SANTA CLARA SUPERIOR COURT COMPLEX LITIGATION

This Help feature covers the following topics: System Overview

The Santa Clara Complex Litigation website is a repository of information for the court's complex cases. In this website, you can view an index of current cases in the repository. If you select a case, you can then view case-specific information such as the list of parties, attorneys, and the documents submitted for that case. This feature is not restricted and anyone with a browser and an internet connection can use it.

If you are a party or an attorney for a case, you can submit documents that will become part of the repository. This is a restricted function available to registered parties and attorneys only. When you submit a document, an automatic notification is sent via email to the parties who have signed up for this email service. You are responsible for serving the other parties via postmail.

The repository also contains a discovery document database. This database is only available for those cases where the parties have agreed to set it up. Access to this database is also a restricted function. If you would like to set up a discovery database for your case, please contact Rowena Walker at the Santa Clara Superior Court.

Additionally, this site provides you with special features such as a Hearing calendar, a Help feature, Models for Court Orders.

If you are a first-time user of this site, please read this help feature before using the site, especially if you are going to submit documents. You may even print this document so you can follow instructions while you are navigating through the site. To print, click the right button on the mouse anywhere on the help frame and select Print from the menu. You can also open a second browser to display the instructions while you use your current browser to access cases and documents.

Site Navigation

The Home page of the site as well as all subsequent pages have a menu on the left side of your browser window, a title at the top of the window, and a main display area (also called 'frame') in the rest of the window. If the information in the main frame does not fit in one page, a vertical scrollbar appears on the right side of the frame. Click in the scrollbar to scroll the text in the main frame. To select a menu option, click on the corresponding title.

The site navigation is quite simple: click on the desired option in the left menu, and the corresponding information appears in the main frame. For example, click on FAQs and the frequently asked questions are displayed in the main frame. If you want to go back to information previously displayed, you can always use the Back button on the Browser window. If you want to go back to the Home page, click Home at the bottom of the left menu.

Occasionally, you may have to select options in the main frame; you do this by entering the required information and clicking in the button with the option name. For example, to search for a case by name, enter the full or partial name and then click Find.

Menu options vary based on the context of your actions. For example, the Submit Document option is not displayed if you have not yet selected a case. Options available in the left menu are as follows:

  • Index of Cases: Click to display a list of the complex cases currently under the jurisdiction of the Santa Clara court.
  • Help: Click to display information on using this site, accessing case documents, submitting a document, or getting a login.
  • Hearing Calendar: Click to display the Hearing calendar.
  • Court Model Orders: Click to view some model orders established by the Court.
  • Contact Us: Click to display contact information
  • FAQs: Click to display the Frequently Asked Questions
  • Home: Click to return to the site's home page.
How Do I Find a Case?

Complex cases filed with Santa Clara Superior Court are available on the Santa Clara Complex Litigation website. The information for each case include some case statistics, the list of parties and attorneys involved in the case, and an index of documents submitted for the case. From the document index, you can access the individual documents. All cases maintained by the site are accessible by anyone. You do not need a Login. To find a case, you should have the following information:

The case name or case number. Most cases have a consolidated case number and several related case numbers. You only need to know one of the numbers.

To locate a case, follow these steps:

  1. From the site's Home page, click on Index of Cases in the left menu; An alphabetical list of all current cases is displayed by case title in the Index page. A Search box appears at the top.


  2. If you are searching for a case by title, you can scroll down the case list until you find your case. Alternatively, you can enter the title (or partial title) in the Search box and press the Search button. In response, the list of cases shows only the case titles matching your search criterion. Once you have located your case, click on the case title or number to access case information.


  3. If you are searching for a case by number, click on the Case No heading in the case list to sort by case number. you can then scroll down the case list until you find your case. Warning: Only the consolidated numbers appear in this list. If you know a related case number rather than the consolidated number, you must use the Search box to locate the case. Alternatively, you can enter the case number in the Search box and press the Search button. In response, the list of cases shows only the case number matching your search criterion. Once you have located your case, click on the case title or number to access case information.


  4. Once you click on a case title or a case name, the case statistics is displayed. The left menu now displays some new options. You can always go back to the home page by clicking Home at the bottom of the menu, or by clicking on the Complex Litigation Project icon above the left menu.
How Do I Find a Document?

Finding a document on the Santa Clara Complex Litigation website is not difficult. All documents submitted to the site are accessible by anyone. You do not need a Login. To find a document, you should have the following information: The case under which it was submitted; some information about the document such as its type, author, keywords, or date of submission.

To locate a document, follow these steps:

  1. From the site's Home page, access the Index page by clicking on Index of Cases in the left menu; find the case by either case number or case title and click on the case to display the case statistics. For more detail on this process, see How to Find a Case.


