Plumas County trial binder and trial document requirements

Final Status Conferences are conducted on 2nd and 4th Mondays at 2:00 p.m. approximately 3 weeks prior to the scheduled trial date.

The identical sentence appears twice in Rule 4.3, once in the Civil Jury Trials block at subd. (1) and once in the Civil Bench Trials block at subd. (5). Each block opens with 'Unless otherwise ordered, the following pre-trial filing and service deadlines apply,' so the assigned judge can displace the whole schedule.

Pursuant to Local Rule 1.8, all trial counsel must attend the final trial status conference in person, unless excused by the court beforehand. All pretrial documents must be filed in advance of the FTSC.

Rule 1.8 is REMOTE APPEARANCES: 'All counsel and parties are required to be present at any contested hearing unless otherwise permitted by the court. Counsel and parties may appear remotely at Civil and Family Law Case Management Conferences, and for other hearings as permitted by the court.' A remote appearance request uses local form PSC-RA-040.

At the time the matter is set for trial, the court will set a Trial Readiness Conference. The Trial Readiness Conference shall take place at least three weeks prior to the commencement of the trial.

Offset token -3_weeks means at least twenty one calendar days before the first day of trial. Plumas treats the Trial Readiness Conference and the Final Trial Status Conference as one event: the rule heading is TRIAL READINESS CONFERENCE/FINAL TRIAL STATUS CONFERENCE and Rule 4.3 abbreviates the same event FTSC. Do not confuse this with Rule 5.5, which is also titled TRIAL READINESS CONFERENCE and is criminal.

At the Readiness Conference, counsel for the parties shall be prepared to: (a) Submit a Statement of the Case to be read by the Judge to the jury; (b) Submit questions that counsel wishes the court to ask prospective jurors on voir dire; (c) Lodge depositions intended to be used as well as advising the court concerning recitation from depositions; (d) Produce exhibits (except for impeaching exhibits) for marking for identification; (e) Argue Motions in Limine. (f) Submit Proposed jury instructions.

Proposed voir dire questions appear only here. A full-document search confirms 'voir dire' appears nowhere else in the civil rules. Rule 4.3 does not list voir dire questions among the trial readiness documents and the binder has no tab for them, so bring them to the conference rather than filing them. Motions in limine are argued at this conference, which matches the Rule 4.3 instruction to set them for hearing on the FTSC date. Subdivision (f) is not on its face limited to jury trials, so a bench trial practitioner should not read Rule 4.3's silence as clearance.

The court will schedule a Mandatory Settlement Conference for all cases.

Rule 3.8(b): 'All parties, as well as their agents with authority to settle, will attend the Mandatory Settlement Conference.' Rule 3.8(d): 'No remote appearance will be allowed without prior approval by the court, and will only be allowed under extraordinary circumstances' (the subdivision ends without a period). Rule 3.8(h)(3): 'The attorney assigned to try the case shall be present at the settlement conference, unless good cause for his/her absence is shown, and must be thoroughly familiar with the available evidence involving both liability and damages.' Rule 3.8(g)(2) requires the insured defendant's carrier counsel and the claims adjuster to be personally present. The rules publish no fixed offset from trial for the MSC; Rule 10.6(9)(f) leaves the date to the case management order.

The parties shall file and serve upon opposing counsel a Settlement Conference Statement no later than 5 p.m. on Friday at least 1 week prior to the hearing or as set by the judge. The Settlement Conference Statement shall be in the format, or substantially similar format as described in subsection (i) below.

Subdivision (i) prescribes twelve headings: parties and counsel with lien claimants and carriers and adjusters identified; case statement; plaintiff's theory with itemized economic and non-economic damages, attorney fees, lien negotiation efforts and any punitive damages basis; defendant's position, fees, medical payment reimbursement issues and anticipated post-trial reduction of special damages; legal issues; factual issues; all CCP 998 offers with dates and the best offer from each side; settlement efforts; ADR efforts with type and date; anticipated length of trial and counts of non-expert, retained expert and non-retained expert witnesses; primary and excess carriers tendered to, whether the tender was accepted, and any pending reservation of rights; and attachments useful to the settlement judge. The offset token -1_week means the Friday falling at least seven days before the conference, which in practice can be more than seven days.

