Hon. Clay H. Kaminsky — Individual Rules of Practice

Individual Practices and Rules of

Magistrate Judge Clay H. Kaminsky

Effective June 15, 2026

United States District Court

Eastern District of New York

225 Cadman Plaza East

Brooklyn, New York 11201

Courtroom 504 North Chambers 505 North

Courtroom Deputy

(718) 613-2170

Shannon Hernandez Kaminsky_Chambers@nyed.uscourts.gov

(718) 613-2174

Unless otherwise ordered in a specific case, civil cases before Judge Kaminsky

will be conducted in accordance with the following practices and rules:

I. COMMUNICATIONS WITH CHAMBERS

A. ECF generally required. Except as provided below, communications with

Chambers should be by ECF only, using the appropriate event type (e.g.,

“Motion” if requesting Court action) and a brief description of the document.

No courtesy copies should be submitted absent a request by the Court.

B. Pro se litigants are exempt from ECF requirements but may request

permission to file documents and receive notices electronically.1

1. Pro se litigants must follow instructions from the Clerk’s Office on

communicating with the Court and must keep current contact information

on file with the Court or risk dismissal of claims or other consequences.

2. Counsel in cases involving pro se litigants who have not consented to

electronic notifications must serve copies of ECF submissions on the pro se

party and file certificates of service in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.

Counsel should also review Local Civil Rules 7.2, 12.1, 33.2, and 56.2.

1 Instructions and eligibility requirements are available at

https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/pro-se-document-submission-and-consent-notifications.

C. Requests for adjournments, extensions, and changes to conferences

(such as a request to appear by telephone) must be made by letter motion filed

on ECF as a “Motion,” not as a “Letter” or “Status Report,” at least three (3)

business days prior to the conference or deadline (absent an emergency).

1. Required contents. Motions for adjournment or extension must state

(1) the original date, (2) the number of previous adjournments or

extensions, (3) the effect on other scheduled dates, (4) the reason for the

request, and (5) the position of each other party as to the request.

2. Good cause. A party seeking to extend discovery or a case-management

deadline must establish “good cause,” even if the request is on consent. See

Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). Extensions of discovery will not be granted based

on another party’s or non-party’s non-compliance with discovery obligations

unless the movant timely pursued legal remedies to obtain compliance.

D. Telephone calls. Counsel may contact the Courtroom Deputy at (718) 613-

2174 with questions about scheduling, but adjournments must be requested by

motion. Pro se parties may call the Court’s Pro Se Office at (718) 613-2665.

E. Emails to Chambers (Kaminsky_Chambers@nyed.uscourts.gov) are permitted

only as provided in these Rules or as otherwise directed by the Court.

II. CASE MANAGEMENT AND DISCOVERY

A. Knowledgeable counsel of record is expected to appear at all conferences

authorized to make stipulations and admissions to streamline discovery and prepared

to discuss all aspects of the case, including settlement. Law students and junior

attorneys are encouraged to appear and argue under the supervision of such counsel.

B. Initial conferences will typically be held in person. The party invoking the

Court’s jurisdiction (i.e., the plaintiff or removing defendant) is responsible for

informing all other parties of the date and time of the initial conference.

1. Rule 26 obligations in advance of the initial conference. The parties

must hold their Rule 26(f) planning meeting at least three weeks before the

initial conference. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f)(1). The parties must make their Rule

26(a)(1) initial disclosures to each other and file a Rule 26(f) report (proposed

discovery plan) using the form provided on Judge Kaminsky’s webpage no later

than one week before the initial conference. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)(C), (f)(2).

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C. Discovery disputes should be raised pursuant to Local Civil Rule 37.2 with

the following modifications. In lieu of separate letters, the parties must

describe their dispute(s) in a single letter motion, jointly composed, filed

on ECF as a “Motion.” A party may write separately only if the other party fails

to cooperate regarding the joint submission. The letter motion may not exceed

five pages. The Court will seek to resolve discovery disputes quickly, by order

(based on the letter motion alone) or through a discovery conference.

1. Meet and confer requirement. Strict adherence to Fed. R. Civ. P.

37(a)(1) is required, and the parties’ efforts should be described in the joint

submission as to time, place, and duration, naming the counsel involved.

