Hon. Andrew E. Krause — Individual Rules of Practice

May 21, 2025

INDIVIDUAL PRACTICES OF

MAGISTRATE JUDGE ANDREW E. KRAUSE

Civil cases come before magistrate judges in one of two ways: for one or more specific

purposes pursuant to an order of reference by the assigned district judge, or, on consent of the

parties, for all purposes pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). When a district judge approves an all-

purposes consent form signed by counsel and/or pro se parties, the magistrate judge assumes the

role of the district judge and may conduct all proceedings. The right to a jury trial is preserved,

and any appeal is directly to the Court of Appeals.

It is the uniform practice of the magistrate judges in the Southern District of New York to

schedule trials in civil consent cases for firm dates, rather than requiring counsel to be available

for trial on short notice. Additionally, because magistrate judges rarely try criminal cases, such

firm trial dates are unlikely to be changed to accommodate criminal trials. Should the parties

wish to consent to have Judge Krause hear their case for all purposes, the necessary form is

available at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-andrew-e-krause.

Unless otherwise ordered by Judge Krause, matters before him shall be conducted in

accordance with the following practices.1 These practices are applicable to cases before Judge

Krause if the matter is within the scope of the district judge’s order of reference or if the case is

before Judge Krause for all purposes pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). Otherwise, the practices of

the district judge to whom the case is assigned apply.

Nothing in Judge Krause’s Individual Practices supersedes a specific time period for

filing a motion specified by statute or Federal Rule where failure to comply with the specified

time period could result in forfeiture of a substantive right.

1. Communications with Chambers

A. Letters. Except as otherwise provided below, communications with the Court

must be by letter and filed on ECF, without e-mail or other copy to the Court.

Letters may not exceed five pages, exclusive of exhibits, which should be kept to

a minimum. Any letter containing sensitive or confidential information that a

party does not wish to appear on the docket must follow the procedures outlined

in Section 5, below. Copies of correspondence between counsel or parties must

not be filed or sent to the Court, except as exhibits to an otherwise properly filed

document.

1 Requests for reasonable accommodations on account of disability with respect to these

rules may be sent by e-mail to KrauseNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov.

B. Telephone Calls. For situations requiring immediate attention from the Court,

parties should call Chambers directly; in such situations, parties should email the

Court at KrauseNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov to request contact

information. For docketing, scheduling, and calendaring matters, parties may

contact the Courtroom Deputy, Salihah Brown between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

C. Faxes. Faxes to Chambers are not permitted.

D. E-mails. E-mails to Chambers are not permitted without prior approval. If

approval is granted, any e-mailed submissions must be simultaneously sent to

other counsel and/or pro se parties. The Court’s e-mail address is

KrauseNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov.

E. Requests for Adjournments or Extensions of Time. Any request for an

adjournment of a court proceeding or for an extension of time for a deadline must

be made in writing and filed on ECF as a letter motion, after consultation with all

affected parties. The letter motion must state: (1) the original date of the

proceeding or deadline; (2) the number of previous requests for adjournment or

extension; (3) whether these previous requests were granted or denied; (4) the

reason for the present request; (5) whether all affected parties consent, and if not,

the reasons given by the party or parties for refusing to consent. If the requested

adjournment or extension affects any other scheduled dates, a proposed Revised

Scheduling Order must be attached. Absent an emergency, a request for

adjournment of a court proceeding must be made at least 48 hours in advance of

the proceeding to be adjourned, and must include at least two proposed dates on

which all counsel are available for the adjourned proceeding.

F. Pro Se Parties. All letters, motions, memoranda, and other communications to

the Court from pro se parties that are not filed electronically must be submitted to

the Pro Se Intake Unit, not directly to Chambers.

1. Non-incarcerated pro se parties who have an e-mail address and wish to

receive case-related documents (including court orders) quickly,

automatically, and electronically, may consent to electronic service by

filing a Pro Se (Nonprisoner) Consent & Registration Form to Receive

Documents Electronically, available from the Pro Se Intake Unit or at

http://nysd.uscourts.gov/node/845.

2. Non-incarcerated pro se parties who have an e-mail address and wish to

receive, serve, and file case-related documents electronically may request

permission to do so by filing a Motion for Permission for Electronic Case

Filing, available from the Pro Se Intake Unit or at

http://nysd.uscourts.gov/node/844.

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2. Discovery Matters

A. Raising Discovery Disputes. For discovery motions, follow Local Civil Rule

37.2, which requires the moving party to request an informal conference with the

Court before the filing of any such motion. Strict adherence to Rule 37(a)(1) of

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is required. The parties should be prepared

to describe the time, place, and duration of their efforts to resolve the dispute.

The parties must also carefully review and comply with the specific requirements

set forth in the Court’s discovery orders in their specific cases.

Junior attorneys are invited to argue discovery-related motions that they have

helped to prepare. Firms are encouraged to provide this opportunity to junior

attorneys for training purposes. The Court is amenable to permitting more than

one lawyer to argue for one party if this creates an opportunity for a junior lawyer

to participate. The ultimate decision of who speaks on behalf of the client is for

the lawyer in charge of the case, not for the Court.

