CALSPro - California Association of Legal Support Professionals

Los Angeles Superior Court Implements Temporary Process for Filing Dismissals

Posted March 13, 2019 in Court Updates

The Stanley Mosk Courthouse has implemented a temporary process for Requests for Dismissals on unlimited civil cases filed electronically.  Effective immediately, Stanley Mosk Courthouse will accept the transaction in the EFM as “received” and will manually process and mail back the completed Request for Dismissal.  eFilers will be receiving a clerk’s comment similar to the following:

This Request for Dismissal will be received through eFiling and processed manually by the court.  A copy will be sent to the address on the dismissal once processed.  Any other documents in this transaction have been processed electronically.

The temporary process will remain in place until the backlog has been alleviated. Again, this is just for unlimited civil cases in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

Los Angeles Superior Court eFiling Update

Posted January 17, 2019 in Court Updates

The Los Angeles Superior Court has transitioned to the next phase of providing for mandatory eFiling for all limited and unlimited jurisdiction civil cases. eFiling provides efficiencies and enhances the Court’s ability to maintain complete and easily accessible records.

There is only a mandatory phase for eFiling Complex Civil documents. Prior to implementation of this mandatory phase, documents may be presented for filing at the clerk’s office or may be submitted via fax filing. Attorneys must eFile documents as of the dates marked as mandatory.

Note: The Court has set a new date for mandatory eFiling for complex cases, which is April 1, 2019, as indicated in the charts below.

Please find the official court notice HERE

Best Practices: eFiling in Los Angeles

If your company offers Concierge service for electronic filings to your customers, you will find some helpful information below to help your staff and your customers avoid possible rejections from the court.

Case Initiation Filings

• When Filing New or Subsequent documents always use an e-signature or scanned signature as the court is rejecting even though CRC 2.257 allows for this type of signature for filing (Example: Documents containing /S/ John Doe on the signature line instead of a real signature have been rejected)
• If any information is missing/inaccurate/incomplete the filing will be rejected
• Be sure to enter all parties exactly as they appear on the complaint (Does are not required)
• Be sure to choose the correct case type (i.e. Personal injury/Property Damage/Wrongful Death – Uninsured Motorist is not the same as Motor Vehicle -Personal injury/Property Damage/Wrongful Death)
• Make sure the Summons and Complaint party names match each other exactly
• Submit the Civil Case Cover Sheet and Civil Case Cover Sheet Addendum as one PDF document
• Make sure all forms are filled out completely and are not missing any information Clerks will not fill in missing or mistyped information on data entry
• Make sure you have the correct number circled or checked on your Civil Case Cover Sheet Addendum in order to file in Los Angeles Central court

Subsequent Filings

• If any information is missing/inaccurate/incomplete the filing will be kicked
• If a party or an attorney are first appearing on the case be sure to add them in the Case Participants section if they are not already listed
• Be sure to label your document type correctly. An incorrect document type will be rejected by the court
• Bookmark your exhibits and make sure the document is text-searchable (OCR)
• Make sure the document uploaded is legible. Anything dark, illegible or fuzzy looking will be kicked
• Verify that the correct statutory fees populate on your eFiling

Los Angeles Superior Court Changes Its Mandatory eFiling Date For Civil Complex Cases

Posted December 20, 2018 in Court Updates

The Court will implement a voluntary period for eFiling documents for Complex Civil Cases and has set a new date for mandatory eFiling for Complex Cases. Please see the dates reflected below.

January 2, 2019

eFiling for Complex Civil Cases in LASC will be Voluntary

eFiling for Unlimited Civil Cases in LASC will be Mandatory

February 4th, 2019

eFiling for Complex Civil Cases in LASC will be Mandatory

NOTE: As the different case types transition to Mandatory eFiling, fax filings will no longer be accepted by the court.

CLICK HERE to view official court notice

Los Angeles County To Begin Charging An eFiling Service Fee

Posted July 26, 2018 in Court Updates

Beginning August 1, 2018, the Los Angeles Superior Court will charge an eFiling service fee of $1.75 for each transaction, pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 2.253 and rule 2.506.

