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LJuCR 1.8. Motions
(a) Scope of Rule. This rule governs all motions in cases filed under chapter 13.34 RCW, chapter 13.36 RCW, and chapter 13.38 RCW. Additional rules may also apply. See, for example, LJuCR 2.5 (modification of shelter care order). Disposition hearings are governed by JuCR 3.8 and LJuCR 3.8, not this rule.
(b) Briefing Schedules.
(1) Definitions. A “procedural motion” is one that pertains to the legal process itself. Examples include motions concerning representation (e.g., withdrawal), discovery, and continuances. “Pre-dependency” is the period in a dependency case before dependency is established.
(2) Procedural and Pre-Dependency Motions. For procedural and pre-dependency motions, the moving party must serve and file all motion documents by 4:30 p.m. six judicial days before the hearing date; responsive documents must be filed and served by 4:30 p.m. two judicial days before the hearing date; and documents in strict reply must be filed and served by noon the judicial day before the hearing.
(3) All Other Motions. For all other motions, the moving party must serve and file all motion documents by 4:30 p.m. 14 calendar days before the hearing date; responsive documents must be filed and served by 4:30 p.m. seven calendar days before the hearing date; and documents in strict reply must be filed and served by noon two judicial days before the hearing date.
(4) Working Copies. Working copies of all court-filed documents must be delivered to the judicial officer hearing the motion no later than on the day they are to be served on all parties. The working copies must be in the same form as filed with the court and served on the parties, including but not limited to markings, highlights, and color copies. The procedures for submitting working copies electronically or in paper form are outlined on the dependency webpage: https://kingcounty.gov/courts/superior-court/dependency.aspx.
(c) Request to Shorten Time.
(1) Procedure/Good Cause Required. The time for notice and hearing of a motion may be shortened only for good cause upon written application to the court in conformance with the procedure outlined in the Court’s Dependency and Title 13 RCW Guardianship Manual (see LJuCR 1.1). As soon as the moving party is aware of the need for shortened time, that party must contact all other parties to give notice of that fact. The court may impose sanctions against a moving party who without good cause requests to shorten time to less than 48 hours.
(2) Materials required. The motion to be heard on shortened time must be filed and served prior to or at the same time as submission of the written application. The written application must include a proposed order shortening time; a proposed hearing date and briefing schedule; and a declaration attesting to the need for shortened time, that the notification required in section 1 was made, and the response(s), if any, to that notification.
(3) Agreed shortened time. If the parties agree to a briefing schedule and hearing date on a motion to be heard on shortened time, the order may be presented by way of a proposed stipulated order.
(4) Discretion. Whether agreed or contested, the court may grant, deny, or modify the proposed order shortening time.
(1) Note for Calendar. A Note for Calendar must be filed with the motion. The Note for Calendar must identify the calendar on which the motion is scheduled, the remote appearance link, the nature of the motion, the estimated hearing length, the date of the hearing, the time of the hearing, and the names of all persons requiring notice. A Note for Calendar form is available from the clerk’s office and online: https://kingcounty.gov/courts/clerk/forms (under Notice of Court Date – Dependency).
(A) Relief Requested. The specific relief the court is requested to grant or deny.
(B) Statement of Facts. A succinct statement of the facts contended to be material.
(C) Statement of Issues. A concise statement of the issue(s) on which the court is requested to rule.
(D) Evidence Relied Upon. The evidence on which the motion or opposition is based must be identified with particularity and attached to the brief or declaration filed in support. Parties shall submit only those materials that are directly germane to the matter under consideration or necessary to provide relevant context. Parties shall highlight those parts upon which they place substantial reliance.
(E) Argument. Any legal authority relied upon must be cited.
(F) Prior Order. Any party wishing to request clarification, modification, or enforcement of a prior order must attach to their brief a copy of the order at issue.
(G) Consecutive Page Numbering for Attachments. Attachments (e.g., evidence, prior order) to any filed document (e.g., a motion, response, reply, declaration) which exceed 25 pages must be numbered consecutively on the bottom center or right-hand corner of each document to aid the court and the parties in navigating through the document. The numbering should not restart for each attachment but should run consecutively through all attachments to a single document. All motions, oppositions, replies, and briefs shall cite to these page numbers. A party may include other citation information (e.g., exhibit number, exhibit page, paragraph number), in addition to the consecutive page citation.