2. Specificity. In raising discovery disputes, the parties must clearly state

the issues requiring resolution and the specific relief sought as to each

dispute. See Local Civil Rule 37.1. Assertions of law must be supported by

citations to authority, including case law. If necessary, the parties should

excerpt the at-issue material; they should not attach, unless absolutely

necessary, entire sets of discovery requests. The Court will not entertain

generalized, bulk objections to discovery requests or responses.

3. Timeliness and waiver. Counsel should seek relief in accordance with

these procedures in a timely fashion. Failure to timely request Court

assistance to remedy another party’s or non-party’s non-compliance with

discovery obligations may result in a waiver of the requested discovery,

particularly if a party waits until near the close of discovery to raise an

issue that could have been raised earlier.

D. Disputes during ongoing depositions. If a dispute arises during a

deposition that the parties cannot resolve themselves, they must contact

Chambers immediately by both email and telephone. The email should include

a brief description of the dispute and a callback number. The parties must not

discontinue the deposition while waiting for the Court to return the call.

Instead, they must have the court reporter mark the transcript where the

dispute arose and must move on to other issues in the deposition. When the

Court calls, the court reporter must be present on the call to record any rulings.

E. Confidentiality orders. To assist the parties, the Court has provided a form

confidentiality order on its webpage that the parties may submit for approval

to protect the confidentiality of information exchanged in discovery. If changes

are sought, the parties must submit a redline with their motion for approval.

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III. MOTION PRACTICE

A. Non-dispositive motions other than discovery motions (for which see

II.C above) may be made to Judge Kaminsky in accordance with the Federal

Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Civil Rules. Prior to bringing a motion,

the movant must seek the consent of each other party, and the motion must

state whether it is on consent.

B. Dispositive motions must be made to the presiding District Judge in

accordance with his or her individual rules, unless the parties have consented

to Judge Kaminsky pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). In cases assigned to Judge

Kaminsky pursuant to the EDNY Direct Assignment Program, the parties

should file either a consent form (if all parties consent) or a Direct Assignment

Program acknowledgement form (if not all parties consent) prior to initiating

dispositive motion practice. In consent cases, the following rules apply:

1. Pre-motion submissions are required for Rule 12 and Rule 56

motions in cases in which all parties are represented by counsel, except in

habeas and social security cases. The putative movant must request a pre-

motion conference by submitting a letter motion, not to exceed three (3)

pages, setting forth the bases for the anticipated motion. Similarly situated

parties (e.g., multiple defendants moving to dismiss on overlapping

grounds) should make reasonable efforts to consolidate their pre-motion

submission(s) to avoid duplication. Filing the pre-motion letter motion

within the time requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 or 56 shall constitute

timely service of a motion made pursuant to those provisions. All parties

served with the pre-motion letter must submit a letter response, not to

exceed three (3) pages, within one week. Replies are not permitted.

After reviewing the parties’ pre-motion submissions, the Court will

determine whether to hold a premotion conference or to set a briefing

schedule on submission. In appropriate cases, the Court may exercise its

discretion to construe the pre-motion letter as the motion itself.

2. All other dispositive motions may be made in accordance with the

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Civil Rules. Pre-motion

conference requests are not required for any motion listed in Fed. R. App.

P. 4(a)(4) or any other motion for which a party concludes in good faith that

delaying the filing of a motion will deprive it of a substantive right.

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IV. TRIALS ON CONSENT

In consent cases, Judge Kaminsky will set a firm trial date in consultation with

the parties after receiving the proposed joint pretrial order.

A. Proposed Joint Pretrial Order. Sixty (60) days after the close of all

discovery or thirty (30) days after the resolution of any motion for summary

judgment, whichever is later, the parties must file a joint proposed pretrial

order containing the following information:

1. Caption. The full caption of the action.

2. Parties and Counsel. The names, addresses (including firm names), and

telephone numbers of trial counsel.

3. Jurisdiction. A brief statement by the plaintiff explaining the basis of

subject matter jurisdiction, and a brief statement by each other party as to

the presence or absence of subject matter jurisdiction. These statements

shall include citations to all (a) statutes and legal doctrines relied on, and

(b) relevant facts concerning citizenship and jurisdictional amount.

4. Claims and Defenses. A brief summary by each party of the elements of

its remaining asserted claims and defenses. These summaries shall include

citations to all statutes relied on but should not recite evidentiary matters.

5. Damages. A statement of the damages claimed and any other relief sought,

including the manner and method used to calculate any claimed damages

and a breakdown of the elements of such claimed damages.

