Honorable Rozella A. Oliver

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Magistrate Judge

​Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse, 255 E. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA, 90012, Courtroom 590, 5th Floor​

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Recording, copying, photographing and rebroadcasting of court proceedings is prohibited by federal law. A violation of this prohibition may result in sanctions, including suspension of your license to practice before this court, referral to the state bar, denial of the right to appear by video or telephonically at future proceedings, criminal prosecution, contempt, denial of admission to future hearings, and any other sanctions deemed necessary by the Court.

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Law and Motion Schedule: 
  1. Civil Motions: Civil Motions are heard on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. It is not necessary to clear a civil motion date with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk (CRD) prior to filing the motion. The Court may take any motion under submission without oral argument.
  2. Informal Discovery Dispute Resolution: Judge Oliver STRONGLY recommends that parties pursue informal discovery dispute resolution prior to filing any discovery motion. Whether a party attempted a good faith resolution of a discovery dispute, including the use of these informal resolution procedures, is one factor that Judge Oliver may consider in any future request for discovery-related sanctions.
    1. Prior to contacting the Court, the parties must meet and confer in good faith to attempt to resolve or narrow their disputes, including at least one discussion by telephone, video, or in person. The parties may then jointly contact Judge Oliver's courtroom deputy by email to RAO_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov.
      The email should contain:
      (1) confirmation of a meet and confer;
      (2) confirmation that all parties involved are in agreement in pursuing informal discovery dispute resolution; and
      (3) a very brief joint description of the current disovery issue(s). ​
      A​lternatively, the parties may jointly email a completed Request for Informal Telephonic Discovery Conference (available below), which may expedite the scheduling of an IDC.
    2. The Court will attempt to assist the parties in an efficient resolution of the discovery issue. Based on the joint email, the Court may schedule an informal discovery conference ("IDC") or ask the parties to first letter brief their dispute. IDCs are held telephonically. If letter briefing is necessary, the Court often asks the parties to propose a letter briefing schedule. Parties shall not request or expect the Court to order any substantive discovery relief based only on an email or any other communication that is not part of the record. The Court will only issue substantive discovery rulings after a hearing or letter briefing.
    3. The fact that the Court attempts to handle discovery issues informally does not constitute a guarantee that discovery disputes brought to the Court's attention towards the end of the discovery cutoff will be considered through the informal procedures. The parties are directed to carefully review the scheduling order issued by the District Judge assigned to their case for the provisions related to the fact and expert discovery cutoffs. The District Judge's order sets forth the Magistrate Judge's jurisdiction over discovery disputes. Where a District Judge requires any discovery ordered by the Magistrate Judge to be completed by the cut-off, parties generally should email the Court with their dispute no later than 4-6 weeks prior to the cut-off, depending on the discovery at issue. Requests for informal resolution without sufficient time for decision within the strictures of the District Judge's scheduling order will be denied.
    4. The Court expects strict compliance with any orders issued as part of the informal discovery dispute resolution process. This includes orders regarding page limits and deadlines for letter briefing, in addition to substantive discovery orders. Parties are cautioned that the Court will maintain the power to issue monetary and other sanctions, including for failures to meet and confer in good faith or abuses of the discovery process, including abuse of the informal resolution procedures. Implementation of these informal procedures should not be construed as permission to raise any minor discovery disagreement that may arise.