(3) Proposed Order. The moving party and any party opposing the motion shall serve a copy of their proposed order with their briefing and include it with the working copies provided for the court. The proposed order should not be filed with the clerk.
(e) Procedures (All Motions).
(1) Scheduling. Except as otherwise provided in these rules, all motions shall be heard on the dependency calendars as set by court staff, with the following exceptions: (A) a judge who has retained the case or issue shall hear the motion and (B) a procedural motion brought after entry of a pretrial order shall be heard by the Lead Dependency Judge. Scheduling of motions must be in accordance with current procedures outlined in the court’s Dependency and Title 13 RCW Guardianship Manual (see LJuCR 1.1).
(2) Striking Motion or Changing Hearing Date. A motion (and its hearing, if it was to be heard with oral argument) may be stricken, or the hearing date changed, as outlined in the court’s Dependency and Title 13 RCW Guardianship Manual (see LJuCR 1.1).
(f) Motions Heard with Oral Argument.
(1) Applicability. All motions should be noted for hearing with oral argument except as otherwise provided in this rule. Any party may request oral argument on a motion for which oral argument is not provided by rule by including in the caption of the motion or response, “ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED”.
(2) Unopposed Matters. The court may, on request, enter the order moved for if no one appears in opposition 30 minutes after the time set for hearing. The court may, on request, strike a matter if the moving party fails to appear 30 minutes after the time set for hearing.
(3) Hearing Order. Motions will be heard in the order designated by the court.
(5) Motion to Expand the Issues. Once a hearing requiring oral argument is scheduled, any party may raise additional issues or designate it as a full dependency review by filing a motion to expand issues. The motion to expand issues shall be scheduled and briefed as otherwise provided in these rules. The parties must confer prior to the hearing for the first-filed motion to determine whether they agree that the hearing for the first-filed motion should be set over to be heard with the motion to expand issues. If the parties agree, the moving party on the first-filed motion should notify the court as provided in LJuCR 1.8(e)(2). If the parties do not agree, the judicial officer hearing the first-filed motion will determine at that hearing if the first- filed motion should be set over to be heard with the motion to expand issues.
(6) Request to Present Oral Testimony on Motion.
(A) How Requested. Any party seeking to present oral testimony in support of or in response to a motion must (1) file a separate motion titled, “Motion for Oral Testimony” and (2) state in the caption of the underlying motion or response, “Oral Testimony Requested by Separate Motion.” The motion for oral testimony must specify the reason(s) testimony is necessary to a just adjudication of the issues and identify the witness(es) sought to be called.
Factors which may be considered include substantial questions of credibility on a major issue, insufficiency or inconsistency in discovery materials not correctable by further discovery, or particularly complex circumstances requiring expert testimony. Parties may present an agreed motion for consideration by the court. If the court grants the motion for oral testimony, the court may adjust the hearing date or time.
(B) Timing. The motion for oral testimony must be filed before or at the time the underlying motion or response of that party is filed, should be noted for the day it is filed, and will be decided without oral argument. No responses should be filed.
(C) Decision. If the court has not issued a decision 48 hours before the hearing, the party requesting oral testimony should contact the court as outlined in the court’s Dependency and Title 13 RCW Guardianship Manual (see LJuCR 1.1).
(g) Withdrawal by Attorney.
(1) Scope. This rule governs withdrawals by attorneys for any party. See CR 71.
(2) Withdrawal by Order. When CR 71 requires that the attorney withdraw by order, (a) if the court entered a pre-trial order and fact finding is pending, the motion must be heard by the Lead Dependency Judge with oral argument; (b) in all other circumstances, the motion should be heard on the daily calendar with oral argument.
(3) Withdrawal by Notice. When CR 71 allows withdrawal by notice and substitute counsel is not identified in the notice, the withdrawing attorney must schedule a status conference to occur prior to the withdrawal date specified in the notice. The purpose of the status conference is to determine whether substitute counsel should be appointed or will be retained.
(h) Discovery Motions. Discovery motions, including motions to compel, motions for a protective order, and motions for release/production of records held by third parties, shall be noted without oral argument. When the matter is pending trial, the motion shall be noted before the Lead Dependency Judge. All other motions shall be noted on the appropriate dependency calendar as determined by case designation. Except for a motion for release / production of records held by third parties, a discovery conference, pursuant to CR 26(i), shall be held before a discovery motion is filed.
