Rule 3.924.Certification and disclosure by referee

Rule 3.924 carries rule 3.904's certification and disclosure scheme over to the court-ordered reference track. Before a section 639 referee begins to serve, that referee has to certify in writing that they consent to serve on the terms of the appointment order and are aware of and will comply with canon 6 of the Code of Judicial Ethics and the California Rules of Court, with that certification filed with the court. Because a section 639 reference can be ordered over a party's objection, that party never chose this particular referee the way stipulating parties choose theirs, which makes the certification and disclosure duties that follow especially important as the party's own check on the appointment.

The disclosure duty tracks rule 3.904's timing and content closely: no later than five days before the deadline for a party to move to disqualify the referee under section 170.6, or as soon as practical afterward if the referee was not yet aware of the appointment or the disclosable matter, the referee must disclose anything covered by the judicial-ethics disclosure canons plus any significant personal or professional relationship with a party, attorney, or law firm in the case, including 24 months of privately compensated work as an attorney, expert witness, consultant, judge, referee, arbitrator, mediator, settlement facilitator, or other alternative dispute resolution neutral.