Official Court Notice Available Here

LASC Will Begin Hearing Cases At Spring Street Courthouse On April 16

Posted May 17, 2018 in Court Updates

The Los Angeles Superior Court will begin hearing cases at the Spring Street Courthouse, located at 312 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, 90012, on April 16, 2018. The complex litigation program will relocate from the Central Civil West Courthouse. Personal injury, settlement and some trial and long cause trial courts will relocate from the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

Although there will be a small clerk’s office at the Spring Street location, all document filings for those courtrooms must be filed at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse – 111 N. Hill St., Los Angeles, 90012. The only exceptions are for same day ex-parte applications and documents filed for trials in progress.

Courtesy or bench copies of filed documents must be delivered to the appropriate courtroom at the Spring Street Courthouse and will not be accepted at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse with the original filings.

Future hearings scheduled in the courtrooms relocating will be conducted as scheduled, on the same date and time, at the new courthouse. For example, if a hearing was scheduled in Dept. 309 at 10:00 a.m. on April 17, 2018, the matter will be heard in Dept. 12 at Spring Street on the same date and time.

The Spring Street Courthouse remains a federal government facility and entry into the building requires a valid form of photo identification (such as a driver’s license, California state-issued identification card or passport). Anyone not possessing this type of identification will be escorted into the building by a court employee.

Building hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except court holidays. There is no public parking at the courthouse, however, pay lots are available nearby and throughout the downtown area. The DASH bus services the downtown/civic center area for a minimal fee and the Metro Rail Civic Center/Grand Park station is less than three blocks away.

The information provided in this notice is accurate as of March 28, 2018. Further information, including courtroom telephone numbers, will be published as it becomes available and will be posted on the Court’s website at lacourt.org.

If you have questions, please contact court staff in the appropriate courtroom.

See the Court’s Official Notice here

Electronic Filing In Los Angeles Superior Court – A Bit of History & Looking Beyond

Posted March 27, 2018 in Court Updates

By Mark Schwartz

Many of you are likely aware of the “electronic goings on” at the Los Angeles Superior Court. For both you, and for those of you who may not be as plugged in as you wish, my hope is that this article will provide you with some additional/helpful information on how things started and where they are going, in one of the largest (if not the largest) court jurisdictions in the world.

eFiling began in earnest in LA on May 1, 2017. By “earnest” I mean an integrated system with an EFM sitting between the court’s CMS and EFSPs.

Okay, some quick terminology before we continue:

1. EFM – Electronic Filing Manager. It’s the hardware and software that sits between the courts.
2. CMS – Case Management System. It’s the hardware and software that allows the court to manage its cases, hearings, etc.
3. EFSP – Electronic Filing Service Provider. That’s us. You could say that we are today’s modern version of an attorney service.

Now that’s not entirely true (today’s version of an attorney service, that is) because there are some things, certainly, that electronic filing ecosystems cannot do, or more appropriately said, that a law firm cannot do with the system. Paper courtesy copies (yes, many judges and justices still want paper) can’t be sent electronically. Some courts (most, in fact) do not allow previously filed documents to be available via an EFSPs platform (except those eFiled with that EFSP); besides the technical reasons they need the revenue. Some documents (I call them “exception documents”) must be filed or delivered physically – either the court (or the system) has not yet figured out to process (no pun intended) them well, or at all. For example, a certain county recorder or sheriff may not honor an electronically-issued abstract or writ — still some challenges to be sure. That, however, is a story for another day.

The e-Filing Fray

Let’s get back to LA. On March 1, 2016, the court jumped into the eFiling fray with a pilot project. That e-Delivery project (e-Delivery = upload documents via a custom portal and then behind the scenes the clerks print and file just like over-the-counter filings) was small in scope, i.e. for general jurisdiction personal injury cases in certain courtrooms, but it was a start. Pilots like this give the vendor, in this instance Journal Technologies, Inc. (JTI), and the court, a chance to test the waters, if you will.