Judge's Procedures: 
  1. Voluntary Consent: For parties that are considering consenting to Judge Oliver to conduct all further proceedings in the case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 73, please email RAO_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov​ to confirm Judge Oliver's ability to schedule the trial in the time frame desired by the parties and/or willingness to accommodate any other special requests of the parties.
  2. Parties in Custody; Hearing Dates: If any party is in state or federal custody and is proceeding pro se, the moving party must file the motion without requesting a hearing date. The Court will review the pleadings and determine whether a hearing is necessary.
  3. Settlement Conferences: Settlement conferences are held any day of the week except for Thursdays. Conferences are held virtually and generally begin at 10:00 a.m.  For scheduling, the parties are directed to contact chambers at least six (6) weeks prior to the ADR dealine set by the district judge. Settlement conference papers shall be submitted at least seven (7) court days prior to the conference and emailed to RAO_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov. Participating counsel who have not yet made an appearance in the case must file a Notice of Appearance prior to the conference.
  4. Ex Parte Applications: Strict compliance with Local Civil Rule 7-19 and 7-19.1 is required. Any opposition to an ex parte application should be filed and served within 24 hours (or one court day) of service of the application. Absent leave of court, replies are not permitted. Ex parte applications will generally be decided on the papers, without oral argument. The Court will notify the parties if a hearing is desired. 
  5. Continuances: Continuances of scheduled court proceedings will only be granted on showing of good cause. To request a continuance, the parties must submit a signed stipulation and proposed order at least three (3) business days prior to the proceeding. If the opposing party will not agree to the continuance, the requesting party may file an ex parte application for continuance stating its and the opposing party’s respective positions. In either case, the parties should notify the CRD as soon as possible upon discovering the need to reschedule.
  6. Requests for Filing Extensions: Requests to extend any scheduled filing date (either by ex parte application or stipulation) must be filed at least three (3) days prior to the scheduled date. Extensions are not allowed absent permission of the Court given on showing of good cause.
  7. Stipulated Protective Orders: If the parties in a civil action wish to have a protective order entered regarding discovery, the Court encourages the parties to amend and use the preferred form order (available below). All proposed orders approving stipulated protective orders must be submitted by email to RAO_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov (1) in Word format, and (2) with the full text of the stipulated protective order. 
  8. Under Seal Documents (Civil and Criminal): CIVIL CASES: Electronic Submission and Filing of Under Seal Documents: A party seeking to file materials for Civil cases under seal must first file the application electronically via the CM/ECF system. After filing the application electronically, the moving party will e-mail the application and a PDF version of the materials to be filed under seal to chambers (RAO_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov). The subject line of the e-mail must bear the name and number, and include “UNDER SEAL REQUEST”. Judge Oliver is still participating in the Pilot Project for Electronic Submission and Filing of Under Seal Documents for Criminal cases. The previously mentioned procedures will also apply to the filing of documents for Criminal cases.
  9. Telephonic Appearances: All civil hearings are held telephonically unless noted by the Court. Call-in information will be provided by chambers via email.
  10. Special Appearances: The Court does not permit special appearances. Counsel of record must appear at all court proceedings.
  11. Transcripts: For general information on ordering transcripts of a reported or digitally recorded proceeding, please call 213-894-3015 or visit the court website (www.cacd.uscourts.gov) section referring to Court Reporting Services, located under “Clerk Services”. To determine the court reporter/recorder for a proceeding, go to the Court Reporter Schedule web page and click on “View by Date”. Once you have determined the correct court reporter/recorder for the proceeding, click on Court Reporter Phone and Email List for contact information.
  12. Law Clerk/Extern Positions: Questions regarding law clerk / extern positions should be communicated via letter to the magistrate judge.
  13. Criminal E-Filing Pilot Project Requirements - In accordance with General Order 19-01,  Criminal  Duty Matters Electronic Filing Pilot Project, counsel are directed to email documents to: RAO_CrimDuty@cacd.uscourts.gov. Chambers does not require a courtesy copy. Additionally, the following practices shall be followed:  1) Attach an efiled copy of the documents, which includes the CM/ECF header, to your initial email to RAO_CrimDuty@cacd.uscourts.gov.  2) Conformed copies will only be made upon request using a copy with CM/ECF header provided by the agent.  No copies will be printed for conforming.
  14. Artificial Intelligence: Any party who uses generative artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT, Harvey, CoCounsel, or Google Bard) to generate any portion of a brief, pleading, or other filing must attach to the filing a separate declaration disclosing the use of artificial intelligence and certifying that the filer has reviewed the source material and verified that the artificially generated contect is accurate and complies with the filer's Rule 11 obligations.