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Rule 4 (Rules 4.0 to 4.3): the policy that every long cause, non-criminal, non-juvenile case should take part in an alternative dispute resolution process before trial, with the ADR information package plaintiff must serve on each defendant (Rule 4.0); mandatory judicial arbitration under CCP § 1141.11 - the hearing list, motions, selection of the arbitrator (three (3) names mailed within fifteen (15) days, ten (10) days to reject one), the arbitration panel and its complaint procedures, orders to show cause, continuances beyond 90 days, economic hardship requests and mediation in lieu of arbitration (Rule 4.1); voluntary civil mediation (Rule 4.2); and voluntary arbitration (Rule 4.3).
California > First Appellate District > San Francisco County > Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco
4 Alternative Dispute Resolution 4.0 Policy. Every long cause, non-criminal, non-juvenile case should participate either in voluntary mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation, an early settlement conference or other appropriate alternative dispute resolution process prior to trial. Information regarding the available alternative dispute resolution programs is posted on the Court's website (https://sf.courts.ca.gov/divisions/civil-division/alternative-dispute-resolution) and included in the ADR information package that plaintiff must serve on each defendant. 4.1 Mandatory Judicial Arbitration. A. Policy. All non-exempt at-issue long cause civil actions subject to CCP § 1141.11 must be submitted to judicial arbitration. Short cause matters tried to the Court, and other matters excluded by statute and CRC 3.811, are not submitted to judicial arbitration. B. Civil Action on the Mandatory Arbitration Hearing List. Each action ordered to arbitration will be placed on the arbitration hearing list and remain there until an arbitrator’s award or a dismissal of the action has been filed, or the action is ordered restored to the civil active list by the Arbitration Administrator. C. Motions Regarding Arbitration and Discovery Motions. All motions regarding arbitration pursuant to CRC 3.810 et seq. are heard in the Law and Motion Department. All discovery motions are heard in the Law and Motion Departments. D. Selection of Arbitrator. Within fifteen (15) days after an action has been placed on the arbitration hearing list, the Arbitration Administrator will mail a list of three (3) names of prospective arbitrators to the parties, and each side will have ten (10) days from the date of mailing to reject one of those names. Rejections must be exercised in a letter to the Arbitration Administrator. This subsection does not apply to CCP § 1141.11(d) cases. E. Panel of Arbitrators. A list of members of the Court’s arbitration panel is available for review by counsel and self-represented parties in Room 103, Window 27, Clerk’s Office. 1) Grounds for Resignation, Suspension and Removal from ADR Panel, and Complaint Procedures. a. A panel member may request to be removed at any time upon ten (10) days’ advance notice submitted to the Court’s ADR Administrator. b. A panel member may be summarily suspended by the Court for so long as there is failure to comply with the rules of the panel, including any reporting requirements. c. Any panel member may be removed from the panel or suspended for: 1. Failure to handle Court referred case with professional competence and diligence; 2. Charging unconscionable fees or other charges; 3. Failure to completely disclose all fees and charges at the outset of the case; 4. Falsification of any material statement made to qualify for any panel or made in any required report; 5. Violation of any rule of professional conduct applicable to the provider as determined by the applicable professional organization; 6. Commission of a crime involving moral turpitude; 7. Repeated failure to comply with these rules; 8. Loss or suspension of a professional license may be grounds for removal. 2) Complaint Procedures and Complaint Proceedings against ADR Panel Members. a. All inquiries and complaints lodged against a panel member must be submitted to the ADR Administrator who shall serve as the complaint coordinator pursuant to CRC 3.867. b. Upon receipt of a complaint, the ADR Administrator shall send the complainant written acknowledgement that the Court has received the complaint. c. The ADR Administrator shall conduct a preliminary review of all complaints to determine whether it can be informally resolved, closed, or warrants investigation. d. If the complaint is not resolved or closed during preliminary review: 1. The ADR panel member shall be given written notice of the complaint and an opportunity to respond. 2. The complaint shall be investigated and a written recommendation concerning court action on the complaint shall be made by a complaint committee. The complaint committee must include at least one member who has experience in the ADR process that is the subject of the complaint. 3. The final decision on the complaint shall be made by the Presiding Judge or his/her designee within thirty (30) days after the complaint committee’s recommendation is submitted to the Presiding Judge. 4. The Court shall send written notice of the final action taken by the Court on the complaint to the complainant and to the ADR panel member. The notice shall be sent no later than ten (10) days after the Presiding Judge or his/her designee makes a final decision on the complaint. 