Case management order no 13 re motions to be relieved (11 17 16)

FILED

,Superior Court of California Ot"ItY Of 1,Os Angeles

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NOV 1. 7 2016

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She B

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C Carter, Executive Officer/Clerk Jan Josef Manriqu

Deputy

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SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA

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COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

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Coordination Proceeding Special Title [Rule 3.550]

fUDICIAL COUNCIL COORDINATION PROCEEDING NO.4775

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RISPERDAL6 AND INVEGAS PRODUCT) CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER NO.SRE LIABILITY CASES PROCEDURES FOR MOTIONS TO BE RELIEVED AS COUNSEL AND FOR SELFREPRESENTED PLAINTIFFS

18 THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO:

Assigned for All Purposes to: Hon. William F. Highberger

All Cases

Date: November 17,2016 Time: 1:30 p.m.

Dept.: 322

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -ICASE MANAGENENT ORDER NO. 13 RE PROCEDURES REGARDING SELF-REPRESENTED PLAINTIFFS

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1.

PROCEDURES FOR MOTIONS TO BE RELIEVED AS COUNSEL A.

Counsel seeking to be relieved as counsel must file a properly completed Notice of

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Motion and Motion to be Relieved as Counsel — Civil, Judicial Council Form MC-05 1, along with a

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supporting Declaration in Support of Attorney's Motion to be Relieved as Counsel — Civil, Judicial

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Counsel Form MC-052, and a proposed Order Granting Attorney's Motion to be Relieved as Counsel

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— Civil, Judicial Council Form MC-053.

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B.

The motion should clearly state the name ofevery attorney seeking to be relieved or, if

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all attorneys for a law firm are seeking to be relieved, the name of the law firm with reference to all

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attorneys (e.g."All attorneys for Gibbs Law Group LLP").

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C.

At the end ofsection 1 ofthe notice and motion, counsel must state one ofthe

following, as appropriate:

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i.

"Ifgranted, Plaintiff will be without legal representation in this matter."

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ii.

"If granted, Plaintiff will still have legal representation in this matter through

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[name oflaw firm]."

D.

The supporting declaration must:

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i.

State the reason for the motion with particularity;

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ii.

If the motion is brought due to an inability to reach the client, state with

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substantial detail counsel's efforts to reach the client, including the dates and

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methods of attempted contact, skip trace efforts, and a summary of the

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investigation results if an investigator was utilized; and

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iii.

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Accurately indicate in section 3.b. ofthe MC-052 form the validity ofthe plaintiff's last known address.

E.

Section 13 of the proposed order, form MC-053, should be pre-filled with the

following: "This order applies to [name all relevant attorneys, or name law firm followed by 'and all ofits lawyers']. [Plaintiff name] and all counsel in JCCP 4775 are directed to Case Management Order No3for service instructions. Defendant may serve discovery on [plaintiff name]and make 27

an appropriate motion upon failure to respond. [Plaintiff name] must retain a new attorney or take

28 -2CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER NO. 13 RE PROCEDURES REGARDING SELF-REPRESENTED PLAINTIFFS 1 4

I

other action to prosecute this case. The Court hereby issues an order to show cause why Plaintiffs

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case should not be dismissed without prejudice, hearing to be held before Judge Highberger at

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on

at 600 S. Commonwealth Ave. Los Angeles, California, 90005; plaintiff

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must either appear at the hearing in person or by phone or ensure that new counsel, ifretained, files. a

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notice ofappearance before the hearing." If the motion to be relieved is granted, the Court will fill in

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the time and date of the hearing, to occur no earlier than 60 days after the date ofhearing on the

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motion to be relieved.

F.

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Counsel seeking to be relieved must serve copies ofthe motion papers on the client

either by personal service or by mail to the client's last known address, and must file a proofof

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service with the court at least five days before the hearing. If the client will be left without

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representation in this matter if the motion is granted, then service must also include the following:

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i.

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A cover letter that provides the type ofinformation included in the sample template attached hereto as Exhibit 1; and

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ii.