6. Jury or Bench Trial. A statement by each party as to whether the case is

to be tried with or without a jury, and the number of trial days needed.

7. Stipulations. A statement of stipulated facts, if any.

8. Witnesses. A list of all fact and expert witnesses to be called by each party,

along with a brief narrative statement of the expected testimony of each

witness. Only listed witnesses will be permitted to testify, except when

prompt notice is given and good cause is shown. Any motion to exclude

expert testimony pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 702–05 and Daubert v. Merrell

Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) must be submitted no later

than contemporaneously with the proposed joint pretrial order.

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9. Deposition Testimony. A designation by each party of deposition

testimony to be offered in its case in chief, with any cross-designations and

objections by any other party.

10. Exhibits. A table listing the exhibits to be offered in evidence. Except for

impeachment and rebuttal exhibits, which need not be listed, only listed

exhibits will be received into evidence, except for good cause shown. All

exhibits must be pre-marked (using “PX” for plaintiffs’ exhibits, “DX” for

defendants’ exhibits, and “JX” for joint exhibits). The table should briefly

describe each exhibit and state any objection to admissibility and the

proponent’s response to any objection. Parties are expected to resolve before

trial all issues of authenticity, chain of custody, and related matters.

B. Filings Prior to Trial.

1. Motions in limine must be filed at least three weeks before trial, except

that Daubert motions to exclude expert testimony must be filed no later

than the deadline for submission of the proposed joint pretrial order. All

motions in limine by a party must be filed in a single submission. Responses

are due one week later.

2. Requests to charge, verdict sheet, and proposed voir dire. For jury

trials, the parties should submit joint requests to charge, a proposed verdict

sheet, and proposed voir dire questions no later than two weeks before trial.

Requests to charge should be limited to the elements of the claims and

defenses, the damages sought, and any case-specific issues. Proposed voir

dire questions should also be case-specific and should include a brief

statement of the case and a list of relevant people, places, and entities to be

read during jury selection. General instructions and questions will be

prepared by the Court. Where the parties cannot reach agreement, they

should indicate each party’s proposal and/or one party’s proposal with an

explanation of the other party’s objection. At the time of filing, the parties

should also email word processing files of these documents to Chambers.

3. Trial memoranda. For bench trials, each party should submit a pretrial

memorandum at least two weeks before trial.

4. Exhibits. Unless the Court orders otherwise, the parties should provide

the Court with two tabbed binders containing copies of all exhibits no later

than the Thursday before trial.

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V. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES

A. Attendance. Each party, or a decision-making representative with full

settlement authority for each party, must attend the settlement conference.

The Court will excuse a party from attendance only upon letter motion filed by

ECF establishing (1) attendance would work a hardship on the party, (2) the

party has agreed to give counsel broad settlement authority, and (3) the party

will be immediately available by phone for the duration of the settlement

conference to approve any proposed settlement. The letter motion must state

whether any other party objects. The Comptroller of the City of New York has

standing permission to proceed in this way and need not make a separate

motion in each case. A party that fails to attend the settlement conference

without having been excused by the Court in advance may be required to

reimburse all other parties for their time and travel expenses.

B. Exchange of thoughtful settlement proposals between the parties.

Plaintiff must convey a settlement proposal to defendant at least fourteen (14)

before the settlement conference. Defendant must convey a settlement

proposal to plaintiff at least eight (8) days prior to the settlement conference.

These proposals may not be bare numbers; each must include a rationale.

C. Confidential ex parte settlement communications with the Court.

Represented parties must email a confidential ex parte settlement statement

to Chambers one week before the settlement conference. The statement should

not exceed five (5) pages and must contain: (1) a concise statement of the

issue(s) in dispute; (2) case law authorities and any comparators relevant to

settlement discussions; (3) the history of settlement negotiations and current

proposals; (4) counsel’s evaluation of the settlement value of the case and the

rationale for it; (5) identification of the strengths and weaknesses of each side’s

case, to the extent not already included; and (6) any other information (e.g.,

about the client’s priorities) that would be helpful to the Court in preparing for

the conference. The statement should also identify the persons who will attend

the conference (but may not make a request to excuse a party). Parties may,

but need not, attach especially significant exhibits they believe would aid

settlement discussions.2 After receiving the parties’ settlement statements, the

Court may make ex parte settlement calls to counsel to discuss settlement.

2 Videos and other digital media files may be submitted using the following link:

https://evidence.nyed.uscourts.gov/.

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