On May 1, 2017, the court went live with Probate eFiling, and in this case (pun intended this time), not to make things more complicated, it did so with another CMS/EFM vendor: Tyler Technologies. Its product is called OdysseyefileCA, and eighteen (18) other courts are utilizing it, some since 2015. Los Angeles later mandated eFiling (June of the same year) for Probate case types.

By the way, there are now fifty-seven (57) EFSPs in the Tyler landscape, many of whom are CALSPro members. Congratulations to those of you who made the leap!

Family Law

Next in line, you ask? That would be Family Law. Again, this implementation will be with Tyler and it’s scheduled for April or May of this year. Tyler recently socialized a date of May 7th, but the court’s team still has not socialized a specific date and instead is advising of a date sometime in April or May. As I like to say: the situation is fluid and ever-changing. If all goes well, though, we’ll see eFiling in Family Law case types sometime this spring or early summer, with a mandate to follow approximately one (1) month later.

Civil Cases

That brings me to the biggie: Civil. Right now, many EFSPs are working with JTI (remember, JTI is handling Civil cases) to be certified for a June go-live, for Limited jurisdiction cases. A mandate is expected about one (1) month later. After that, the court is planning on a July mandate (no voluntary, or permissive, period) for Complex Civil cases and then, assuming all goes smoothly with Ltd. and Complex, the court will enable the rest of Civil (i.e. Unlimited Jurisdiction cases) in August. Again, a mandate is planned for roughly thirty (30) days later. I want to caution you against relying too heavily on these dates. Instead, think of them as placeholders for now and keep an eye on the Odyssey eFileCA site and the court’s eFiling page.

So, there you have it! It’s been a long time coming, no doubt. For legal support professionals like myself, who’ve been around since the 70’s, it’s a pretty amazing thing to see happening. I realize, also, that it’s a bit daunting. It takes a lot of planning to prepare for such a sea-change so if you haven’t already jumped on the boat, now’s the time to get on board. You too can be relevant in the digital age! Let me know what I can do to help.

__________________________________

About the author:
Mark Schwartz, currently One Legal’s Court Relationship Manager, has been with the company since early 2009 and has worn many hats during his tenure there. He started in the attorney service business in 1975 and has worn many hats since that time as well, including court runner and process server.

Recent Judicial Assignment Changes – LA County

Posted September 24, 2014 in Conference, Education, Membership

Los Angeles Superior Court Notices To Attorneys
Public Information Office
Website: www.lasuperiorcourt.org
E-mail Address: PublicInfo@LASuperiorcourt.org

Please see attached Details regarding the recent judicial assignment changes at several branch and divisions in the Los Angeles county court system.

 Probate Division Judicial Changes In Effect Sept. 15 At Mosk Courthouse

 Central Civil West Courthouse Announces Complex Litigation Judicial Changes

Family Law Judicial Assignment Change At Mosk

Probate Division Makes Bench Officer  Changes At Mosk Courthouse

Downey Courthouse Reassigns Felony, Traffic, Misdemeanor & Infraction Cases Probate Division Makes Bench Officer  Changes At Mosk Courthouse

STATEMENT FROM LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR COURT

Posted June 24, 2014 in Conference, Education, Membership

Los Angeles Superior Court News Release
Public Information Office
Website: www.lasuperiorcourt.org
E-mail Address: PublicInfo@LASuperiorcourt.org

STATEMENT FROM LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR COURT
PRESIDING JUDGE DAVID S. WESLEY
REGARDING THE FISCAL YEAR 2014-15 TRIAL COURT BUDGET 

Over the past weeks, courts across the state have made clear to the legislature that the level of court funding proposed in the Governor’s May Revision will result in further declines in access to justice across the state. Yet that is the level of funding that is in the budget that Governor Jerry Brown signed today.

