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The standing order (dated December 19, 2024; effective January 1, 2025) for complaints under the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act (Government Code section 98020): the caption designation “TRIBAL NATIONS ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT (SB 549) MATTER”; filing methods and courtesy copies to SB549@saccourt.ca.gov; assignment for all purposes to one judicial officer in Department 22; automatic consolidation; complex designation; the April 1, 2025 filing deadline; no preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order against added gaming tables; hearing reservations by e-mail; a stay of discovery; demurrer and case management dates; tentative rulings; and civility. A review note records the department's later assignment.
California > Third Appellate District > Sacramento County > Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento
[File stamp: FILED / ENDORSED, DEC 19 2024, By P. Banks, Deputy Clerk] SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO STANDING ORDER OF THE SACRAMENTO SUPERIOR COURT No. SSC-24-5 ORDER: ACTIONS FILED PURSUANT TO THE TRIBAL NATIONS ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT (SB 549) BY ORDER OF THE COURT AND EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2025: 1. All complaints that include a cause of action for declaratory and/or injunctive relief pursuant to the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act (Government Code section 98020) must include the following bolded and capitalized language, “TRIBAL NATIONS ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT (SB 549) MATTER” on the right side of the caption on the Complaint and any amended Complaints. The Court shall refer to these matters as “SB 549 Complaints” or “SB 549 Matters” for the remainder of this order. 2. All filings shall be filed: (1) via e-Filing following the guidelines on the Court’s Civil Electronic Filing webpage (https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/civil/e-filing.aspx) (2) at the Civil Filing Counter located in the Gordon D. Schaber County Courthouse, 720 9th Street, Room 102, Sacramento, CA 95814, or (3) placed in a Gordon D. Schaber Civil Drop Box. Courtesy copies shall be e-mailed directly to SB549@saccourt.ca.gov. 3. If a plaintiff files an SB 549 Complaint via the Court’s electronic filing system (eCourt), the plaintiff must select the option “Unlimited Civil - Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act (SB 549).” A failure to select this option will result in a delay of processing, and a party who fails to follow this procedure must immediately notify the Court at SB549@saccourt.ca.gov upon discovery of such failure. 4. All SB 549 Matters will be assigned for all purposes to one judicial officer, the Honorable Lauri A. Damrell, in Department 22. 5. SB 549 Matters will be consolidated with all other pending SB 549 Matters immediately upon filing, as required by section 98020, subdivision (e). This will be an automatic procedure, with no briefing permitted and no hearing held prior to consolidation. 6. The Court finds that all SB 549 Matters are complex within the meaning of California Rules of Court Rule 3.400. 7. As required by section 98020, subdivision (d), an SB 549 Complaint must be filed no later than April 1, 2025. The Court will reject the filing of any initial SB 549 Complaint subsequent to this date. This applies only to initial complaints, and does not impact the filing of an amended complaint. 8. Pursuant to section 98020, subdivision (h), the Court shall not issue a preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order to stop an increase in the number of gaming tables authorized at an establishment. 9. Hearing dates for all motions in an SB 549 Matter must be reserved in advance by emailing SB549@saccourt.ca.gov with the subject line “MOTION HEARING REQUEST.” The requesting party shall meet and confer with opposing counsel to identify mutually agreeable dates for the hearing before emailing the department with the hearing reservation request. The requesting party shall copy all parties on the email to the Court. The email shall include: (1) the type of motion and (2) at least three potential hearing dates that work for all the parties. The parties will not be permitted to self-set any hearings in an SB 549 Matter, and a motion filed without a reserved hearing date will not be accepted. 10. All Discovery in SB 549 Matters is hereby stayed until further order of the Court. 11. Prior to the filing of any demurrer and/or motion to strike, the parties are strongly encouraged to meet and confer regarding stipulating to an extension of the deadline to file a responsive pleading, including a demurrer, until a date subsequent to the initial Case Management Conference. Should the parties fail to reach such a stipulation, the Court hereby reserves June 6, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. in Department 22, for a hearing on any demurrer and/or motion to strike timely filed prior to this reserved date. This date is subject to continuation at the Court’s discretion. 