  2. From the Case Statistics page, click on Case Documents in the left menu. There are many ways to search for a document. If you have specific information about the document, such as the title, author's name, submission date, document number, you should use the Search box; otherwise, you can browse documents by document type, submission date, filing date, hearing date or author. Both methods are described below.


  3. To find a document using the Search box, enter available information in one field of the Search box. Then press Search. In response, the system displays a list of documents matching your criterion. The list may be empty if no document in your repository match your criterion. If you wish to search again, the Search box is available at the bottom of the list. Once you have found the document you want, click on its title to access it.


  4. To find a document by browsing the repository, first click on a mode such as document type, submission date, or author. You will then see a list of types, dates or authors. Click on your selection. A list of matching documents is displayed. Once you have found the document you want, click on its title to access it.
How Do I View a Document?

To view a document in the repository, you must locate it first by following the instructions in How Do I Find a Document? above. Once the document is located, click on its title to display the Document Info page.

On the Document Info page, notice the following: in many cases, a document is really a group that includes a main document and some attachments. Each document in the group has an information box that shows its title, type, submission date, etc. To view a document in the group, click on its title.

The document is displayed in the Document View frame. Use the scrollbar to scroll the document. When you are done viewing, you can use the Back button of your browser to return to the Document Info page. Alternatively, use can any option in the left menu.

While you are viewing a document, you can save a copy of the document on your hard disk, or you can print the document. Use the Save and Print functions in the menu of your browser to do this. When you save, you will need to specify a file name and folder on your hard disk.

At the bottom of the Document Info page, notice these options: Add Attachment, Attach Text File Version, Attach Notice of Availability, Attach Proof of Service. Use these options when you want to add an attachment to the document. You must have a login and password to use this restricted function. See How Do I Get a Login? for more information.

How Do I Submit a New Document (with or without attachments)?

Submitting a document is the process of uploading a case document and its attachments from your computer to the Santa Clara Complex Litigation repository. Once a document is successfully submitted, an email containing a Notice of Availability is sent within 12 hours to the parties and counsels that are have registered their email with the court for this case. Parties that have refused email service will not be notified electronically. It is your responsibility to notify them of the availability of the document by mail or fax.

Before you can submit a document, you must have the following information available:

  • Have the case name or case number ready so you can locate the case on the site.
  • Have the document and its attachments ready on your computer system. You can submit documents in any of the following formats: .PDF, .RTF, or .TXT.
  • If your document is not in .TXT format, you must create a .TXT version as well to submit to the site as an attachment. To generate a text version, it is usually enough to open a document and then use the 'Save as' function, selecting 'text' as the document type. If you are having technical difficulties, call Customer Service at Glotrans: (510) 208-4775.
  • A document has different types of attachments. The mandatory attachments that you must submit to the repository with every document are the following:
  • A .TXT version of the document (unless the original document is in .TXT format) The Proof of Service for that document (in .PDF, .RTF or .TXT format) The Notice of Availability for that document(in .PDF, .RTF or .TXT format). This is the notice you mailed or faxed to the parties that do not receive the automated email notification.
  • In addition, you can submit optional attachments such as exhibits. These attachments can be in .PDF, .RTF, .TXT, .GIF or .JPG format.
  • For each document and attachment you want to submit, you must identify the following: Type (selected from a list in the system); Subject; Filing Date; Hearing Date (if applicable); Author; Parties (selected from a list in the system); Keyphrases: used to conduct searches of documents submitted for a case. Up to 5 keywords maybe entered.
  • Make sure you have a Login to access the Submit document function of the site. Submit is a restricted function. Only counsels and parties that are registered for a case can submit documents. If you do not have a login, please see How Do I Get a Login?
Once you have gathered the above information, you are ready to submit your document and its attachments. Follow these steps:

  1. From the site's Home page, access the Index page by clicking on Index of Cases in the left menu; find the case by either case number or case title and click on the case to display the case statistics. For more detail on this process, see How Do I Find a Case?.


  2. From the Case Statistics page, click on Submit a Document in the left menu. Enter your Login name and password and click on Login. A series of frames will be displayed with step by step instructions. Follow these instructions carefully. If, at any time, you want to terminate the process, click Abort in the left menu. Your document is not submitted until the site displays a confirmation message.


  3. First, select the document type by clicking in the appropriate checkbox. A Search box at the top of the page allows you to list documents by class or type, or to search for a specific type. Then, press Next at the bottom of the list when you are done.


  4. Then, enter the title of the document, the subject, and the name of the submittor. Then, press Next at the bottom of the list when you are done.


  5. Then, enter the filing date and hearing date if applicable. Enter up to five keyphrases. Then, press Next at the bottom of the list when you are done.


  6. Then, select all the parties on behalf of which this document is submitted. Use the Search box at the top to search for a specific party, or to list all parties. Click in the checkbox next to a party's name to select it. Select as many parties as you want. Then, press Next at the bottom of the list when you are done.


