Filing a civil case in Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County is larger than most states and its Superior Court is spread across districts. So on top of the statewide papers it requires one more document whose only job is to say which courthouse should hear the case. This page explains what it asks for. It does not tell you what to write, and it is not legal advice.

The form

CIV 109, "Civil Case Cover Sheet Addendum and Statement of Location", revised 04/26, mandatory. It is filed together with the Judicial Council's CM-010, not instead of it.

Older material — including some still in circulation — calls this form LACIV 109. The court's current public forms list gives it as CIV 109, and the whole civil forms set carries an 04/26 revision.

Where a personal injury case must be filed

Local Rule 2.3(a)(1)(A) makes filing location mandatory rather than optional for injury cases. Every unlimited civil tort action for bodily injury, wrongful death, or damage to personal property — the rule calls this a Personal Injury Action — must be filed either in the Central District at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse or in the North District at the Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse.

The rule defines a Personal Injury Action by reference to the boxes on this very addendum: motor vehicle; uninsured motorist; product liability other than asbestos or toxic and environmental; medical malpractice, physicians and surgeons; other professional health care malpractice; premises liability; intentional bodily injury, property damage or wrongful death; and other personal injury, property damage or wrongful death.

Three things are expressly outside that definition, and it matters because they are routed differently: an action for intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, or civil rights and discrimination; malpractice other than medical malpractice; and an action for injury to real property.

The five steps the form sets out

1. After completing CM-010, find the exact case type in Column A that corresponds to the case type indicated on the Civil Case Cover Sheet.
2. In Column B, check the box for the type of action that best describes the nature of the case. Each carries a four-digit code — a motor vehicle injury case is 2201, an uninsured motorist case 4601.
3. In Column C, circle the number explaining the reason for the filing location chosen. Each row lists which reasons are available to it; the motor vehicle and uninsured motorist rows list 1 and 4.
4. Statement of Reason and Address. Check the boxes for the numbers shown under Column C for the action selected, and enter the address that is the basis for the filing location, including zip code. No address is required for class actions.
5. Certification of Assignment. A certification that the case is properly filed in the specified district of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.

The reasons in Column C

The form lists these as the applicable reasons for choosing a courthouse location.

1. Class actions must be filed in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Central District.
2. Permissive filing in the Central District.
3. Location where cause of action arose.
4. Location where bodily injury, death or damage occurred.
5. Location where performance required, or defendant resides.
6. Location of property or permanently garaged vehicle.
7. Location where petitioner resides.
8. Location wherein defendant/respondent functions wholly.
9. Location where one or more of the parties reside.
10. Location of Labor Commissioner Office.
11. Mandatory filing location (Hub Cases — unlawful detainer, limited non-collection, limited collection).

For an injury case number 4 — where the bodily injury, death or damage occurred — is the one that usually does the work, which is why the address entered at step 4 is generally the address of the crash or the fall rather than anybody's home.

What happens next

The information on this addendum is what the court uses to route the case. For years that meant assignment to a dedicated Personal Injury Hub; since January 2024 it does not. What the PI Hub was, and what replaced it.

Los Angeles County — courthouses, trauma centres and the claim clock · injury claims in the City of Los Angeles.

Common questions

Is the addendum the same as the statewide cover sheet?

No — both are filed. CM-010 is the Judicial Council form used in every California county. The addendum is a Los Angeles form filed with it, and it does a different job: it says which courthouse in a very large county should hear the case.

What happens if the wrong location is stated?

The case can be transferred to the correct district, which costs time. The court also has its own filing court locator, and the local rules direct filers to it for the appropriate location.

Which reason applies to an injury case?

Reason 4 on the form is "location where bodily injury, death or damage occurred", and the motor vehicle and uninsured motorist rows list reasons 1 and 4 as the applicable ones. Choosing a reason is the filer’s certification, not a formality.

Sources: CIV 109, Civil Case Cover Sheet Addendum and Statement of Location, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, revised 04/26, mandatory — steps, columns and reasons read from the published form; designation and revision date confirmed against the court's public access civil forms list. Filing location: Los Angeles County Court Rules, chapter 2, rule 2.3(a)(1)(A) (the published current chapter, stated as effective January 1, 2022). All retrieved 1 September 2026.