Direct Calendaring

Court Reporters - New Information
NOTICE OF NONAVAILABILITY OF COURT REPORTERS: Effective June 4, 2012, the court will not provide a court reporter for civil law and motion hearings, any other hearing or trial in civil departments, or any afternoon hearing in Department 201 (probate). Parties may arrange and pay for the attendance of a certified shorthand reporter. Amended Local Rule 3.95 states: 'Except as otherwise required by law, in general civil case and probate departments, the services of an official court reporter are not normally available. For civil trials, each party must serve and file a statement before the trial date indicating whether the party requests the presence of an official court reporter.'

Announcements
No discovery motion shall be filed without prior serious efforts to resolve it. If those efforts are unsuccessful, the parties should jointly send an e-mail to the court outlining the dispute in a few sentences. If the parties wish, they may email Dept. 520 a statement not to exceed 2 pages describing the nature of the dispute and when they last met and conferred in person or by phone regarding the dispute. The court will then confer with counsel and determine whether there is a way to resolve the matter short of motion. The intent underlying the use of the above procedure is to avoid situations where discovery motions are filed (and fees incurred) before there has been an adequate meet and confer process and to potentially narrow any true disputes.

Department Information
General Procedures	Contacts with Dept. 15 should be by email to Dept. 15@alameda.courts.ca.gov. You must provide copies of all email communications to each party (or their attorneys, if represented) at the same time you send the email to the Court and you must show that you have done so in your email. When a copy of a document must be transmitted to court staff, an email attachment is preferable to fax. Use of an email attachment or fax, however, is not a substitute for filing of pleadings or other documents. Inclusion of available email addresses in the caption of all filed papers, as required by CRC 2.111(1) is required. Parties/attorneys must confer before scheduling a hearing date. Counsel are expected to be familiar and comply with the Statement of Professionalism and Civility, Alameda County Bar Association www.acbanet.org. Counsel should consider and recommend creative, efficient approaches to valuing and resolving their case (CRC §3.724).
Trial Schedule	Unless otherwise advised, both court and jury trials are Mondays through Thursdays at 10:00 am through 4:30 pm; expect to be in the courtroom from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Cases may "trail" a trial in progress.
CMC Schedule	Mondays through Thursdays at 9:15 am and Fridays at 9:30 am. Timely filed and complete case management conference statements are required and may eliminate the need for a hearing.
L&M Schedule	Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays at 9:00 am. Email Dept. 15 for reservations. Include case name & number, title of motion and identity of moving party. Courtesy copies of all Law & Motion pleadings are to be submitted directly to Dept. 15.
Settlement Conference Schedule	As scheduled by the Judge. Court resources are limited, and counsel should consider other ADR alternatives. Conferences will be specially set when deemed appropriate.
ExParte Schedule	The court prefers to resolve ex parte applications on the papers only. Before submitting an ex parte application on the papers, (a) email Dept. 15 to advise when papers will be filed, and (b) provide CRC 3.1203(a) notice to all parties.
Special Motion and/or Other Department Information	Ex Parte (continued from above): Any written opposition must be filed within 24 hours of receipt of notice. If a matter is time sensitive, opposition is expected, and/or personal appearances are otherwise warranted, the parties may request a time for appearance via email to Dept. 15, copied to all parties. The Court will inform the parties if a hearing will be scheduled. CRC 3.1203(a) will be strictly enforced. Go to DomainWeb for discovery motion information.
L&M Reservations, Email	Dept.15@alameda.courts.ca.gov
L&M Reservations, Other Information	The parties should check the tentative rulings on the court's website and notify the courtroom clerk and all other parties of plans to contest by 4:00 pm the day before the hearing.
ExParte, Email	Dept15@alameda.courts.ca.gov