Counsel must provide a joint trial binder for the court at the FTSC. The trial binder shall be organized as follows:

Jury trial tab list exactly as printed: Tab A Trial Briefs; Tab B Motions in Limine; Tab C Joint Statement; Tab D Joint Witness List; Tab E Joint List of Jury Instructions; Tab F Joint and Contested Jury Instructions; Tab G Joint and/or Contested Verdict; Tab H Joint Exhibit List; Tab I Joint Chart of Page and Line Designations for Deposition and Former Testimony; Tab J Copies of all Current Operative Pleadings. Typography caveat, stated as observed and not as resolved: three orphan words print in the LEFT column of this table, each one line below the row whose description it appears to follow. 'Case' prints before Tab D, 'Instructions' before Tab G, 'Forms' before Tab H, each inside the same text object as the tab label that follows it, at the same x coordinate as the tab labels rather than the description column. The single genuine wrap in the table, Tab I's second line, renders in the description column instead, so these are not description wraps. The bench table prints the same Tab C as 'Joint Statement' with no orphan after it. Their origin is not determinable from the document. Nothing here changes what goes behind a tab: Tab C is the joint statement, Tab F the jury instruction set, Tab G the verdict form. One binder, joint, for the court. The rule does not say who assembles it or whether copies are needed.

Counsel must provide a joint trial binder for the court at the FTSC. The trial binder shall be organized as follows:

Bench trial tab list as printed, with no orphan words: Tab A Trial Briefs; Tab B Motions in Limine; Tab C Joint Statement; Tab D Joint Witness List; Tab E Joint Exhibit List; Tab F Joint Chart of Page and Line Designations for Deposition and Former Testimony; Tab G Copies of all Current Operative Pleadings. Verified against the PDF text objects on the bench table page: every tab label sits at the left column x and every description at the description column x, with one wrapped description line staying in the description column. Tab C has no matching entry on the bench filing list at subd. (5), which omits any joint statement. See unknowns.

At least ten (10) calendar days prior to the FTSC, the parties/counsel shall serve and file the following trial readiness documents:

Calendar days, not court days. The jury block adds 'All deadlines for service are extended based on the manner of service as set forth in Code of Civil Procedure section 1013,' and the bench block says the same with 'Code of Civil Procedure 1013.' The jury list carries nine document types, the bench list five.

At least five (5) days prior to the start of trial, both parties shall file and exchange the following Trial Documents: (1) List of witnesses intended to be called at trial. (2) List of exhibits anticipated to be produced at trial.

Unlawful detainer only, and a separate track from Rule 4. Everything here is per party, not joint, and there is no trial binder. The list continues: '(3) Each party shall prepare a brief statement of the case summarizing their respective positions and relief requested. (4) Any pre-trial evidentiary or in limine motions supported by brief points and authorities. (5) For Jury Trials Only: All requested and relevant proposed jury instructions' in loosely bound sets, one instruction per page, with number and title at the top and no blank lines or unused bracketed portions. Exhibit marking differs from Rule 4.3: plaintiff numbers exhibits and defendant letters them. Rule 10.2 excludes unlawful detainer from the delay reduction program.

The parties/counsel shall work together and file a joint list of all witnesses that each party intends to call, excluding impeachment and rebuttal witnesses. The joint witness list shall identify each witness by name, a general description of expected testimony, specify which witnesses are experts, estimate the length of direct examination, cross-examination, and re-direct examination of each, and include a total of the number of hours for all witness testimony at the end. There should be no duplicate names on the list. The parties shall identify all potential witness scheduling issues and special requirements.

Joint, not per party. Required in both jury and bench trials in identical language. Both blocks close with a signature requirement that prints as 'The parties/counsel shall sign the join witness list,' with 'join' a typographical error for 'joint'. Tab D in both binders.

The parties/counsel shall prepare and file a joint exhibit list organized with columns identifying each exhibit and specifying each party's evidentiary objections, if any, to admission of each exhibit. The parties/counsel shall meet and confer in an effort to resolve objections to the authenticity and admissibility of each exhibit. The parties/counsel shall sign the joint exhibit list.

Joint, not per party. Identical language in the jury and bench blocks. Tab H in the jury binder, Tab E in the bench binder.

The parties/counsel shall jointly prepare and file a list of proposed jury instructions, organized in numerical order, specifying the instructions upon which all sides agree and the contested instructions, if any. The list of proposed jury instructions must include a space by each instruction for the court to indicate whether the instruction was given. The parties/counsel shall sign the joint list of proposed jury instructions.

Jury trials only. This is the list, a separate filing from the full text instruction set below. Tab E of the jury trial binder. The Civil Bench Trials block publishes no jury instruction requirement, though Rule 4.2(f) is not on its face limited to jury trials.

