How Do Tentative Rulings Work in Los Angeles?

Tentative rulings in Los Angeles Superior Court are preliminary written decisions the judge posts before a law and motion hearing, showing how the court intends to rule based on the papers. The court must post them by no later than 3:00 p.m. on the court day before the hearing, and if you want to contest one, you have until 4:00 p.m. that same day to notify the court and every other party of your intent to appear.¹ Miss that window and the tentative becomes the court’s final order without anyone setting foot in the courtroom.

What a Tentative Ruling Is

A tentative ruling is the judge’s written analysis of the arguments both sides submitted on paper. It identifies the issues, applies the law, and states what the judge intends to decide. The court is essentially showing its hand so that the parties can focus argument on what actually matters, or skip the hearing entirely if everyone can live with the result.

LASC operates under the version of California Rules of Court Rule 3.1308 that requires a party to affirmatively notify the court if they want oral argument.¹ Silence equals agreement. Do nothing, and the tentative becomes final automatically.

Where to Find Your Tentative Ruling

LASC publishes tentative rulings through its online portal. You can search by case number or by picking a courthouse, department, and hearing date.² The portal covers civil, family law, and appellate division matters.³

The statewide rule requires the ruling to be available by 3:00 p.m. the court day before the hearing.¹ Many departments post earlier. Appellate division rulings are generally available after 2:00 p.m.³ Because your window to contest is only one hour, check the portal early and check again.

When Nothing Is Posted

Not every department posts a tentative for every motion. If nothing appears by the expected time, the ruling may be handed out in the department itself on the morning of the hearing at check-in.⁴ Plan to appear. The absence of a posted ruling does not mean the motion is off calendar.

Department-Specific Variations

Some departments do things their own way. Department 1 at Stanley Mosk Courthouse, which handles civil trial assignments, posts tentative rulings on its motions calendar but may only make them available at the time of the hearing.⁵ The Personal Injury Hub Courts prepare tentative rulings on demurrers and motions to strike but operate on fully booked calendars with limited capacity for added hearings.⁶ Always check your assigned department’s courtroom information page for special procedures before relying on the general rules.

If the Ruling Goes Your Way

Do nothing. That is the procedure. If no party notifies the court of an intent to appear by 4:00 p.m., the tentative becomes the final order and the hearing comes off calendar.¹ Nothing to file, nobody to call, no need to show up.

One caveat. Even if you are satisfied, the other side may not be. If opposing counsel notifies you that they intend to appear, you need to be ready for oral argument the next morning, or the judge may hear only their side of it.

If You Want to Contest the Ruling

Contesting a tentative requires quick, precise action. Under Rule 3.1308, you must notify both the court and every other party of your intent to appear by 4:00 p.m. on the court day before the hearing.¹ This is a hard deadline. Miss it and you lose your right to argue.

Both parts of the notification are mandatory:

Notify the court. The court must accept notice by telephone. Call the clerk or judicial assistant in the department where your motion is assigned. Some departments accept other methods, but telephone always works.
Notify every other party. Contact each one by telephone or in person. Email alone does not satisfy the rule unless the department has specifically designated it as an alternative.

When you call opposing counsel, write down the date, time, and who you spoke with, or note that you left a voicemail. Disputes over whether proper notice was given come up more often than you would expect, and a contemporaneous note can save you.

The tentative ruling itself may direct the parties to appear on particular issues even when you would otherwise accept the result. When the ruling says the court wants further argument, treat that as an instruction to show up.

Appearing Remotely

If you need to argue but cannot get to the courthouse, LASC offers LACourtConnect, the court’s free remote appearance technology for audio and video appearances in civil hearings. Same-day check-in runs through the LACourtConnect portal. Deadlines and technical procedures for remote appearances are governed by California Rules of Court Rule 3.672.⁷

A remote appearance does not change the 4:00 p.m. notification requirement. You still have to call the court and all other parties by the deadline to preserve your right to oral argument. LACourtConnect is only the mechanism for showing up.

What Happens at the Hearing

If any party properly requests oral argument, the hearing goes forward. The judge is not locked into the tentative. That is the point of oral argument. The court may adopt the tentative as written, modify it, or issue a different decision. If you are going to contest, come prepared with a specific reason the court got it wrong; repeating the brief rarely moves the needle.

If a party gives proper notice of intent to appear and then does not show up when the case is called, the matter is deemed submitted and the court rules on the papers and the tentative.⁸

How the Ruling Becomes Final

The tentative converts to a final order one of two ways. If no party gives timely notice, the conversion is automatic at the 4:00 p.m. deadline and the hearing is removed from the calendar.¹ If oral argument takes place, the ruling becomes final when the judge announces the decision at the hearing, or when the judge issues a written ruling after taking the matter under submission.

Preparing the Proposed Order

After the court makes its final ruling, someone has to reduce it to a written order for the judge to sign. Under California Rules of Court Rule 3.1312, the prevailing party has five days from the ruling to serve a proposed order on all other parties, and the proposed order must reach the other side no later than the close of the next business day after service.⁹

The opposing party then has five days after being served to respond. They can approve the proposed order as accurately reflecting the ruling, or object with specific reasons it does not conform. Failing to respond within five days counts as approval.⁹ The standard extensions of time based on method of service do not apply, so do not assume you have extra days because the proposed order arrived by mail.

If the prevailing party never prepares the proposed order, any other party can prepare it instead.⁹ An unsigned proposed order can delay enforcement of the ruling or create problems on appeal.

Appellate Division Rulings Work Differently

The LASC Appellate Division follows its own rules, separate from civil law and motion. Appellate tentative rulings are posted on the court’s website after 2:00 p.m. the day before the hearing and are also posted outside the courtroom on the hearing date.³ They can also be obtained by telephone.⁸

The notification deadline is different too. Under LASC Local Rule 9.7(e), a party who intends to argue orally must notify the clerk in the assigned department by 4:30 p.m. the court day before the hearing, not 4:00 p.m. If no party notifies the clerk, the tentative stands as the ruling of the court. The appellate division is not bound by its own tentative ruling, whether or not a party submitted the case based on it.⁸

1
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.1308 – Tentative Rulings
2
Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Tentative Rulings – Online Services – LA Court
3
Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Tentative Rulings
4
Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Department 20 Courtroom Information
5
Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Department 1 Stanley Mosk Courthouse Courtroom Information
6
Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Seventh Amended Standing Order for Procedures in the Personal Injury Hub Courts
7
Superior Court of Los Angeles County. LACourtConnect
8
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. Chapter Nine Appellate Division Rules – Section 9.8 Oral Argument
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Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.1312 – Preparation and Submission of Proposed Order