San Benito County trial binder and trial document requirements

E. Setting the case for trial and mandatory settlement conference.

Rule 3.4(d)(iv) opens "Such actions or orders may include," so every item on the list is permissive. Subdivision (I) is "Setting a date for a special settlement conference." Rule 5.1(a) adds the other routes, including "(iii) By the court or any party at the time of the CMC" and "(v) A further settlement conference may be set prior to the date set for trial at the request of a party or by the court at the time of initial settlement conference." Rule 5.1(c): no continuance of a settlement conference except on a noticed motion. Settlement conferences sit on Department 2's FRIDAY 8:30 a.m. calendar per the 2026 assignment schedule. Chapter 3 (ECT) governs general civil cases; Chapter 4 and its at-issue memorandum govern the cases excluded from the Rule 3.2 general civil definition.

Each party must prepare, file, and serve on all other parties a settlement conference statement, in pleading or letter form, at least five (5) court days prior to the settlement conference.

Per party, not joint. The ten local items are Rule 5.2(a) through (j). Subdivision (e) requires "Copies of all relevant portions of key documents upon which the litigation is based and upon which any party intends to rely," the only place in these rules where substantive documents physically go to the court before trial. Subdivision (j) is a catchall, "Any other information as that may be directed by the court." Trial counsel for each party must personally attend under Rule 5.5. Settlement conferences are on Department 2's Friday 8:30 a.m. calendar.

i) Courtesy Copies: The court may order the delivery of paper courtesy copies of electronically filed documents.

Permissive, case by case, with no format, tab, index, copy count, delivery deadline or delivery location. Confirmed by independent full-text sweep: "binder," "notebook," "three-ring" and "chambers copy" return zero hits across the whole rule set, and Chapter 6 (Trials) contains only Rule 6.1 and Rule 6.2. Treat a trial binder in San Benito as a department question, not a rules question.

d) Submission Format: All items required to be filed pursuant to this rule must be submitted to the court electronically in a Microsoft Word or PDF file. Microsoft Word or PDF files must also be emailed to the court using the following email address: clerk@sanbenito.courts.ca.gov.

The step out of county counsel will miss. The email copy is mandatory and Rule 6.2(e) sanctions attach to failure to timely file the required items. Word is expressly acceptable, which is how the department gets an editable verdict form and instruction list. The rule attaches the 10 court day clock to filing and service and does not separately clock the email, so treat them as the same deadline. Same text in the prior edition, so this is not a redline artifact.

Except for documents submitted by a self-represented party, all electronically- filed documents must include electronic bookmarks to each heading, subheading, and component (including the table of contents, table of authorities, petition, verification, points and authorities, declaration, and proof of service if included), and to the first page of each exhibit or attachment, if any. Each electronic bookmark to an exhibit or attachment must include the letter or number of the exhibit or attachment and a brief description of the exhibit or attachment.

The stray hyphen in "electronically- filed" is in the published text and is reproduced here as printed. E-filing has been mandatory in covered cases since January 1, 2023 under Rule 10.13(b)(i), with seven listed exceptions at (b)(i)(A) through (G). Rule 10.13(e)(vi) requires PDF and text searchable. Rule 10.13(f): exhibits on CDs, DVDs or USB drives are submitted in the courtroom only and the submitting party supplies the playback equipment. Rule 10.13(a)(iii) defines "electronic bookmark." Not trial specific, but every trial document has to meet it.

c) Responsibility for Content: Any party, attorney, or self-represented litigant who uses AI tools to draft or assist in the preparation of documents submitted to the court remains fully responsible for the content of those documents.

Effective 1/1/26 and easy to miss: the table of contents still shows the repealed facsimile rule at the 10.3 slot, and the new rule appears in the body immediately below that stale heading. It sits in CHAPTER 10, MISCELLANEOUS CIVIL RULES, so it reaches every civil filing including the Rule 6.2 trial package. Rule 10.3(e) verbatim: "e) Consequences of Misuse: The submission of inaccurate, misleading, or fabricated information--whether generated by AI or otherwise--may result in sanctions, including but not limited to monetary penalties, striking of pleadings, or other appropriate remedies as authorized by law." Rule 10.3(d) requires the filer to review and verify all content before submission.

ii. an expected witness list and a brief summary of expected testimony of each witness; iii. a list of any witness problems that may interfere with the timely conduct of the trial;