The parties/counsel shall prepare a complete set of full-text proposed jury instructions, printed on one side only, with one instruction per page, editing all proposed California Civil Jury Instructions, insert party name(s), eliminate blanks, brackets, and irrelevant material. The parties shall prepare special instructions printed in a format ready for submission to the jury with the instruction number, title, and text only (i.e. there should be no boxes or other indication on the printed instruction itself as to the requesting party). Where there is an available CACI instruction, the court will generally not give a substituted special instruction. Substantively modified CACI instructions beyond bracketed language must be prominently identified. Uncontested and contested instruction shall be separated into subsections, with all uncontested instructions together, and all contested instructions together.

Jury trials only. Tab F of the jury trial binder. Rule 4.2(f) separately requires counsel to be prepared to submit proposed jury instructions at the readiness conference. The rule prints 'instruction' where 'instructions' is meant in the final sentence. The quoted sentence straddles a page break in the PDF between printed pages 24 and 25.

The parties/counsel shall prepare and file a joint proposed general verdict form or special verdict form acceptable to all sides. If the parties/counsel cannot agree on a joint verdict form, and if feasible, the court prefers a single proposed joint verdict form with relines identifying each party's proposed language where the language is disputed. The parties should bring an electronic copy of their proposed verdict form to the FTSC and to trial, ready to be edited in the courtroom.

Jury trials only. Tab G of the jury trial binder. The rule prints 'relines' where 'redlines' is plainly meant. The electronic copy is a second, separate deliverable due at the conference itself and again at trial.

For jury trials, the parties/counsel shall prepare a joint written statement of the case for the court to read to the jury. The joint statement shall be a neutral short statement of the case and not exceed 2 paragraphs. The parties/counsel shall sign the joint statement.

Goes behind Tab C of the jury trial binder. Rule 4.2(a) separately requires counsel at the readiness conference to 'Submit a Statement of the Case to be read by the Judge to the jury.' The bench trial binder at subd. (6) also lists a Tab C Joint Statement, but the bench filing list at subd. (5) has no joint statement item. See unknowns.

Counsel or self-represented litigants shall file a Trial Brief five days prior to the Trial Readiness Conference/ Final Trial Status Conference.

Conflicts on its face with Rule 4.3, which puts the trial brief on the ten calendar day list. Rule 4.2 states the obligation as mandatory ('shall file') while Rule 4.3 states it permissively ('The court appreciates it when each party files a trial brief'). Neither yields to the other and both were amended or adopted in the 7/1/26 cycle. Filing ten calendar days out satisfies both, since ten days before the conference is earlier than five. The original prints 'self- represented' across a line break.

The court appreciates it when each party files a trial brief succinctly identifying: (1) The claims and defenses subject to litigation; (2) The major legal issues (with supporting points and authorities); (3) The relief claimed and the calculation of damages sought; and (4) Any other information that may assist the court at trial.

Trial briefs are per party, not joint, and go behind Tab A of the joint binder. The text appears verbatim in both the jury and bench blocks. Rule 4 sets no page limit. Rule 2.2(b) caps the length of any motion or other document filed with the court by reference to CRC 3.1113(d); whether that reaches a trial brief is unresolved. See unknowns.

If the parties intend to use deposition testimony or former trial testimony in lieu of any witness's live testimony, the parties shall meet-and-confer and jointly prepare and file a chart with columns for each of the following: (1) the page and line designations of the deposition or former testimony requested for use, (2) objections, (3) counter-designations, (4) any responses thereto, and (5) the court's rulings. The objecting party shall specify all objections in the respective column. The parties/counsel shall sign the designations.

Identical language in both blocks. Tab I in the jury binder, Tab F in the bench binder. Rule 4.2(c) separately requires counsel to be prepared at the readiness conference to lodge depositions and to advise the court about recitation from depositions.

The parties/counsel MUST meet and confer in good faith prior to filing the motions in limine in an attempt to reach a stipulation on the evidence and other evidentiary issues. A simple exchange of letters that identify the motions to be filed is not a good faith meet and confer. Failure to meet and confer in good faith may result in a summary denial of the motion.

Capitalized MUST is the rule's own emphasis. Identical language in the jury and bench blocks. Rule 2.8(b) separately requires a declaration detailing the meet and confer efforts before any motion is filed, which is the likely referent of the 'required declaration' cross-reference in Rule 4.3.

Each motion in limine must identify a specific item or category of evidence, or a specific witness, that is sought to be limited or excluded. Lack of specificity in the request may result in a summary denial of the motion.

