Rule 3.503.Requests for extensions of time or to shorten time

Scheduling in a coordination proceeding runs through one person: the assigned judge. Subdivision (a) gives that judge authority to shorten or extend the time for doing any act required under this chapter, so long as the terms are just to the parties involved. Unless the judge orders otherwise, a party seeking that relief has to serve and submit its motion or application the way rule 3.501(17) requires. Subdivision (b) closes off a shortcut parties might otherwise expect from ordinary civil practice: they cannot agree between themselves alone to push back a filing or service deadline under this chapter. Any stipulation for an extension still needs the assigned judge's approval before it takes effect, a check that matters more here than in a two-party lawsuit, since a coordination proceeding can involve dozens of parties relying on the same shared timeline.

Subdivision (c) draws a firm line around what this flexibility does not reach. No extension granted under this rule extends the separate deadline for bringing an action to trial under Code of Civil Procedure section 583.310. A party that wins extra time to file a brief or complete a motion cannot treat that as extra time on the underlying five-year clock; the two deadlines run on entirely different tracks.