Local Rule 1-5: Definitions
N.D. Cal. — Civil rule
1-5. Definitions
(a) Clerk. "Clerk" refers to the Clerk or a Deputy Clerk of the Court.
(b) Court. Except where the context otherwise requires, the word "Court" refers to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and to a Judge acting on behalf of that Court with respect to a matter within the Court's jurisdiction.
(c) Day. For computation of time under these local rules, "day" shall have the meaning given in Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a).
(d) Ex parte. "Without other party." Ex parte means contact with the Court without the advance knowledge or contemporaneous participation of all other parties.
(e) File. "File" means delivery to and acceptance by the Clerk of a document, including an electronic document, which is approved for filing and which will be included in the official files of the Court and noted in the docket of the case.
(f) Fed. R. Civ. P. "Fed. R. Civ. P." means the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
(g) Fed. R. Crim. P. "Fed. R. Crim. P." means the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
(h) Fed. R. App. P. "Fed. R. App. P." means the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.
(i) Federal Rule. "Federal Rule" means any applicable Federal Rule.
(j) General Orders. "General Orders" are made by the Chief Judge or by the Court relating to Court administration. When the Court deems it appropriate, a General Order also may be used to promulgate modifications of these local rules. Such General Orders shall remain in effect until the rules are properly amended.
(k) General Duty Judge. The "General Duty Judge" is the Judge designated by the Chief Judge to act for the Court in matters for which there is no assigned Judge, or when the assigned Judge is unavailable. The name of the Judge serving as General Duty Judge shall be made available by the office of the Clerk.
(l) Judge. Unless the context otherwise indicates, the term "Judge," or "assigned Judge" refers to any United States District Judge, any United States Bankruptcy Judge, or to any full-time or part-time United States Magistrate Judge.
(m) Lodge. When a statute, rule, or order permits a document to be submitted to the Court but does not permit the document to be "filed" (e.g., proposed trial exhibits or deposition transcripts), the document may be "lodged" with the Clerk's office. The Clerk will stamp the document "Received" and promptly deliver it to the Chambers of the Judge for whom the document is intended.
(n) Meet and confer. "Meet and confer" or "confer" means to communicate directly and to discuss in good faith the issue(s) required under the particular Rule or order. Unless these Local Rules otherwise provide or a Judge otherwise orders, such communication may take place by telephone. The mere sending of a written, electronic, or voice-mail communication, however, does not satisfy a requirement to "meet and confer" or to "confer." Rather, this requirement can be satisfied only through direct dialogue and discussion – either in a face to face meeting or in a telephone conversation.
Commentary See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f).
(o) Standing Orders of Individual Judges. "Standing Orders" are orders by a Judge governing the conduct of a class or category of actions or proceedings assigned to that Judge. It is the policy of the Court to provide notice of any applicable Standing Orders to parties before they are subject to sanctions for violating such orders. Nothing in these local rules precludes a Judge from issuing Standing Orders to govern matters not covered by these local rules or by the Federal Rules.
(p) Unavailability. This Court is in continuous session. To the extent reasonably feasible, each active Judge of this Court will be available at his or her assigned courthouse during the normal hours the Clerk has established pursuant to Civil L.R. 77-1. A Judge who will be absent from the District for one court day or more shall post a notice to that effect on the official calendar of the Court. If a Judge is unavailable, any motion or matter requesting immediate judicial determination shall be referred to the General Duty Judge. If the General Duty Judge is unavailable, the Clerk shall assign the matter to any available Judge of this Court.