(i) Motions to Continue Fact-Finding Hearing.
(1) Good Cause Required. No motion to continue fact finding will be granted absent a showing of good cause.
(2) Motions to Continue Fact-Finding Hearing Made Prior to or at Time of Entry of a Pre-Trial Order. If all parties agree to the continuance, an agreed order may be submitted for consideration by the court. If the parties agree that the motion to continue may be made on shortened time at the pre-trial hearing, no formal motion for shortened time is required. In all other situations, the motion should be noted to be heard by the judicial officer who will preside at the pre-trial hearing.
(3) Motion to Continue Fact-Finding Hearing Made after Entry of a Pre-Trial Order. If all parties agree to the continuance, an agreed order may be submitted to the Lead Dependency Judge for consideration. If the parties agree that the motion to continue may be made on shortened time at an existing status conference, no formal motion for shortened time is required. The motion must be noted to be heard by the Lead Dependency Judge. The motion will not be granted except under extraordinary circumstances, where there is no alternative means of preventing a substantial injustice. A continuance motion may be granted subject to such conditions as justice requires.
(4) Trial Assignment Board. Dependency staff maintain a list of cases on which pre- trial orders have been entered. If a lawyer becomes unavailable for dates other than indicated on the pre-trial order, that lawyer must notify the court as outlined in the court’s Dependency and Title 13 RCW Guardianship Manual (see LJuCR 1.1).
(j) Motions for Summary Judgment. Motions for summary judgment shall be noted before the Lead Dependency Judge and in accordance with these rules and the requirements of CR 56 and LCR 56.
(k) Motions to Dismiss. Unless agreed to by all parties, a motion to dismiss made pursuant to CR 41(a)(1) shall be noted without oral argument and shall include the cause number of any pending family law action.
(l) Removal Hearings for Currently Adjudicated Dependent Children. If a dependent child is removed from a parent, guardian, or custodian pursuant to RCW 13.34.138(3)(b), an agreed order authorizing the removal shall be entered, or the supervising agency removing the child shall note an emergency hearing to be heard within 72-hours of removal (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays) and the hearing shall have the same priority as a 72-hour hearing pursuant to LJuCR 2.4(b). Such hearing may be continued by agreement or order of the court if necessary to allow full briefing of the issue.
(m) Motions for Reconsideration or for Clarification.
(1) Applicability. CR 59 and LCR 59 apply to motions for reconsideration of orders of dependency and orders of termination. This rule governs all other motions for reconsideration or for clarification.
(2) Procedure and Timing. The moving party must (a) file the motion not later than 10 days after entry of the order at issue and (b) note the motion for the day of filing. The court will consider the motion without oral argument unless the court orders otherwise. The motion should point out with specificity how the moving party believes the court has erred, any new matters being brought to the court’s attention for the first time, and any modifications or clarifications being sought regarding the court’s prior ruling. Unless ordered otherwise, the prior ruling will remain in effect pending a decision on the motion.
(3) Response. No party may file a response unless requested by the court. The court will not grant a motion brought under this rule without such a request which (a) will set a time when the response and the reply are due and (b) may limit briefing to particular issues.
(1) Timing and Hearing. A motion for revision of a commissioner's order must be filed within 10 calendar days of entry of the written order unless otherwise provided by statute. The motion must be noted for hearing without oral argument before the Lead Dependency Judge on a date not later than 27 calendar days after entry of the commissioner's order. The briefing schedule of LJuCR 1.8(b)(3) applies. The filing of a motion for reconsideration of the commissioner’s order does not toll these deadlines. If the Lead Dependency Judge assigns the motion to another judge, the court will provide notice of the reassignment.
(2) Contents of Motion. The motion must set forth specific grounds for revision and must attach all paperwork originally submitted by all parties to the commissioner. The moving party should not provide a recording of the hearing.
(3) Effect of Commissioner’s Order. The commissioner’s order shall remain in effect until the court issues an order on revision unless otherwise ordered by the court.
[Adopted effective September 1, 2016; amended effective September 1, 2021; September 1, 2023; September 1, 2024.]