The testimony summary is more than a name list. In a multi-expert construction defect case this is the item that takes real drafting time. Rule 6.2(a)(iv) adds a catchall to the same document: "any other issues that will have to be dealt with by the trial judge." The index lists "Witness List 24" only, confirming there is no other civil witness list requirement.

i. an expected exhibit list;

An "expected" list. Nothing in the civil rules requires the exhibits themselves to be exchanged, pre-marked, indexed, tagged or delivered to the clerk before trial, and there is no joint exhibit list. Verified by full-text sweep: the index carries "Exhibit List 24, 69," where 24 is Rule 6.2 and 69 is criminal Rule 14.5.

v. for jury trials, a list of proposed jury instructions compliant with CRC 2.1055.,

The stray "2.1055.," punctuation is in the published rule and was in the prior edition too, so it is not a redline artifact. The rule says a "list of proposed jury instructions," which is narrower than the instruction set CRC 2.1055 contemplates. Build the CRC 2.1055 compliant packet and confirm with Department 1 whether it wants the packet lodged. No rule sets a deadline for special instructions or an instruction conference in a civil case.

In addition, the plaintiff must file with the court and serve on the defendant(s) a proposed verdict form.

One sided by its terms, which is unusual. The sentence sits immediately before "These items must be filed and served at least ten (10) court days prior to the trial date," and "In addition" ties the verdict form into that clock. A defendant wanting a competing special verdict form should raise it with Department 1 rather than assume a filing right under this rule.

b) Civil Trials: In all civil jury trials and long cause civil bench trials, each party must file with the court and serve on the other party or parties: i. a trial brief; and ii. all motions in limine, along with supporting points and authorities.

The deadline sits in a separate sentence: "These items must be filed and served at least ten (10) court days prior to the trial date or at such other time as the court may order." Scope: jury trials and long cause civil bench trials. A short cause civil bench trial is not named and "long cause" is not defined anywhere in the rules. Per party, no joint brief, no page limit. Family law trials are covered separately at Rule 6.2(c) on the same 10 court day schedule; Appendix B lists SB-FL-4 as the Family Law Trial Brief form, though Rule 6.2(c) itself does not name it. There is no civil trial brief form. The current edition numbers Rule 6.2(a) as i through v; the prior edition used (1) through (5), so old pin cites will not match.

f) A list of all motions in-limine to be made at the time of trial;

A list only, not the motions. The motions themselves are filed under Rule 6.2(b)(ii). Because the rules fix no interval between the settlement conference and trial, do not assume this list falls before or after the Rule 6.2 filing date. Check the actual conference date and work back from it.

ii. all motions in limine, along with supporting points and authorities.

The word "all" matters. The rule reserves no right to bring later in limine motions, and Rule 6.2(e) authorizes evidence preclusion for a late filing. No page limit.

Any opposition to a motion in limine must be filed with the court and served on the other party or parties at least two (2) court days prior to the trial date or at such other time as the court may order.

Both the motion and the opposition are anchored to the trial date, not to each other, so the practical gap is 8 court days. No reply is provided for and no page limit is set on either side.

a) Jury Fee Deposits: For all civil matters scheduled for a jury trial, other than unlawful detainer actions, the clerk's office must receive the first day's jury fee deposit of $150 no later than twenty-five (25) calendar days prior to trial.

Calendar days. In unlawful detainer the figure is 5 calendar days. Rule 6.1(d): every civil case set for trial where a jury right exists is deemed to carry a plaintiff jury demand absent a written or open court waiver, and on plaintiff's waiver or failure to deposit, any other party may demand a jury under CCP 631(b). Local form SB-CV-1/FL-1 repeats the warning on its face in capitals: "JURY FEE DEPOSIT OF $150 MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE COURT AT LEAST 25 DAYS BEFORE TRIAL." This is the earliest hard trial deadline in the San Benito rules, 15 calendar days ahead of the Rule 6.2 filings. Rule 6.1 was amended effective 7/1/26, but only subdivision (e) on excusing law enforcement officers from jury service.

b) Parties must, during the week preceding the date fixed for the trial, keep the court's calendar secretary advised as to the likelihood of settlement and any other factors that affect the readiness of the case.

The offset is a window, not a filing deadline. This is a continuing phone duty running through the last week before trial, and it is the closest thing San Benito has to a civil trial readiness check. Rule 5.4(a) is hortatory on the 3:00 p.m. cutoff ("the court strongly encourages") but the immediate notice duty on settlement is mandatory, and Rule 5.3 makes failure to notify the court of settlement in writing cause for sanctions.