Hon. Arun Subramanian — Individual Rules of Practice

Revised

May 11, 2026

INDIVIDUAL PRACTICES IN CIVIL CASES

Arun Subramanian, United States District Judge

Chambers

United States District Court

Southern District of New York

500 Pearl Street, Courtroom 15A

New York, NY 10007

SubramanianNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, these Individual Practices apply to all civil matters

before Judge Subramanian except for civil pro se cases (see Individual Practices in Civil Pro

Se Cases).

1. Civility in All Proceedings

Parties must act with the highest degree of professionalism and courtesy in their

dealings with other parties, the Court and Court staff, and anyone else involved in

the litigation. Abusive conduct of any kind will not be tolerated and should

promptly be brought to the Court’s attention. For the avoidance of doubt, this

provision applies to discovery communications and conduct in depositions.

2. Guidelines for All Submissions

A. Designation of Lead Trial Counsel. At the outset of each case, or upon

reassignment of a matter to this Court, each party must identify to the Court one

individual who shall serve as Lead Trial Counsel for that party. This designation

must be provided to the Court in the party’s first submission (including in

reassigned cases). The designation of Lead Trial Counsel cannot be changed absent

prior approval by the Court. As specified below, Lead Trial Counsel is required to

personally attend all conferences before the Court and to be personally involved in

discovery disputes before they are brought to the Court.

B. Amended or Corrected Filings. Any amended or corrected filing (including but

not limited to amended pleadings) shall be filed with a redline showing all

differences between the original and revised filing. Any motion to amend a pleading

shall similarly be filed with a redline showing all differences between the operative

pleading and the proposed amended pleading.

C. No Courtesy Copies. Unless the Court orders otherwise, parties should not submit

courtesy copies of any submissions.

1

3. Communications with Chambers

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

should be by letter, filed electronically on ECF. Letters seeking relief should be

filed on ECF as letter-motions in accordance with Paragraph 8(A) below, not as

ordinary letters. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, letters may not exceed three

pages in length.

B. Telephone Calls. Telephone calls to Chambers are permitted solely in emergency

situations where a letter or letter-motion is not feasible, or as specifically authorized

in Paragraph 6(B) (Conduct in Depositions). In such situations, counsel for all

parties must join the call. Technical questions pertaining to ECF filings should be

directed to the ECF Help Desk at helpdesk@nysd.uscourts.gov or (212) 805-0800.

C. Faxes. Faxes are not permitted except with prior approval of Chambers.

D. Hand Deliveries. Hand-delivered mail should be left with the Court Security

Officers at the Worth Street entrance of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States

District Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007, and may not be

brought directly to Chambers. If the hand-delivered letter is urgent and requires the

Court’s immediate attention, ask the Court Security Officers to notify Chambers

that an urgent package has arrived that needs to be retrieved by Chambers staff

immediately.

E. Requests for Adjournments or Extensions of Time. All requests for

adjournments or extensions of time must be made in writing and filed on ECF as

letter-motions, not as ordinary letters, proposed stipulations, or proposed orders.

The letter-motion must state: (1) the original date(s); (2) the number of previous

requests for adjournment or extension; (3) whether these previous requests were

granted or denied; (4) the reasons for the requested extension; (5) whether the

adversary consents and, if not, the reasons given by the adversary for refusing to

consent; and (6) the date of the parties’ next scheduled appearance before the Court

as well as any other existing deadlines. If the extension will affect any other

deadlines in the case, the party seeking the extension should propose amendments

to those deadlines as well. Requests for extensions of deadlines regarding a matter

that has been referred to a Magistrate Judge shall be addressed to that assigned

Magistrate Judge.

Any request for extension or adjournment shall be made at least two business days

prior to the deadline or scheduled appearance. Requests for extensions will

ordinarily be denied if made after this deadline.

F. Related and Consolidated Cases. After an action has been accepted as related to

a prior filing, all future court papers and correspondence must contain the docket

number of the new filing as well as the docket number of the case to which it is

related (e.g., 12-CV-1234 [rel. 11-CV-4321]). After two or more actions have been

consolidated for all purposes under a single docket number pursuant to Rule

2

42(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, all future court papers and

correspondence should be filed only in the docket under which the cases have been

consolidated and should reference only that docket number.

