Lokeijak

Department 17 of the Orange County Superior Court has a local court “policy” that discourages parties from filing motions for summary judgment and summary adjudication of issues. The written policy complains that (1) the procedure set up by Code of Civil Procedure section 437c is unduly time-consuming, cumbersome, and expensive, (2) the motions are often a waste of time because they are usually denied due to “flaws in their format” or the “finding of triable material issues of fact,” (3) parties learn nothing from the denial of these motions “because their denial resolves nothing,” and (4) the “questions of law and/or fact” could be quickly and finally resolved if a “different format” were used.

The policy instructs the parties, if possible, to agree to an “appropriate alternative” before drafting a motion for summary judgment. It explains: “[I]f a party contends certain facts (or their absence) dictate a result in his or her favor, those facts can be decided in the context of a ‘mini-trial’ conducted, say, on stipulated facts, declarations, live testimony—perhaps even before a jury. If a party believes that principles of law assure a determination in his or her favor,…