The caption and numbering requirements come from the pretrial filings list at subd. (1) and subd. (5): 'The caption of each motion in limine shall concisely identify the evidence that the moving party seeks to preclude. Parties filing more than one motion in limine shall number the motions consecutively. Parties filing opposition and reply briefs shall identify the corresponding motion number in the caption of their pages.'

Any party/counsel seeking to file in excess of 10 motions in limine shall contact the court to schedule a Motions in Limine Conference before doing so. This conference must occur prior to the deadline for filing the motions. The parties/counsel are strongly discouraged from filing more than 5 contested motions in limine. The parties/counsel are strongly encouraged to stipulate to uncontested motions. Uncontested motions should note "uncontested" in the caption.

Practical effect in a construction defect case with many parties: the conference has to be requested well before the filing deadline, and since the notice provision below pushes filing back to roughly four weeks before the FTSC, the call has to go out earlier still. Identical language in the jury and bench blocks.

The following motions in limine are deemed filed and deemed granted:

The five, quoted from the bench block, which renders the Evidence Code reference cleanly: '1) To preclude non-testifying non-party non-expert witnesses from being present in the courtroom when others are testifying (See Evid. Code, 777); 2) To preclude reference to the liability insurance in a case defended by that liability insurance policy; 3) To preclude references, etc., to settlement discussions; 4) To limit opinions and testimony of treating physicians to those acquired for the purposes of treatment; 5) To exclude evidence, argument, etc., to "demonize" any party.' The jury block at subd. (3) carries the same five with a section symbol before 777. Both blocks add: 'All orders on motions in limine will apply across the board to all lawyers, all parties and all witnesses unless otherwise ordered by the court.'

Motions in limine are governed by the statutory notice requirements set forth in Code of Civil Procedure sections 1005(b) and 1013 and should be set with a hearing date of the final status conference. Only motions in limine relating to witnesses whose depositions were taken after the deadline to file the motions in limine herein will be considered after this deadline, and only if filed within 36 hours of the completion of that deposition. Rough transcripts from the deposition may be used, or a declaration of counsel may be used at the filing of these motions, so long as final transcripts are filed with the court within 24 hours of receipt of those transcripts. Noncompliant motions in limine will not be considered absent good cause.

This cannot be reconciled with the ten calendar day deadline. CCP 1005(b) requires 16 court days notice, extended for the manner of service under CCP 1010.6(a)(3)(B) or 1013, counted back from the FTSC hearing date. That lands roughly four weeks before the FTSC, well before ten calendar days. Calendar off the 1005(b) arithmetic, which is the longer of the two. The filing list at subd. (1) and (5) points the same way: 'Before filing motions in limine, the parties/counsel shall comply with the statutory notice provisions of Code of Civil Procedure section 1005 and Local Rule 4.3.' Quoted from the bench block; the jury block at subd. (3) is identical except for a comma after '1013.'

The parties/counsel shall organize motions in limine (tabbed in numerical order) behind Tab B with the opposition papers and reply papers for each motion placed directly behind the moving papers.

Same Tab B in both the ten tab jury binder and the seven tab bench binder. Both blocks also bar using a motion in limine as a substitute for dispositive relief: 'Motions in Limine shall not be used to seek dispositive orders that should have been sought through a motion for summary judgment, summary adjudication or judgment on the pleadings.'

Except for trials governed by the Family Law provisions (See: Rule 6), all matters shall generally be set for trial at the first Case Management Conference.

Rule 4.1 is titled TRIAL SETTINGS and opens RULE 4. CIVIL TRIALS at printed page 22. A second, separate paragraph adds: 'The trial date shall be determined by the court, with due consideration for the convenience of the parties.' Rule 10.8 abolishes the at-issue memorandum and routes trial requests through the case management statement. Rule 4.1 carries no 7/1/26 amendment; it reads Effective 7/1/03, Amended 7/1/08.

At the time a Motion is filed in a civil case, it shall be accompanied by a Proposed Order. If there is opposition to the Motion, a Proposed Order on behalf of the opposing party shall accompany the Opposition Memorandum.

Added because the draft omitted it. Rule 2 is CIVIL LAW AND MOTION MATTERS and Rule 2.1 says 'This Rule applies to all Civil Law and Motion proceedings.' On its own terms 2.2(c) reaches any motion filed in a civil case, which includes a motion in limine, but no rule says whether a motion in limine set for hearing at the FTSC is a Civil Law and Motion proceeding. Safe practice in a multi-party trial is a proposed order per motion in limine and per opposition. Rule 2.8(a) separately recommends an extra courtesy copy of moving and opposition papers for the assigned judge.