B. Confidentiality Stipulations and Protective Orders. In cases where

confidential information will be exchanged, the parties must use Judge Krause’s

model Confidentiality Stipulation and Proposed Protective Order. The parties

may apply for a protective order that differs from the model by submitting a letter

via ECF and attaching the proposed order, showing in a blackline comparison of

how the proposed order differs from the Court’s model. The letter must explain

why the modifications are needed and note any disagreements between the parties

regarding the modifications from the Court’s model.

3. Motions

A. Pre-Motion Conferences. For motions other than discovery motions, a pre-

motion conference is not required. A party may request a pre-motion conference

by letter motion where counsel believes that an informal conference with the

Court may obviate the need for the motion or limit the scope of issues in dispute.

B. Briefing Schedule on Formal (Non-Discovery) Motions. Unless the Court has

ordered otherwise, opposition and reply papers for formal (non-discovery)

motions are due in accordance with Local Civil Rule 6.1. The parties are strongly

encouraged to agree on a reasonable briefing schedule before the moving papers

are filed. If the parties have agreed to such a schedule, they must request the

Court’s approval of their proposed schedule by letter motion.

C. Memoranda of Law. Unless prior permission has been granted, briefs, filed by

an attorney or prepared with a computer, in support of and in response to a motion

(except for motions for reconsideration), may not exceed 8,750 words, and reply

briefs may not exceed 3,500 words. If filed by a party who is not represented by

an attorney and handwritten or prepared with a typewriter, briefs in support of and

in response to a motion may not exceed 25 pages, and reply briefs may not exceed

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10 pages. These limits do not include the caption, any index, table of contents,

table of authorities, signature blocks, or any required certificates, but do include

material contained in footnotes or endnotes. If a brief is filed by an attorney or

prepared with a computer, it must include a certificate by the attorney, or party

who is not represented by an attorney, that the document complies with the word

count limitations. The person preparing the certificate may rely on the word

count of the word-processing program used to prepare the document. The

certificate must state the number of words in the document. See Local Civil Rule

7.1(c). The typeface, margins, and spacing of motion papers must conform to

Local Civil Rule 7.1(b).

D. Courtesy Copies. Paper courtesy copies of all formal (non-discovery) motion

papers, marked as such, must be submitted to Chambers promptly after filing. For

those parties permitted to file documents on ECF, courtesy copies must bear the

ECF header generated at the time of electronic filing and include protruding tabs

for any exhibits.

For discovery-related motions, the filing party must promptly provide a paper

courtesy copy to Chambers of any filing, including exhibits, that is 50 pages long

or longer.

E. Filing of Motion Papers. Motion papers must be filed promptly after service

unless the Court orders otherwise.

F. Oral Argument on Motions. Parties may request oral argument by letter at the

time their motion papers are filed. The Court will determine whether argument

will be heard and, if so, will advise counsel of the argument date and time.

G. Motions in Pro Se Cases. As required by Local Civil Rule 7.2, counsel must

provide a pro se litigant with printed copies of cases and other authorities cited in

any submission that are unpublished or reported exclusively on computerized

databases. Where a party moves for summary judgment against a pro se litigant,

the party must also comply with the notice requirements of Local Civil Rule 56.2.

Where a party moves to dismiss or for judgment on the pleadings against a pro se

litigant and refers to matters outside the pleadings, the party must comply with the

notice requirements of Local Civil Rule 12.1.

4. Settlement Conferences

For cases referred to Judge Krause for settlement conferences, the Court will issue

specific instructions for pre-conference submissions in a separate order.

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5. Electronic Filing Under Seal

A. Sealing/Redactions Not Requiring Court Approval. Rule 5.2 of the Federal

Rules of Civil Procedure describes sensitive information that must be redacted

from public court filings without seeking prior permission from the Court. Parties

also should consult Rules 21.3 and 21.4 of the ECF Rules & Instructions.

B. Sealing/Redaction Requiring Court Approval. Motions or letter motions for

approval of sealed or redacted filings in civil and miscellaneous cases and the

subject documents, including the proposed sealed document(s), must be filed

electronically through the ECF system in conformity with the Court’s standing

order, 19-mc-583, and Section 6 of the ECF Rules & Instructions.

The motion must be filed in public view, must explain the particular reasons for

seeking to file that information under seal, and should not include confidential

information sought to be filed under seal. Supporting papers must be separately

filed electronically and may be filed under seal or redacted only to the extent

necessary to safeguard information sought to be filed under seal.

The proposed sealed document must be contemporaneously filed under seal in the

ECF system and electronically related to the motion. The summary docket text,

but not the sealed document, will be open to public inspection and should not

include confidential information sought to be filed under seal.

Where the motion seeks approval to redact information from a document that is to

be publicly filed, the filing party must: (a) publicly file the document with the

proposed redactions, and (b) electronically file under seal a copy of the

unredacted document with the proposed redactions highlighted. Both documents

must be electronically filed through the ECF system and related to the motion.

Any party unable to comply with the requirement for electronic filing under seal

through the ECF system, or who has reason to believe that a particular document

should not be electronically filed, must move for leave of the Court to file in the

traditional manner, on paper.

