a California-centric collection of comments and resources about complex litigation and class action practice
According to the well-connected authors of WageLaw, Judge Bonnie Sabraw has retired. Judge Sabraw recently made news with her recent decision to award a class of consumers roughly $20 million as a result of Sprint's Early Termination Fees associated with cell phone contracts.
[Via WageLaw]
Wage Law, a usually pleasant read on developments in California's wage & hour litigation-scape, is the source for the unfortunate news on this blog that a pipe bomb exploded outside the federal courthouse in San Diego (Southern District of California). According to FOXNews, the pipebomb exploded at 1:40 a.m. on Sunday, May 4, 2008. Fortunately no injuries resulted from the late night detonation. You can view the notice regarding the courthouse closure on the Southern District's homepage.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Glen M. Reiser may be the best friend that you haven't met yet. In its (corrected and reprinted) Judicial Spotlight column, the Daily Journal provides some insight into why complex matter litigators should be lining up to support Judge Reiser's efforts. (Iafolla, Passion for Change, Daily Journal (April 16, 2008) p. 3 (by subscription only).)
Judge Reiser is "involved in the development of the software" that is the California Case Management System ("CCMS"). CCMS, version 3, is operative in several counties, including San Diego and Ventura. Sacramento is also part of the test project. CCMS, version 4, should be under development at this time, based upon at least one news report about CCMS, version 4, from December 2007. The California Case Management System, when operative, will allow online document access and e-filing in California's Court system of roughly 450 courthouses. (Carreon, Online Civil Filings Will Replace Court Paper, Sacramento Bee (October 12, 2007).)
The present goal is to connect every Superior Court in California by 2012. When completed, it is believed that CCMS will constitute the world's largest single online court system. For the complex matter litigator this is the holy grail. It is easier than ever to create high quality, text searchable pdfs. The ability to file electronically, obtain electronic copies of filings, and search the entire court system for information about cases should provide a definite boost in efficiency.
That is, of course, if the Court system stays out of its own way. Consider the recent change in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. E-filing is now mandatory in all civil matters. Great news, right? Not if you've tried to navigate through its painful set of menu choices to find the "right" category for your document. Oh, and those courtesy copies you used to have delivered to the Judge's drop box (per Orders of each Judge)? You still have to do that, but now you have to attach your proof of e-filing to the back of the paper copy. And you thought e-filing would save on all those messenger fees. The CCMS project should learn from these types of implementation failures and make navigating the judicial system easier for everyone in California. Support the efforts of Judges like Judge Reiser, but if you run into him, ask him to make sure that CCMS is an efficiency booster, not an extra step.
As previously noted on The Complex Litigator, Judge Highberger has been assigned to Dept. 307 at CCW, the Court designated to handle Los Angeles County's complex civil litigation. As a further update, that assignment was effective on March 21, 2008. In addition, all active matters previously assigned to Judge Mortimer were assigned to Judge Highberger by the Presiding Judge on March 11, 2008.
Judge Victoria G. Chaney has been referred by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation. Chaney confirmed the referral in an interview with METNEWS, saying, "I'm very honored that my name has been forwarded to the JNE commission." According to METNEWS story, Chaney is under consideration for appointment to the Second Appellate District.
Judge Chaney was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1990 by George Deukmejian. She was elevated to the Superiour Court in 1997 by Pete Wilson. In April 2000, Judge Chaney was assigned to the Central Civil West Courthouse, handling cases designated as "complex" under the California Rules of Court. Since 2004, Judge Chaney has served as assistant managing judge of the complex litigation program (part of the Complex Civil Litigation Pilot Program - see my post discussion the program). As one of her duties, Judge Chaney reviews new cases provisionally designated as complex to determine whether a "complex" designation appears warranted.
In the spirit of full disclosure, my firm has cases that are currently assigned to Judge Chaney.
Los Angeles County's Central Civil West Courthouse (affectionately known as "CCW" to practitioners in the region) handles the majority of Los Angeles County's complex litigation matter. As noted on the Los Angeles Superior Court website, "The civil courts hear complex litigation cases assigned from throughout the county. Original case filings are not accepted at this location." However, the Judicial Council provides a little more information about California's Complex Civil Litigation Program:
The Complex Civil Litigation Program began as a pilot in 2000 in six California trial courts: the Superior Courts of Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco, and Santa Clara Counties. Alameda County has two judges dedicated to the program; Contra Costa, San Francisco, and Santa Clara Counties each have one; Los Angeles County has seven; and Orange County has five. The program was designed to give judges training and resources to help them manage complex civil cases efficiently and effectively. Participating courts have used their grant funds to hire additional research attorneys and court staff and to improve technology, among other uses. Several courts have held bench-bar symposiums to educate users about areas of the pilot program such as discovery, case management, alternative dispute resolution, substantive legal areas, and use of technology. Program judges meet twice yearly to exchange information and participate in continuing education.
(Fact Sheet: Complex Civil Litigation Program, Judicial Council of California, January 2007, at pp. 2-3.)
This month, Judge William Highberger joins Judges Victoria Chaney, Emilie Elias, Peter Lichtman, Carl West, Anthonty Mohr, and Presiding Judge Carolyn Kuhl on the "complex" case panel. Accepting assignment to Department 307 (replacing the departing Judge Mortimer), Judge Highberger will have the opportunity to carry on CCW's good track record of making the complex manageable for courts, counsel and litigants. As the majority of my own firm's cases are assigned to various courts participating in the Complex Civil Litigation Program, I wish Judge Highberger as much success as possible in a program that unquestionably benefits California's judicial system. (See, Hanaford-Agor, Paula L., Complex Litigation: Key Findings From California Pilot Program (Winter 2004) Civil Action 3, no. 1 (pub. National Center For State Courts), at pp. 1-3 (summarizing a 3-year study of the California Pilot Program).)
The Complex Litigator reports on developments in related areas of class action and complex litigation. It is a resource for legal professionals to use as a tool for examining different viewpoints related to changing legal precedent. H. Scott Leviant is the editor-in-chief and primary author of The Complex Litigator.
