Effective January 13, 2014, Hon. Eddie Sturgeon moved from the East County Division of the San Diego Superior Court to the Central Division.  Judge Sturgeon was the only remaining judge of a civil department in the Eastern Division of the San Diego Superior Court.

The move marks the end of a one-year effort to consolidate most civil operations of the San Diego Superior Court to the Central Division, located downtown.  As described in a statement issued by the Superior Court, the consolidation and reduction was taken "to meet the unprecedented $33 million in budget reductions it has faced over several fiscal years."  In September of 2012, the Court announced the closure of civil operations in both the East County Division (located in El Cajon) and the South County Division (located in Chula Vista).

As a result of the closures, the only departments hearing civil cases in San Diego Superior Court are located in the Central Division and the North County Division (located in Vista).  All cases formerly pending in the Eastern and Southern Divisions have been transferred to the Central Division.

For future cases, any civil suit that would have otherwise been filed in the Eastern or Southern Divisions must now be filed in the Central Division.