California Practice Guide Rutter Civil Procedure Before Trial 2025 3 Volumes

Civil Procedure Before Trial is a comprehensive resource providing step-by-step pretrial procedure guidance for California civil litigators, beginning with client intake and continuing through the action and bringing it to trial. This practice guide contains detailed coverage of jurisdiction, pleadings, discovery, motion practice, and more.

This litigator’s “bible” provides a thorough analysis of applicable case law, statutes, and rules. It includes proven strategies, tactics, time-saving tips, and illustrations. Each topic and procedure is thoroughly developed so you know when, where, and how to proceed. Civil Procedure Before Trial is an invaluable addition to any legal library that will help you achieve optimal outcomes for your civil clients preparing for trial.

This practice guide covers a broad spectrum of contents, including:

• Prelawsuit considerations
• Parties to the action
• Jurisdiction and venue
• Summons
• Defaults how to obtain them and how to cure them
• Pleadings
• Attacking the pleadings
• Anti-SLAPP motions
• Discovery
• Introduction
• The right to discovery
• Scope of discovery
• Discovery practice - preserving evidence - creating discovery plan
• Depositions
• Interrogatories
• Requests for admission
• Inspection demands
• Physical or mental examination
• Expert witness disclosure
• Other procedures for discovery
• Discovery in limited civil cases
• Discovery sanctions
• Law and motion
• Provisional remedies
• Nondiscovery sanctions
• Summary judgment and summary adjudication (CCP §437c)
• Dismissals
• Case management and trial setting
• Settlement procedures
• Judicial arbitration and mediation
• Representative and class actions