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Copies of all Case Management Orders entered to-date, including this Case Management Order, at the time of service.

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The sample template cover letter is merely an example of a potential cover letter and its inclusion

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here does not relieve, nor is it intended to substitute for, any attorney's obligation to conduct his or

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her own research and analysis regarding a client's specific legal and factual circumstances.

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G.

If the motion to be relieved is granted, the counsel seeking to be relieved must promptly

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serve notice ofthe order on the client, and file a proofof service with the Court. Counsel will not be

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relieved as counsel until the proofofservice is filed.

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PROCEDURES REGARDING SELF-REPRESENTED PLAINTIFFS

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A.

No Representation by Plaintiffs' Leadership Counsel or Any Defendants' Counsel.

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Each plaintiff proceeding without representation is represented by himselfor herself only, and is not

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represented by the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee, the Plaintiffs' Co-Liaison Counsel, the Plaintiffs'

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Co-Lead Counsel, the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, or any Defendants' Counsel. Each self-

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represented plaintiffis hereby admonished and warned that he or she is represented by himselfor

28 -3CASE MANAGENIENT ORDER NO.13 RE PROCEDURES REGARDING SELF-REPRESENTED PLAINTIFFS

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herself only. While Liaison Counsel or any other counsel in this coordinated proceeding may give

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information to, or respond to questions of, a self-represented plaintiff, that in no way establishes an

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attomey-client relationship between that counsel and the self-represented plaintiff. No contact

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between Defendants' Counsel and a self-represented plaintiff will serve to waive any requirement by a

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self-represented plaintiff to serve any defendant, including with service ofprocess.

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B.

A Self-Represented Plaintiff may be eligible for a fee waiver. A self- represented

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plaintiff may request a waiver ofcourt fees by completing and submitting a Request to Waive Court

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Fees, Judicial Council Form FW-001. The form, instructions for completing and submitting it, and

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information about who is eligible for a fee waiver is available at http://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-

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feewaiver.litin.

C.

Service on Self-Represented Plaintiffs.

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Option for Service via CaseAnywhere. A self-represented plaintiffcan obtain

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electronic service of all documents via CaseAnywhere, subject to the CaseAnywhere terms and

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conditions. See Case Management Order No. 2 for more information. Arrangements for initiating

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access to CaseAnywhere may be made through CaseAnywhere customer service by telephone at

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(800)884-3163, or via email to support@caseanywhere.com. CaseAnywhere will waive the monthly

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fee for self-represented plaintiffs.

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2.

Service by Mail or Email. If a self-represented plaintiff does not register for

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electronic service via CaseAnywhere, that plaintiff will receive service by first-class mail to the

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plaintiff's last-known address (as identified in the Motion to be Relieved) and only of materials

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relating to, the client's specific, individual case. Service by mail to the last-known address provided by

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withdrawing plaintiffs' counsel shall be deemed sufficient, even if mail to that address is returned

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undeliverable. Alternatively, a self-represented plaintiff may obtain service by email by providing a

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valid email address to Lead Counsel identified in section C below. Service by email to the email

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address provided by a self-represented plaintiff shall be deemed suffictent; however, ifcounsel learns

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that an email serving materials on a self-represented plaintiff could not be delivered, service must be

27 28 -4CASE MANAGENIENT ORDER NO. 13 RE PROCEDURES REGARDING SELF-REPRESENTED PLAINTEFFS

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re-done by first-class mail to the last-known address. All other parties to any multi-party case brought

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by the self-represented plaintiffshall be served via CaseAnywhere.

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C.