12. The Court hereby sets all SB 549 matters for an initial Case Management Conference on May 1, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. in Department 22. The Court will issue a further order regarding the format and content of any necessary case management statements at least 15 days prior to this initial CMC. The Court will require the parties to meet and confer prior to the CMC. The Court’s expectations for such meet and confer efforts will be detailed in its order issued prior to the CMC. 13. The Court may or may not issue a tentative ruling prior to a scheduled hearing. Counsel shall check the Court’s tentative rulings after 2:00 p.m. the court day prior to the scheduled hearing. Tentative rulings are posted on the Court’s website at www.saccourt.ca.gov. It is imperative for the parties to review the tentative ruling in its entirety. The ruling may include important updates for the parties, including possible updates to the date/time of the hearing. The parties shall be prepared to address all issues outlined in the Court’s ruling. If no tentative ruling is posted, the hearing will proceed as scheduled. If a tentative ruling is posted and the Court indicates that no appearance is required, the ruling shall become the final order of the Court, and no hearing shall occur unless the party seeking a hearing contacts the department clerk by 4:00 p.m. on the court day preceding the hearing and advises the clerk that they have provided notice to all other parties. In such event, the hearing will proceed as scheduled or as otherwise indicated by the Court in its tentative ruling. 14. If, after careful review of SB 549, this Standing Order, and the Court’s Complex Civil Cases webpage (https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/civil/complex-civil-cases.aspx), the parties require clarification or further information from the Court, the parties shall contact Department 22 directly, by sending an email to SB549@saccourt.ca.gov, cc’ing all SB 549 parties that have been served at the time of sending the email. The Court clerk shall endeavor to respond to all such communications within five Court days of receipt. If a party has not received a response within this timeframe, the party may contact the Court clerk by phone to inquire as to the status of the issue. 15. Uncivil or unprofessional behavior will not be tolerated. The Court expects the parties to be familiar with and follow the California Guidelines of Civility and Professionalism (available at https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/local-rules/docs/guidelines-civility-professionalism.pdf) and the Sacramento County Bar Association Standards of Professional Conduct (available at https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/local-rules/docs/standards-professional-conduct.pdf). This order shall supersede all previous orders by the Court regarding these matters and shall remain in effect until such time as it may be modified or revoked. DATED: 12/19, 2024 THE HONORABLE BUNMI O. AWONIYI Presiding Judge Standing Order of the Superior Court Number: SSC-24-5 Order: Actions Filed Pursuant to Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act (SB 549) [The month and day of the date, "12/19", are handwritten. The order bears the seal of the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento.]
[File stamp: FILED / ENDORSED, DEC 19 2024, By P. Banks, Deputy Clerk] SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO STANDING ORDER OF THE SACRAMENTO SUPERIOR COURT No. SSC-24-5 ORDER: ACTIONS FILED PURSUANT TO THE TRIBAL NATIONS ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT (SB 549) BY ORDER OF THE COURT AND EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2025: 1. All complaints that include a cause of action for declaratory and/or injunctive
Reviewer note: Transcribed 2026-10-02 (California T3 Sacramento build 2026-10-02) from BenchPath custody ca/t3/ca-sacramento/standing-orders/SSC-24-5.pdf (236697 bytes, sha256 e50bcf5a70417e4893055b885b725d595e15b714dafec9a8a3e74ee6fae357a5; 5 pages), a page scan whose only text is an invisible OCR layer - transcribed by eye from the rendered page images (200 dpi), every page read against its image; the file's OCR text layer served only as a second reader - every six-word window of the transcription looked up in it and every miss checked on the page; the clerk's file stamp in one bracketed line, handwritten fills in place with a closing bracketed note, the running footer transcribed once, pleading line numbers and fill marks omitted; a signature itself is not transcribed. Review note: Paragraph 4 assigns SB 549 matters to the Honorable Lauri A. Damrell in Department 22. The court's Complex Civil Cases page (read 2026-10-02) states that these matters are assigned for all purposes to the Hon. Peter K. Southworth, and the Third District Court of Appeal's justices page (read 2026-10-02) lists Lauri A. Damrell as an associate justice since 2026. The order as posted has not been amended; the dates in paragraphs 7, 11 and 12 have passed.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.
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