Lu v. Superior Court of Orange Cty.

Opinion

RYLAARSDAM, J.

We hold that under the California Standards of Judicial Administration for Complex Litigation (Cal. Standards Jud. Admin., § 19; hereafter complex litigation standard or the standard), a trial court has authority to appoint a discovery referee, even in the absence of a current discovery dispute. In such a complex case, the court also has authority to appoint the referee to conduct settlement conferences.

Facts

This is a construction defect case with a large number of separately represented parties. The trial court determined the case was complex and should be dealt with…