Responsibilities of Self-Represented Plaintiffs. It is the responsibility ofeach self-

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represented plaintiffto notify the parties to the litigation and the Court of any change in his or her

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address (and email address), or of any erroneous address ofrecord. Such notifications may be made by

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filing a Notice ofChange of Address, Judicial Council Form MC-040, or by contacting in writing

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both:

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Sanjeet Ganjam,Esq. Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP 50 Fremont St., 19th Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 (415)591-7591 (415)591-7510(fax) CARisperdalPFS@dbr.com On Behalfof Defendants' Counsel

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---and--13 Amy Zeman,Esq. GIBBS LAW GROUP LLP 505 14th Street, Suite 1110 Oakland, CA 94612 (510)350-9721 (510)350-9701 (fax) amz@classlawgroup.com On BehalfofPlaintiffs' Co-Lead/Liaison Counsel

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Failure by a self-represented plaintiff to provide a current and correct address shall not be grounds for

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a challenge to any ruling or decision by the self-represented plaintiff, including on the ground oflack

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ofnotice or lack of sufficient notice. Any counsel who has information that an address for a self-

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represented plaintiffis inaccurate has an obligation to notify Lead Counsel promptly.

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D.

Access to Online Docket. Self-represented plaintiffs can access the online docket for

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the coordinated proceedings free ofcharge at http://www.lacourt.org/casesummary/Ui/index.aspx by

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entering JCCP4775 in the Case Number field. Some documents referenced on the docket may be

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available for download for a fee.

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E.

Service ofthis Case Management Order on Plaintiffs Who File Pro Se Complaints.

Upon being served with a new complaint filed by a pro se/pro per plaintiff, Defendant must

28 -5CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER NO. J ,3 RE PROCEDURES REGARDING SELF-REPRESENTED PLAINTIFFS I

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immediately serve that plaintiffby first-class mail with a copy ofthis Case Management Order.

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Plaintiffs who become self-represented as a result ofa motion to be relieved as counsel will receive a

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copy pursuant to section I.F.ii. above.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

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Hon. William F. ffi Judge ofthe Supe

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CASE MANAGENIENT ORDER NO. i 3 RE PROCEDURES REGARDING SELF-REPRESENTED PLAINTIFFS

EXHIBIT I

Dear[CLIENT NAME], We are unable to continue representing you in this matter because[STATEMENT OF REASON COUNSEL IS SEEKING TO BE RELIEVED],and have filed the enclosed Motion to be Relieved as Counsel. The Court will hold a hearing on the motion on[DATE]at [TI1\4E].

Please be aware that if the Court grants the motion, we will no longer be your attorneys and vou will have no legal representation bv anv attornev in this matter. You will become a pro se, or self-represented, plaintiff.

As a self-represented plaintiff, your case may be subject to dismissal if you do not either retain new counsel(who must promptly file a notice ofappearance on your behaID, or alternatively, actively prosecute your case yourself. Actively prosecuting your case includes registering for electronic service or ensuring all parties have'your accurate address for mail service, attending hearings relevant to your specific case in person or by phone, completing and serving a plaintiff fact sheet, and engaging in discovery as necessary, among other things.

If the Court grants our motion to be relieved as your counsel, we will mail you notice of the order. You should watch for that notice and review the order carefully. Be aware that the order may set a hearing at which you must show cause why your case should not be dismissed.

If the order does so, you will need to either obtain new counsel and ensure they file a notice of appearance on your behalf before then, or appear at the hearing yourselfto explain how you are prosecuting your case. If you fail to do so, your case may be dismissed without prejudice.

As a self-represented plaintiff, you will receive copie's only of materials that specifically pertain to your individual case and by first-class mail, unless You provide an email address for email service or register for electronic service through CaseAnywhere. If you register for CaseAnywhere, you will receive copies of all materials in the coordinated proceedings, including those that do not pertain specifically to your individual case . Note that you can view the online docket for the ftill coordinated proceeding at http://www.lacourt.org/casesummary/ui/index.aspx by searching for JCCP4775.

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In addition to a copy ofour motion, we have enclosed copies of all ofthe Case anage - -nt Orders entered to-date in the coordinated proceedings. See Case Management Order No. _ in particular for more information about being a self-represented plaintiff, how to register for CaseAnywhere, and how to update your contact information. You are responsible for obtaining copies ofany future Case Management Orders for yourself