shall, no later than five (5) court days prior to the Trial Management Conference, exchange a list of all witnesses they anticipate calling at trial, except for those anticipated in good-faith to be called solely for impeachment purposes. Witness lists must be filed prior to the Trial Management Conference. Witness lists shall include a brief description of the anticipated testimony of each witness.

Two separate acts: exchange five court days out, file at any point before the conference. The summary of anticipated testimony is mandatory, so a bare name list does not comply. Read this with Rule 6.2(B), which makes the conference the deemed commencement of trial for disclosure of witnesses and expert witnesses.

Exhibits. All exhibits, except for those anticipated in good-faith to be used solely for impeachment purposes, must be exchanged between counsel no later than five (5) court days prior to the Trial Management Conference.

Court days, not calendar days. Same deadline as the witness list exchange under 6.5(B) and the motion in limine opposition under 6.5(D), so that date carries three deliverables. The impeachment carve-out requires good faith and reaches only exhibits used solely for impeachment.

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, all exhibits the parties intend to introduce at trial, except those to be solely used for impeachment purposes, must be marked by counsel as exhibits and lodged with the Court on the date of the Trial Management Conference. Marking consists of placing the exhibit tag on the exhibit with the case number written on the bottom center of the tag. Plaintiffs/petitioners must use tags designated "Plaintiff" or "Petitioner". Defendants/respondents must use tags designated "Defendant" or "Respondent". The parties may mark joint exhibits, which shall be designated "Joint".

Counsel marks the exhibits, not the clerk. Physical tags and physical lodging. This paragraph opens with "Unless otherwise ordered by the Court," so the trial department can change the mechanics. If the trial date is continued the parties take their exhibits back and re-lodge at the next conference.

The parties shall meet and confer and agree on the manner of marking their exhibits. Options include, but are not limited to the following: plaintiffs/petitioners mark their exhibits numerically and defendants/respondents mark their exhibits alphabetically (more than one letter per exhibit is not permitted); the use of numerals in which each party is allocated a block of numbers to be used sequentially, e.g., plaintiff may be allocated numbers 1 to 200, the first defendant numbers 201 to 400, and the second defendant numbers 401 to 600; the use of deposition exhibit numbers. Documentary exhibits consisting of more than one page must be internally paginated in sequential numerical order to facilitate reference to the document during interrogation of witnesses. If there are questions concerning the manner of marking exhibits, please contact the appropriate judicial officer's judicial assistant.

The rule sets no deadline for this meet and confer, but it has to happen before the five court day exchange or the numbering will not hold. Note the letter limit: on the alphabetical convention more than one letter per exhibit is not permitted, which caps a defendant at 26 exhibits. In a multi-defendant construction case use the numeric block option. Practical questions go to the judicial assistant, which is the only route to department practice the rule gives you.

The parties shall meet and confer regarding the authenticity and admissibility of exchanged exhibits. All exhibits that the parties agree are authentic and admissible shall be identified on a "Joint Exhibits List." The Joint Exhibits List shall bear the following statement: "The parties hereby stipulate and agree that the exhibits identified on this Joint Exhibits List are authentic and admissible at trial in the action." The Joint Exhibits List must be signed by counsel for all parties and shall be filed with the Court no later than two (2) court days prior to the date of the Trial Management Conference.

Filed, not lodged. The stipulation sentence is prescribed word for word and should be reproduced exactly. All parties sign. There is no local form, so build the document. The three court day window between the exhibit exchange and this filing is the meet and confer window.

At the Trial Management Conference, parties shall also submit to the Court an index of exhibits with their corresponding numbers or letters. If the trial date is continued, the parties shall retain possession of their own exhibits until the next scheduled Trial Management Conference.

Separate from the Joint Exhibits List, which is filed two court days earlier and covers only the agreed exhibits. The rule does not define the index's scope, its format, how many copies it wants, or whether it is filed or handed up. The practical read is that it tracks the exhibits being lodged. Bring extra copies.

Permissible Exhibits. Absent leave of Court, the only acceptable means to file exhibits in support of a motion or at trial is by paper filing, or if available, e-filing. Exhibits must be legible and complete, and not require use of another resource to hear or view the exhibits. Compact Discs (CD's), Digital Video Discs (DVD's) and/or other types of digital storage devices are specifically prohibited and are not allowed to be submitted as exhibits to be filed.

By its terms this governs exhibits filed "in support of a motion or at trial," so it reaches the trial exhibit set. E-filing is permitted, so this is not a bar on electronic submission. It is a bar on physical digital media, and on any exhibit that needs another device to hear or view it. Rule 3.8(B) is the route for recorded evidence: lodge the media, file a transcript or a description of the relevant portions, and attach an original notice of lodgment carrying a numbered listing of all items lodged, a brief description of each, and a copy of the notice with the means of return under CRC 3.1302(b). Plan for this on any inspection video or drone footage.

Jury Instructions. The parties should meet and confer regarding jury instructions prior to the Trial Management Conference. The parties should prepare an agreed upon joint list of jury instructions and each should prepare a separate list of those instructions that a party requests (without the agreement of the other party). All proposed jury instructions must be filed with the clerk of the Court no later than the Trial Management Conference. If a party wishes to present appropriate points and authorities concerning an instruction, a separate copy must be provided to the Court. The jury instructions must be completed with all blanks filled in and all bracketed portions either stricken or the brackets eliminated.