All exhibits must be pre-marked using Arabic numerals and in instances where exhibits consist of multiple pages, each page must be numbered sequentially. The exhibits must be exchanged at least five (5) calendar days before the FTSC and lodged with the court on the first day of the trial.

Arabic numerals for every party, so there is no plaintiff numbers and defendant letters split in general civil cases. That split does apply in unlawful detainer under Rule 11.6(a)(2). Note the exchange deadline is five calendar days before the FTSC while the joint exhibit list is due ten calendar days before it, so the list is filed before the exhibits themselves change hands. Rule 4.2(d) separately requires counsel to produce exhibits, impeachment exhibits excepted, at the readiness conference for marking for identification.

are required on the first day of trial: a complete set each for the court, the judicial assistant, and the witness. Counsel must also supply an exhibit binder to each opposing party, and one for counsel themselves.

The quoted sentence opens in the original with 'At least five sets of exhibit binders' followed by the parenthetical phrase 'tabbed and paginated', which the rule sets off with dashes. House style does not reproduce those dashes, so the opening clause is stated here rather than quoted. Five is the floor and it assumes two sides. In a multi-defendant construction defect trial the count rises, because each opposing party gets a set. These exhibit binders are separate from and additional to the single joint trial binder due at the FTSC.

Parties intending to submit native format digital exhibits at trial (such as excel spreadsheets, video evidence, audio evidence, etc.) shall have an appropriate electronic device that will be given to the jury during deliberations to view the digital evidence. That device shall be stripped of all files and programs other than the evidence at issue, and the necessary program(s) to present that evidence to the jury. The evidence at issue shall be identified only by its exhibit number. No other program or file may be loaded onto the device. Each party shall each review and approve the device and its contents before presentation to the jury.

The rule also requires a party using courtroom technology to arrange to be familiar with the court's technology before trial starts and to possess all necessary hardware and wiring at all times. Relevant to any case relying on drone footage, moisture survey video or native cost of repair spreadsheets. The text appears verbatim in both the jury and bench blocks, including in the bench block, where there is no jury.

(f) The date, time, and place for a mandatory settlement conference; (g) The date, time, and place for a final case management conference before trial if such a conference is required by the court or the judge assigned to the case;

Rule 10 is the Civil Litigation Delay Reduction program, adopted 7/1/26, covering all civil cases except probate, guardianship, conservatorship, family law, adoptions, writs, water rights, unlawful detainer, small claims, small claims appeals, civil petitions, sister state judgments and juvenile matters (rule 10.2). Rule 10.6(10): 'The order issued after the case management conference or review controls the subsequent course of the action or proceeding unless it is modified by a subsequent order.' This is where case level variation enters, so read the CMO before relying on the published deadlines.

If any counsel, party, person or entity subject to these rules, fails to comply with any part thereof, the court on motion of a party or its own motion may strike out all or any part of a pleading of that party, or dismiss the action or proceeding or any part thereof, or enter a judgment by default against that party, or impose other penalties of a lessor nature as otherwise provided by law, and may order that the offending attorney, party, person or entity pay reasonable costs, including attorney fees, to the court and to other participants.

The general sanctions rule, and it reaches the Rule 4 trial preparation obligations. Rule 3.6 cross-references it. The rule prints 'lessor' where 'lesser' is meant.

(a) Failure to comply with these Local Court Rules or California Rules of Court, rules 3.720-3.735; 3.740 shall result in the filing and service of an Order to Show Cause Re: non-compliance on the responsible party and setting the matter for hearing. The order shall require the responsible party to show good cause why reasonable monetary sanctions should not be imposed as a result of the non-compliance.

Subdivision (b) escalates: 'Repeated failure to comply with these Local Rules , California Rules of Court, rules 3.720-3.725, or other orders of this court shall result in the filing and service of an Order to Show Cause Re: Dismissal, requiring the responsible party to show good cause why dismissal of their entire action or cross action should not be entered.' The stray space before the comma after 'Local Rules' is in the original. Note 'shall result,' not 'may,' in both subdivisions. Rule 3.6 sits in RULE 3. CASE MANAGEMENT and is civil.

At the commencement of the second day the court is in secession for the trial (including jury selection), and on each succeeding day, the demanding party shall deposit with the Clerk of the Court a sum equal to the panel or seated jury's one-day jury fees and mileage.

Rule 4.4 was adopted 7/1/26. Subdivision (a) points to CCP 631 for advance fees. Subdivision (c) lets any other party preserve a jury by depositing the fees if the demanding party waives and fails to pay, and if nobody deposits, the jury is waived and trial proceeds without a jury. The rule prints 'secession' where 'session' is meant.