5. After the decision on a complaint, the Presiding Judge or his/her designee may authorize public disclosure of the name of the ADR panel member against whom action has been taken, the action taken, and the general basis on which the action was taken. e. All complaint procedures and complaint proceedings shall be kept confidential. No information or records regarding the receipt, investigation, or resolution of a complaint may be open to the public or disclosed outside the course of the complaint proceeding except as provided in Rule 4.1E.2.(d)(5) above or as otherwise required by law. F. Order to Show Cause (OSC) Procedure. Upon appointment of the arbitrator, the Court may set the case for an OSC why the matter has not been arbitrated to be heard on or about thirty (30) days after the expiration of the arbitrator’s jurisdiction. If the Arbitration Administrator receives written notification that the case has been arbitrated, settled or dismissed, then the matter will be dropped from the OSC calendar. G. Continuances of Arbitration Date and Jurisdiction of More than 90 Days. Counsel must submit a stipulation including the consent of the arbitrator requesting an extension of the jurisdiction, a declaration stating good cause for the extension, and a proposed order. A courtesy copy must be delivered to the Civil Case Management Department. H. Failure to Arbitrate. Unless jurisdiction of the arbitrator has been extended by Court order, actions in which the arbitration hearing has not taken place within the period of time allowed will be subject to an order to show cause why the action should not be dismissed, the answer stricken or another appropriate sanction imposed. I. Original Court File. The original Court file will remain in the possession of the clerk of the Court. J. Economic Hardship Requests. The trial judge will hear all motions pursuant to CCP § 1141.21 requesting a finding that the imposition of costs and fees would create such a substantial economic hardship as not to be in the interest of justice. K. Failure to Participate. Willful failure to participate meaningfully in arbitration proceedings may result in the imposition of sanctions. L. Mediation in Lieu of Judicial Arbitration. Parties to any civil action assigned to judicial arbitration may elect voluntary mediation in lieu of judicial arbitration by filing a stipulation to mediate. The stipulation must be filed and a courtesy copy delivered to the Civil Case Management Department. M. No Tolling of Time Limits. The election to mediate in lieu of judicial arbitration will not suspend any time periods specified by statute, the CRC or these LRSF. 4.2 Voluntary Civil Mediation. A. Civil Mediation Act. This program is not established pursuant to the Civil Mediation Act, CCP §§ 1775 et seq. B. Selection of Mediation Provider. The parties must select a mediator, panel of mediators or mediation program of their choice to conduct the mediation. The mediation provider need not be an attorney. 4.3 Voluntary Arbitration. Parties may agree to submit any civil matter to either binding or non-binding private arbitration. Adopted: July 1, 1998 Last Revised: July 1, 2025
4 Alternative Dispute Resolution 4.0 Policy. Every long cause, non-criminal, non-juvenile case should participate either in voluntary mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation, an early settlement conference or other appropriate alternative dispute resolution process prior to trial. Information regarding the available alternative dispute resolution programs is posted on the Court's website (https
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-08 (California T4 San Francisco build 2026-10-08) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-san-francisco/docs/local-rules/final-proposed-changes-lrsf-effective-july-1-2026-submitted.pdf (the court's rule book, “Uniform Local Rules of Court, Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, Effective: July 1, 1998, Revised: July 1, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-08; 2706376 bytes, sha256 82645c96954e6d459832c1ee68c5a042ff7f90ebc58fceb9a82fc7c5575631ad; 251 pages) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow) over the rule body (PDF pages 3 to 235): each page's running header (“Local Rules of Court San Francisco Superior Court” and “Rule N”) and footer (“Effective: ...; Revised ...” and the printed page number) removed as chrome; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs; the one struck letter in the book (the final “s” of “means” in Rule 2.11(A)(5), read on the page image) set aside as chrome with the composer's strike_out, so the card reads the rule as amended; four rule headings set on their own lines and 23 paragraph breaks the reflow made inside sentences rejoined (whitespace-only fixes); the body's one soft hyphen (Rule 12.15's “JV-” at a line end) read as the hyphen it prints and the reflow's space after it removed; Rule 11's two tables (the timeshare percentages and their definitions) set row by row (the same characters); the body cut at the rule headings, which reassemble it; proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The cover, the table of contents and the index belong to no rule.
1 verbatim mandatory provision from 13-16-s.
2 verbatim mandatory provisions from 15-41-s.
43 verbatim mandatory provisions from 07-33-s.