Unredacted courtesy copies of all documents to be filed under seal must be sent to

Chambers at the time the motion is filed.

6. Pretrial Procedures

A. Applicability. The procedures set forth in this section apply only to cases in

which the parties have consented pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) to have all

proceedings, including trial, occur before Judge Krause.

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B. Joint Pretrial Order. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the parties must

submit a proposed Joint Pretrial Order to the Court for approval within 30 days

after the date for the completion of discovery, or, if a summary judgment motion

has been filed, within 30 days after the decision on the motion. The proposed

Joint Pretrial Order must be signed by all parties and include the following:

1. The full caption of the action.

2. The names, addresses, telephone numbers (both office and mobile), and

e-mail addresses of each principal member of the trial team.

3. A brief statement by plaintiff (or, in a removed case, by defendant) as to

the basis of subject matter jurisdiction, and a brief statement by each other

party as to the presence or absence of subject matter jurisdiction. Such

statements must include citations to all statutes relied on and relevant facts

pertaining to citizenship and jurisdictional amount.

4. A brief summary by each party of the claims and defenses that party has

asserted that remain to be tried, including citations to all statutes relied on,

but without recital of evidentiary matter.

5. With respect to each claim remaining to be tried, a brief statement listing

each element or category of damages sought with respect to such claim

and a calculation of the amount of damages sought with respect to such

element or category.

6. A statement by each party as to whether the case is to be tried with or

without a jury, and the anticipated number of trial days needed. If there is

to be a jury trial, the parties must indicate whether they agree to a

non-unanimous verdict pursuant to Rule 48 of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure.

7. Any stipulations or agreed to statements of fact or law.

8. A statement by each party as to the witnesses whose testimony is to be

offered in its case in chief, indicating whether such witnesses will testify

in person or by deposition, and briefly stating the topic(s) as to which the

witness will testify. If any party anticipates any issue with the availability

of a witness, that issue must be identified. Absent extraordinary

circumstances, a party may not call as a witness in its case in chief any

person not listed in the Joint Pretrial Order.

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9. A designation by each party of deposition testimony to be offered in that

party’s case in chief, referencing page and line numbers, with any cross‐

designations and objections by any other party. For each designation as to

which there is an objection, the party objecting must briefly specify the

nature of the objection (e.g., “hearsay,” “Rule 403”). Any objection or

cross‐designation not listed shall be deemed waived.

10. A list by each party of exhibits to be offered in its case in chief. Each

exhibit must be pre‐marked (plaintiff to use numbers, defendant to use

letters). For each exhibit as to which there is an objection, the party

objecting must briefly specify the nature of the objection (e.g.,

“authenticity,” “hearsay,” “Rule 403”). Any objection not listed shall be

deemed waived. Absent extraordinary circumstances, a party may not

offer in its case in chief any exhibit not listed in the Joint Pretrial Order.

11. A proposed schedule by which the parties will exchange demonstrative

exhibits that the parties intend to use at trial, notify each other of any

objections thereto, consult with each other regarding those objections and

notify the Court of any remaining disputes.

C. Filings Prior to Trial. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the following

must be filed at the same time as the proposed Joint Pretrial Order:

1. In jury cases, parties must jointly prepare and file three separate

documents: (a) proposed requests to charge; (b) proposed voir dire

questions to be asked of prospective jurors; and (c) a proposed verdict

form. To the extent a party objects to another party’s requests to charge,

voir dire questions, or verdict form, the joint submission must include the

objecting party’s ground(s) for objection and proposed alternative (all in

the same document so that the Court can compare the parties’ respective

proposals). All requests to charge, objections, and alternatives must

include citations to controlling authority. The proposed voir dire

questions must include a short summary of the case—no more than two or

three sentences—to be read to prospective jurors during the jury selection

process. In addition to filing these three joint submissions on ECF, the

parties must send copies in Microsoft Word format to the Court via e-

mail to KrauseNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov.

2. In non-jury cases, parties must file proposed findings of fact and

conclusions of law. In addition to filing this submission on ECF, the

parties must send copies in Microsoft Word format to the Court via e-

mail to KrauseNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov.

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3. In all cases, any motions addressing evidentiary or other issues which

should be resolved in limine also must be filed at the same time as the

proposed Joint Pretrial Order. Responses to any motions in limine must be

filed within 14 days. There shall be no replies for motions in limine.

Each party also must provide each other party and the Court with a

tabbed binder or binders containing courtesy copies of its trial

exhibits and deposition designations (exhibits need not be filed

electronically on ECF).

If a party believes it would be useful, that party may file a pretrial

memorandum of law that does not duplicate the issues addressed in any of

the other pretrial submissions; pretrial memoranda are limited to 25 pages.

7. Inclement Weather or Other Emergency

White Plains Courthouse delays or closures are announced by 6:00 am. Call (914) 390-

4220 to hear a recorded message. In the event of severe weather conditions when the

Courthouse is open, counsel with scheduled appearances should call Chambers to

confirm that Judge Krause is holding court.

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