North District to Resume Handling Unlimited Jurisdiction Personal Injury Cases

Posted February 21, 2014 in Conference, Education, Membership

Los Angeles Superior Court News Release
Public Information Office
Website: www.lasuperiorcourt.org
E-mail Address: PublicInfo@LASuperiorcourt.org

Effective March 1, 2014, the North District will resume handling filings and pre-trial matters in unlimited jurisdiction personal injury cases at the Antelope Valley Courthouse.

Personal injury cases are defined as:

“An unlimited civil action described on the Civil Case Cover Sheet Addendum and Statement of Location (LACIV 109) as Motor Vehicle – PI/Property Damage/Wrongful Death; PI/Property Damage/Wrongful Death – Uninsured Motorist; Product Liability (not asbestos or toxic/environmental); Medical Malpractice – Physicians & Surgeons; Other Professional Health Care Malpractice; Premises Liability; Intentional Bodily Injury/Property Damage/Wrongful Death); or Other PI/Property Damage/Wrongful Death. Actions for intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, civil rights/discrimination and malpractice other than medical malpractice are not included in this definition. Actions for injury to real property are not included in this definition.”

The courtrooms these cases will be assigned to will adjudicate all pretrial matters, they will not conduct trials. On the trial date, the courtroom will transfer the case to the Master Calendar Court in Department 1 in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. Department 1 will then assign the case out for trial to one of the 31 dedicated Trial Courtrooms located throughout the county.

NEW FILINGS 

Effective March 1, 2014, PI cases must be filed in one of two locations:

• Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, Room 102, Los Angeles, CA 90012; or

• Antelope Valley Courthouse, 42011 4th Street West, Lancaster, CA 93534

Whether a case must be filed at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse or the Antelope Valley Courthouse can be determined by consulting the Filing Court Locator on the court’s website (www.lasuperiorcourt.org > About the Court > Locations > Filing Court Locator). The search can be done using the city/community, zip code, or both.

TRANSFER OF CASES 

Cases Filed in the North District Prior to March 18, 2013 

Effective April 1, 2014, all general jurisdiction PI cases that were previously transferred in 2013 from the Antelope Valley Courthouse to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse as a result of the case consolidation will be transferred back to the Antelope Valley Courthouse. Existing court dates will remain set on the dates previously noticed, unless otherwise ordered by the court. The Court will send notice prior to April 1 regarding these reassignments.

Cases Filed at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse Between March 18, 2013 and February 28, 2014 

Effective April 1, 2014, all general jurisdiction PI cases filed in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse between March 18, 2013 and March 31, 2014, that can be identified as Antelope Valley cases (per the Filing Court Locator) will be transferred to the Antelope Valley Courthouse. Existing court dates will remain set on the dates previously noticed, unless otherwise ordered by the court. The Court will send notice prior to April 1 regarding these reassignments.

This information is also available on the Los Angeles Superior Court website www.lasuperiorcourt.org.

L.A. Superior Court: Notice of Fee Changes

Posted January 10, 2014 in Conference, Education, Membership

Los Angeles Superior Court News Release
Public Information Office
Website: www.lasuperiorcourt.org
E-mail Address: PublicInfo@LASuperiorcourt.org

Effective January 1, 2014

The Los Angeles Superior Court Fee Schedule has been changed to reflect the various changes in Civil, Family Law, and Probate filing fees which have increased or changed as a result of recent legislation.|

New Fees

• $40 fee for a request for a special notice in a decedent’s estate, guardianship, conservatorship, and trust proceedings. [Government Code section 70662 and Probate Codes 1250, 2700, and 17204]

• $50 fee to cover trial court costs associated with administering trust accounts for payment of reporter’s transcript costs in civil appeals. [Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.130(b)(1) and Government Code 70632]

Increased Fees

• (none)

Amended Language re Existing Fee

Note, in October 2013, Government Code section 68086(a)(1), was amended to change the description for reasonable costs of official court reporting services, provided pursuant to Section 269 of the Code of Civil Procedure as follows:

• $30 for services of an official court reporter for proceedings anticipated to last one hour or less.

• $382 for services of an official court reporter for proceedings lasting more than one hour, but less than four.

$764 for services of an official court reporter for proceedings lasting four hours or more.