NOTICE RE TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE PROCEDURES FOR JUDGE GERALDINE MUND’S CASES
 

I.      POLICY GOVERNING TELEPHONIC APPEARANCES

Telephonic appearances are allowed in all matters before Judge Mund in Courtroom 303 except the following:  

1. Trials and Evidentiary Hearings (all counsel and all witnesses must appear in person).
2. Chapter 11 Status Conferences (debtor and debtor's counsel must appear in person). Other parties in interest may appear telephonically.
3. Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 Confirmation Hearings (debtor, debtor's counsel, and all objecting creditors must appear in person).
4. Hearings on Reaffirmation Agreements (debtor must appear in person).
5. Any matter designated by the court as one requiring a personal appearance.

No telephonic appearance will be allowed unless it is made through CourtCall, an independent conference call company, pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section II.

Before requesting a telephonic appearance, you should check Judge Mund's Calendar on the Court's website: www.cacb.uscourts.gov under tentative rulings for Judge Mund and review the Tentative Ruling concerning the matter. If the court has issued a Tentative Ruling prior to the hearing, each individual who appears telephonically should have reviewed the Tentative Ruling prior to the hearing.

If an individual schedules a telephonic appearance and then fails to respond to the call of a matter on calendar, the court may pass the matter or may treat the failure to respond as a failure to appear.  Scheduling simultaneous telephonic appearances in multiple courts does not excuse a  failure to appear when a matter is placed on calendar.

The 3:00 p.m. deadline for scheduling telephonic appearances noted below is independent of the  Tentative Rulings process.  Late scheduling of a telephonic appearance is not justified by the fact that Tentative Rulings have not been posted on the court's website by 3:00 p.m. the day before the hearing.

Individuals making use of the conference call service are cautioned that they do so at their own risk. Hearings generally will not be rescheduled due to missed connections. 

II.      SCHEDULING A TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE

By Telephone: Telephone appearances may be arranged by calling Court Call at (866) 582-6878 not later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to the court hearing date. Any request for a telephonic appearance made after the 3:00 p.m. deadline must be court approved by contacting Judge Mund’s Law Clerk, at (818) 587-2840.

By Facsimile: Use the court-approved "Facsimile Request for Telephonic Appearance Form" located below. Facsimile requests may only be used if the requested appearance is made at least 24 hours in advance of the court hearing date. The facsimile telephone number at Court Call is (866) 533- 2946.

III.      PROCEDURE FOR TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE

Court Call will provide counsel with written confirmation of a telephonic appearance, and give counsel a number to call to make the telephonic appearance.  It is counsel's responsibility to dial into the call not later than 10 minutes prior to the scheduled hearing. Court Call does not place a call to counsel. If you do not timely call and connect with the Court Call operator, you may be billed for the call and the hearing may proceed in your absence.

Telephonic appearances are connected directly with the courtroom's public address system and electronic recording equipment so that a normal record is produced. Participants should be able to hear all parties without difficulty or echo.

At the time of your hearing, you may initially be in the listening mode in which case you will be able to hear the case before yours just as if you were in the courtroom.  After your call is connected to the courtroom, the Judge will call the case, request appearances, and direct the manner in which the hearing proceeds.  Each time you speak, you should identify yourself for the record.  The court's teleconferencing system allows more than one speaker to be heard, so the Judge can interrupt a speaker to ask a question or redirect the discussion.  When the Judge informs the participants that the hearing is completed, you may disconnect and the next case will be called.

 Telephonic appearances by multiple participants are only possible when there is compliance with every procedural requirement.  Sanctions may be imposed when there is any deviation from the required procedures or the Court determines that a person's conduct makes telephonic appearances inappropriate.  Sanctions may include dropping a matter from calendar, continuing the hearing,  proceeding in the absence of an unavailable participant, a monetary sanction, and/or a permanent prohibition against a person appearing telephonically.

Revised October 1, 2012

Download: Facsimile Request for Telephonic Appearance Form

Printable version of Judge Mund's Telephonic Appearance Procedures