Note the mixed register. The meet and confer and the two-list structure are "should," while filing by the conference and the clean-up requirement are "must." The rule's history line reads "Revised 1/1/17 and 7/1/24." Napa publishes no verdict form requirement for civil trials. Rule 4.5, which covers verdict forms, is a criminal rule.

Statement of the Case. For a jury trial, the parties must, in advance of the Trial Management Conference, meet and confer for the purpose of agreeing upon a brief non-argumentative summary of the factual nature of the case that will be read to the jury. The agreed upon Statement of the Case is to be lodged with the Clerk of the Court no later than the Trial Management Conference.

Jury trials only. It is a joint document and it is lodged, not filed. The rule assumes agreement and gives no procedure for a dispute, so leave time to negotiate. Non-argumentative is the operative constraint.

Trial Brief. Trial briefs are required for all jury trials (regardless of estimated duration), and for all bench trials with an estimated duration of two or more days. Trial briefs, when required, must be filed and served on all other parties to the action no later than three Court days prior to the Trial Management Conference. Trial briefs shall be limited to eight pages. The Contents of the brief shall include: (1) A brief summary of the case; (2) A statement of any issues that need to be resolved at trial; (3) Any legal arguments on which a party intends to rely; and (4) Any other matters determined by the judge to be necessary and provided to the parties in writing.

The rule's own history line reads "Revised 7/1/24 and 1/1/26," so this is the current version and older Napa briefs will not match it. Eight pages is a hard cap and short for a construction defect trial, so treat the brief as a framing document. Item (4) is the department delegation: the judge can add requirements and they arrive in writing to the parties, not on the web. Filed and served three court days before the conference, which is two court days after the exhibit and witness list exchange.

Motions In Limine. All motions in limine must be in writing and filed with the Clerk of the Court no later than ten (10) court days prior to the Trial Management Conference. Oppositions to motions in limine shall be filed at least five (5) court days before the Trial Management Conference. The Court shall have the discretion to strike (i.e., not consider) late-filed motions and oppositions. No oral motions in limine will be considered by the Court.

This is the earliest trial deadline in Napa, two weeks of court days before the conference and roughly three weeks before trial. All motions in limine are heard at the conference under Rule 6.2(A). The rule bars oral motions in limine outright, so file everything you want heard as a motion in limine. It does not speak to evidentiary objections made during trial, and it does not purport to remove the trial judge's discretion over evidence once trial begins. This is the one trial-document rule carrying its own express penalty.

Oppositions to motions in limine shall be filed at least five (5) court days before the Trial Management Conference. The Court shall have the discretion to strike (i.e., not consider) late-filed motions and oppositions.

Five court days from motion to opposition. No reply deadline is published and the rule does not say replies are permitted. Falls on the same date as the exhibit exchange under 6.5(A) and the witness list exchange under 6.5(B), so that day carries three deliverables.

Long cause cases shall be assigned a date certain at the time of the Case Management Conference. Counsel must be prepared for trial on the date set. No continuances will be granted except upon a showing of good cause. While requests for continuance may be presented by stipulation and order (or upon regularly noticed motion or, where appropriate ex parte application) mere stipulation of the parties, without a showing of good cause, will not necessarily result in a continuance.

Rule 6.3 carries the same paragraph for short cause cases, changing only "Short cause" for "Long cause." Both history lines show a 7/1/24 revision. Because the trial date is set at the Case Management Conference, which Rule 6.1 puts no sooner than 120 days and no later than 180 days after the original complaint is filed, the trial date is fixed early in a Napa case. Read the stipulation warning before assuming a continued mediation moves the trial.

By presenting to the Court, whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating, a pleading, petition, written notice of motion, or other similar paper, an attorney or unrepresented party is certifying that to the best of the person's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances that the party or attorney has carefully checked every case citation, fact, and argument to make sure that they are correct and proper. No party or attorney may properly delegate this responsibility to Artificial Intelligence or any other form of technology.

New effective 1/1/26, and the rule heading in the body reads "Legal Argument and Citation to Authority Generated by Artificial Intelligence Prohibited." Rule 1 makes every rule apply to every case, so this reaches trial briefs and motions in limine. The certification attaches on "later advocating" as well as on filing, so arguing from a brief someone else drafted carries it too.

These rules are adopted pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 575.1. Any party or counsel for a party failing to abide by these rules may be sanctioned upon motion of any party or counsel for a party or on the court's own motion as set forth in Code of Civil Procedure section 575.2.

This is the enforcement backstop for the Rule 6.5 deadlines, most of which state no penalty of their own. Rule 1 adds the universality line: "every rule applies to every case and every party or attorney appearing before the Napa Superior Court unless common sense or another provision of these rules exempts or supersedes it." CCP 575.2(a), read in full, lets the court strike all or part of a pleading, dismiss the action or part of it, enter default, or impose lesser penalties, plus reasonable expenses and attorney fees, and it requires prior notice and an opportunity to be heard before any penalty issues. Subdivision (b) states the Legislature's intent that where the failure is counsel's and not the party's, the penalty falls on counsel and does not adversely affect the party's cause of action or defense.