G. ECF. In accordance with the Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions, counsel

are required to register promptly as ECF filers and to enter an appearance in the

case. Counsel are responsible for updating their contact information on ECF, should

it change, and they are responsible for checking the docket sheet regularly,

regardless of whether they receive an ECF notification of case activity. For

assistance with updating contact information, please contact the ECF Help Desk at

helpdesk@nysd.uscourts.gov or (212) 805-0800; do not file a letter-motion

advising the Court of the change.

4. Conferences

A. In-Person Conferences. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, all in-person

conferences will be held in Courtroom 15A, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY

10007.

B. Teleconferences. The following procedures shall apply to all teleconferences with

the Court:

i. At least 24 hours before a scheduled teleconference, the parties must jointly

email to the Court a list of counsel who may speak during the

teleconference. No more than one individual should be designated to speak

on behalf of each party. The email should also provide the telephone

numbers from which counsel expect to join the call.

ii. Counsel should use a landline whenever possible, should not use a

speakerphone, and must mute themselves whenever they are not speaking

to eliminate background noise.

iii. To facilitate orderly teleconferences and the creation of an accurate

transcript where a teleconference is held on the record, counsel are required

to identify themselves every time they speak. Counsel should spell any

proper names for the court reporter and take special care not to interrupt or

speak over one another.

iv. Broadcasting or recording of any court conference is prohibited by law.

C. Attendance by Lead Trial Counsel and Principal Decision-Makers. Lead Trial

Counsel must appear at all conferences with the Court, must have authority to bind

the party they represent consistent with the proceeding (for example, by agreeing

to a discovery or briefing schedule), and should be prepared to address any matters

likely to arise at the proceeding. Any attorney appearing before the Court must enter

a notice of appearance on ECF. Principal decision-makers must attend the final

pretrial conference and the trial.

3

D. Initial Case Management Conference. In most cases, the Court will schedule a

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(c) conference to occur no more than three

months after the filing of the complaint or notice of removal. Plaintiff’s counsel (or,

in a matter removed from state court, defense counsel) is directed to promptly notify

all counsel of the Notice of Initial Pretrial Conference. In most cases, the Notice

will direct the parties to submit on ECF a joint letter as well as a proposed Civil

Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order attached as an exhibit to the joint

letter, no later than Thursday of the week prior to the conference date. This must be

filed on ECF as a letter motion- not a standard letter. The parties shall use the form

Proposed Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order available at the Court’s

website.

The Court will set a schedule for the case at the initial case management conference.

In most cases, the Court will give the parties four months (from the date of the

conference) to complete all discovery, set a deadline for the filing of any motions

for summary judgment, and set a date on which trial will commence.

E. Rule 26(f) Obligations. The parties should fulfill their obligations to confer as

required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) as soon as practicable after

service of the complaint. Any party’s failure to promptly confer should be brought

to the Court’s attention pursuant to the procedures in Paragraph 5 of these

Individual Practices.

5. Discovery Disputes

A. Parties must follow Local Civil Rule 37.2 with the following modifications. Special

rules regarding disputes raised during depositions are addressed in Paragraph 6.

B. Any party wishing to raise a discovery dispute with the Court must first confer in

good faith with the opposing party—in person, by videoconference, or by

telephone—to resolve the dispute. This process must include at least one

conference among Lead Trial Counsel for the parties involved in the dispute.

C. Where a party raises a discovery dispute with the opposing party, the opposing

party must make itself available to confer in good faith to resolve the dispute within

two business days of a request for a conference. If a party requests a Lead Trial

Counsel conference, Lead Trial Counsel for the opposing party must make

themselves available within two business days.

D. If the meet-and-confer process does not resolve the dispute within 10 business days

of the dispute first being raised (or sooner, if an impasse has been reached), the

party seeking discovery may file on ECF a letter-motion, no longer than three

pages, explaining the nature of the dispute and, if applicable, why the party is

entitled to relief and requesting an informal conference. Any letter-motion seeking

relief must state: (1) the dates and times of each conference conducted pursuant to

Paragraph 5(B)–(C); (2) the duration of these conferences; (3) the names of the

attorneys who participated; and (4) that the moving party informed the adversary

4

during the last conference that the moving party believed the parties to be at an

impasse and that the moving party would be requesting a conference with the Court.

