Complex Litigation

Judge	Smith, Winifred Y.
Department	21
Address	Administration Building 1221 Oak Street Oakland, CA 94612
Phone Number	(510) 267-6937
Fax Number
Email	Dept21@alameda.courts.ca.gov

Court Reporter - New Information

NOTICE OF NONAVAILABILITY OF COURT REPORTERS: Effective June 4, 2012, the court normally will not provide a court reporter for civil law and motion hearings, any other hearing or trial in civil departments. (See Amended Local Rule 3.95) Parties may arrange and pay for the attendance of a certified shorthand reporter. In limited jurisdiction cases, parties may request electronic recording.

Announcements

There is an informal dispute resolution process available in D-21. Email the clerk at Dept.21@alameda.courts.ca.gov for more information. Check the "List of Documents" tab on the departmental webpage.

                 

Department Information

General Procedures	Email is the preferred method of communicating with court staff in Department 21, particularly for scheduling of law and motion, ex parte application, and case management events. Telephone communications are possible, but use of email will greatly facilitate a prompt response to your inquiries. When a copy of a document must be transmitted to court staff, an email attachment is preferable to fax. Use of an email attachment or fax, however, is not a substitute for filing of pleadings or other documents. All email communications should be copied to all parties for whom an email address is available, so inclusion of available email addresses in the caption of all filed papers, as required by California Rule of Court 2.111(1) is critical.
Trial Schedule	Trial call is Monday at 9:00 am. Trials run Mondays through Thursdays at 9:00 am/9:30 am to 4:30 pm; expect to be in the courtroom from 9 to 5. Cases may "trail" a trial in progress.
CMC Schedule	Initial CMC's on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m; Continued CMC's on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8:45 a.m. Timely filed and complete CMC statements allow the court to post tentative CMC orders.
L&M Schedule	Fridays at 10:00 am, 11:00 am, and *2:00 pm. *Only Asbestos matters are set at 2:00 pm.
Settlement Conference Schedule	As specially set.
ExParte Schedule	The court prefers to resolve ex parte applications on the papers only. Before submitting an ex parte application on the papers, (a) email Dept. 21 to advise when papers will be filed, and (b) provide CRC 3.1203(a) notice to all parties.
Special Motion and/or Other Department Information	(ExParte Cont'd) Any written opposition must be filed within 24 hours of receipt of notice. If a matter is time sensitive, opposition is expected, and/or personal appearances are otherwise warranted, the parties may request a time for appearance via email to Dept. 21, copied to all parties. Such appearances, when permitted, will normally be specially set, and compliance with CRC 3.1203(a) will be strictly enforced. All other matters are specially set. Always check the website the day before the hearing for developments on your case. See link to above "List of documents" for more information on the department. Pretrial Conferences are held: Fridays at 9:00 a.m. The hearings are scheduled on a Continued Case Management Conference.
L&M Reservations, Email	Dept.21@alameda.courts.ca.gov
L&M Reservations, Other Information	When requesting to reserve a hearing, include the case name & number, title of the motion and identity of the moving party. The court may set a CMC on shortened time before allowing a discovery motion to be filed.
ExParte, Email	Dept.21@alameda.courts.ca.gov