  7. Then, select the document file to upload. Click the Browse button to display a small pop up window that lets you chose a file. Once you have selected a file, click Open. The small window goes away and the file name appears in the Submit Document page. You can click browse again if you want to change the file name. Otherwise, press Submit if you are done.


  8. Once you press Submit, the document information you entered is displayed for final approval. Make sure that all information is correct. If it is and you wish to proceed, press Submit to send the document to the repository. If you notice errors, use the Back button of the browser to go back to previous pages and correct the errors. If you wish to stop the entire submittal process, press Cancel. The Case Statistics page is displayed.


  9. Once the document is submitted, the Document Info page is displayed. You can now submit the attachments. To submit a text file version, the Notice of Availability or the Proof of Service, click on the corresponding button. To submit exhibits, click on Add Attachment. You can also submit attachments at a later time, as described in How Do I Submit an Attachment?
The attachment submittal process is similar to the process for submitting the original document. You need to specify a document type, title, dates, keywords and file name. If you submit a text file version of the original document, or the Notice of Availability, or the Proof of Service, you only need to specify the file name. All other fields are automatically copied from the original document. After each attachment is submitted, the Document Info page is updated to reflect the new submittal. Once you are done submitting all the attachments, you have completed the submittal process.

After a document or attachment is submitted, it is recommended to click on its title in the Document Info page to verify that the document is viewable. If you cannot view your document properly, or are having other technical difficulties, call Customer Service at Glotrans: (510) 208-4775.

An email notification will be sent to all parties and counsels who have registered for this service. The document is now in the repository, available for viewing.

How Do I Submit an Attachment (to an Existing Document)?

If you have previously submitted a document and now wish to add attachments, follow these steps:

  1. Find the document using the instructions in How Do I Find a Document? Once the Document Info page is displayed, you can proceed to add attachments.


  2. To submit a text file version, the Notice of Availability or the Proof of Service, click on the corresponding button. To submit exhibits, click on Add Attachment.


  3. The attachment submittal process is similar to the process for submitting the original document. You need to specify a document type, title, dates, keywords and file name. If you submit a text file version of the original document, or the Notice of Availability, or the Proof of Service, you only need to specify the file name. All other fields are automatically copied from the original document. After each attachment is submitted, the Document Info page is updated to reflect the new submittal.
An email notification regarding the attachments you submitted will be sent to all parties and counsels who have registered for this service. The document is now in the repository, available for viewing.

How Does Notification Work?

Documents submitted to the court must be served to the parties and counsels involved in the case. The Complex Litigation website provides an important benefit: Parties who have registered their email address with the court receive automated email notification whenever a document is submitted for their case. With this notification, the parties are "served". The notification contains information about the document that was submitted (type, title, author, etc...) and a hyperlink to the document itself. After receiving an email notification, a party can access the document directly by clicking on the hyperlink in the mail message. The document can also be viewed by searching the repository.

However, some parties do not register for email notification (not everyone has email!). When you submit a document, you are responsible for serving these parties by fax or postmail. For each case, the Complex Litigation website maintains a list of parties requiring fax notification and a list of parties requiring mail notification.

You are responsible for sending the fax and mail notifications to these parties. The notification, (Notice of Availability) should contain the following information:

  • The serving party's name and contact information
  • The title of the document posted on the website
  • The date and time of posting
  • That the document is available for viewing on the website.
Once you have faxed and mailed the notices, you need to submit this Notice of Availability to the repository as an attachment to your document.

How Do I Access the Discovery Database?

Some complex cases in this site have a discovery document database as part of the repository. If you are interested in setting up such a database, please contact the Court. If your case has a discovery document database, follow these steps to access the documents:

From the site's Home page, access the Index page by clicking on Index of Cases in the left menu; find the case by either case number or case title and click on the case to display the case statistics. For more detail on this process, see How Do I Find a Case?

Click on Discovery Documents. A login window appears since this is a restricted function. Enter your login and password. The Discovery Document page appears. Use the Search box to enter a search criterion. Click on Advanced Search if you want to search on different criteria. Once the criteria are entered, click on Search.

How Do I View a Hearing in the Judge's Calendar?

Click on Hearing Calendar in the left menu. The calendar is displayed. It shows a list of Hearing dates for either a specific case, or for all cases on the Court's calendar. A Search box is displayed to allow you to search for the hearings for a particular case. Enter the case number or title and press Search. The hearings are displayed in chronological order.

How Do I Get a Login?

Submitting documents or accessing discovery documents is password protected. Only parties who are in a case's service list are granted passwords.

If you are not represented by an attorney who is already on the service list, you must file an Appearance Form with the court which specifies your email address.

Please fax a copy of your appearance form bearing the court's stamp to the Web Master who will insert your name into the service list and send you a password.

Fax to: Web Master, Glotrans: 510-465-7348