The letter-motion must specifically state that the required Lead Trial Counsel

conference occurred.

E. Any opposition to a letter-motion seeking relief shall be filed as a letter, not to

exceed three pages, within two business days. Counsel should be prepared to

discuss with the Court the matters raised by such letters, as the Court will seek to

resolve discovery disputes quickly, by order (based on the letters alone) or in a

conference.

F. Counsel should seek relief in accordance with these procedures in a timely fashion.

If a party waits until near the close of discovery to raise an issue that could have

been raised earlier, the party is unlikely to be granted the relief that it seeks or more

time for discovery.

G. Privilege Logs and Privilege Log Disputes. Privilege logs should be sufficiently

detailed to enable the receiving party to evaluate a claim of privilege, including

identification of attorneys involved in the relevant documents or communications.

Privilege logs must be promptly produced and updated on a rolling basis as

documents are produced. Each log and update must include a certification from

counsel that counsel has reviewed the withheld or redacted documents, and that

there is a good-faith basis to assert privilege over those documents. Disputes related

to privilege logs are subject to the rules governing discovery disputes specified in

Paragraph 5. The Court may on its own initiative order in camera production to the

Court of unredacted documents from the producing party’s log where a dispute is

raised.

6. Conduct in Depositions

A. All objections during a deposition must be “stated concisely in a nonargumentative

and nonsuggestive manner.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(c)(2). Witness coaching or

disruptive commentary of any kind during questioning is prohibited. Objections to

the form of a question (e.g., argumentative, asked and answered, calls for a narrative

response, calls for a legal conclusion, compound, vague, ambiguous, calls for

speculation) should be limited to “objection form.” If the examining attorney is

unclear as to the nature of the form objection, they may seek further clarification

from the objecting attorney.

B. If a dispute arises during a deposition, and the letter-motion procedures in

Paragraph 5 are not feasible to address it, the parties may email Chambers to raise

the dispute with the Court during the deposition. If a party wishes to engage the

Court in this manner, all parties in attendance at the deposition must make

themselves available and email the Court jointly.

5

7. Participation by Junior Attorneys

A. The Court encourages the participation of less-experienced attorneys in all

proceedings—including pretrial conferences, hearings on discovery disputes, oral

arguments, and examinations of witnesses at trial—particularly where that attorney

played a substantial role in drafting the underlying filing or in preparing the relevant

witness. The Court may be inclined to grant a request for oral argument, or a request

for more than one attorney to speak on behalf of a party in a conference, where

doing so would afford the opportunity for a junior attorney to gain experience.

8. Motions

A. Letter-Motions. When permitted by the S.D.N.Y. Local Rules and the S.D.N.Y.

Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions, letters seeking relief should be filed

on ECF as letter-motions, not as ordinary letters.

B. Pre-Motion Conferences in Civil Cases. Pre-motion conferences are not required,

except for disputes concerning discovery, which are governed by Paragraph 5

above.

C. Memoranda of Law. Please reference Local Civil Rule 7.1(c) for all requirements.

Sur-reply memoranda will not be accepted without prior permission of the Court.

All appendices to memoranda of law must be indexed. The Court will rarely grant

requests, even on consent of all parties, to expand these page limits.

D. Unpublished Cases. If a party cites to a case not available in an official reporter, it

need not provide copies of the case to Chambers if the case is available on Westlaw

or Lexis. For cases only available on Westlaw or Lexis, the Westlaw citation should

be used whenever possible.

E. Oral Argument on Motions. A party may request oral argument by indicating

“ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED” on the cover page of its memorandum of

law. A party should advise the Court by letter if oral argument would be handled

by a less-experienced attorney because, as discussed in Paragraph 7 above, that may

make the Court more inclined to hold oral argument. If oral argument is requested,

the Court will determine whether argument will be heard and, if so, advise counsel

of the argument date.

F. Use of ChatGPT and Other Tools. Counsel is responsible for providing the Court

with complete and accurate representations of the record, the procedural history of

the case, and any cited legal authorities. Use of ChatGPT or other such tools is not

prohibited, but counsel must at all times personally confirm for themselves the

accuracy of any research conducted by these means. At all times, counsel—and

specifically designated Lead Trial Counsel—bears responsibility for any filings

made by the party that counsel represents.

