They Also Provide Useful Law and Motion Tips.
On March 7, 2014, the Orange County Bar Association (Business Litigation Section) hosted an MCLE program entitled “Are You Arguing Motions Effectively?” with the judicial panelists being Orange County Superior Court Judges Gail A. Andler and Thierry P. Colaw.
One of the topics was each judge’s view on assessing discovery sanctions. Judge Colaw indicated that he would assess them, although usually on a several basis unless the attorney was really participating in the process. Judge Andler indicated that she grants discovery sanctions to “level the playing field,” with it being a cost of business in the discovery context. Both judges indicated that sanctions were viable even if the opposing side produced discovery responses on the eve of a motion unless a good excuse was offered.
As far as other tips, here is what was offered by both jurists: (1) don’t rehash (at best, a simple summary of key points); (2) focus on a tentative decision; (3) make evidentiary objections in writing; and (4) have motions in limine address true evidentiary issues (although Judge Colaw did indicate that some amount of “education” might be helpful through such motions, if not overdone).
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