6

G. Motions to Dismiss

i. In any motion to dismiss arguing that a pleading fails to plausibly allege a

claim, the supporting papers must clearly indicate the specific claim

elements that the moving party believes have not been plausibly pleaded.

In response, the non-moving party must identify the specific paragraphs in

the pleading that the non-moving party believes plausibly allege those

specific elements. The moving party must attach a non-argumentative chart

as an exhibit to its moving papers identifying the elements not plausibly

alleged, and the non-moving party must attach a responsive, non-

argumentative exhibit to its responsive papers identifying the paragraphs

of the complaint that plausibly allege those elements.

ii. When a motion to dismiss is filed and the non-moving party elects to amend

its pleading pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(1), the non-

moving party must, within 10 days of receipt of the motion, notify the Court

and its adversary if it intends to file an amended pleading pursuant to Rule

15(a)(1), and the date by which it will do so. This provision does not alter

the time for a non-moving party to file a response to the motion to dismiss

as specified in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or Local Rules. Non-

moving parties are on notice that declining to amend their pleadings to

timely respond to an argument in the motion to dismiss may constitute a

waiver of their right to later use the amendment process to cure defects that

have been made apparent by the briefing.

a. If the party amends, the opposing party may then: (i) file an

answer; (ii) file a new motion to dismiss; or (iii) submit a

letter stating that it relies on the initially filed motion to

dismiss.

b. If the moving party files an answer or a new motion to

dismiss, the Court will deny the original motion to dismiss

as moot without notice to the parties.

H. Motions for Leave to Amend a Pleading. When moving to amend any pleading,

the moving party shall—in accordance with Paragraph 2(B) above—file with the

motion a redline showing all differences between the operative pleading and the

proposed amended pleading.

I. Summary Judgment Motions

i. Absent good cause, the Court will not ordinarily have summary judgment

practice in a non-jury case.

ii. Parties may not file more than one motion for summary judgment absent

prior Court approval.

7

iii. Any party moving for summary judgment shall provide all other parties

with an electronic copy, in Microsoft Word format, of the moving party’s

Statement of Material Facts Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1. Opposing

parties must reproduce each entry in the moving party’s Rule 56.1

Statement and set out the opposing party’s response directly beneath it.

iv. With respect to any deposition that is supplied, the index to the deposition

should be included if it is available.

v. The parties should provide the Court with a complete electronic, text-

searchable copy of any hearing or deposition transcript on which the parties

rely, if such a copy is available, unless doing so would be unduly

burdensome.

vi. Memoranda of law should include sections discussing the relevant

background and facts. Parties should not merely incorporate by reference

their Local Rule 56.1 Statements or Counterstatements.

J. Motions to Exclude Testimony of Experts. Unless the Court orders otherwise,

motions to exclude testimony of experts, pursuant to Rules 702–705 of the Federal

Rules of Evidence and the Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S.

579 (1993), line of cases, must be made by the deadline for dispositive motions and

should not be treated as motions in limine.

K. Preliminary Injunction Motions. The Court generally follows the procedure for

the conduct of non-jury trials described in Paragraph 10(E) below.

L. Default Judgment Motions. If a party fails to respond to a claim, the party

asserting the claim should promptly move for entry of default judgment if

appropriate. A party seeking a default judgment must proceed by filing a motion

for default judgment on ECF pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b)(2)

and Local Civil Rule 55.2(b). A party seeking a default judgment should not

proceed by order to show cause. The motion must be supported by the following

papers:

i. if failure to answer is the basis for the default, a Certificate from the Clerk

of Court stating that no answer has been filed;

ii. an attorney’s affidavit or declaration setting forth:

1. the basis for entering a default judgment, including a description

of the method and date of service of the summons and

complaint;

2. the procedural history beyond service of the summons and

complaint, if any;

8

3. legal authority for why such service was proper;

4. whether, if the default is applicable to fewer than all

counterparties, the Court may appropriately order a default

judgment on the issue of damages prior to resolution of the entire

action;

5. the proposed damages and the basis for each element of

damages, including interest, attorney’s fees, and costs; and

6. legal authority for why an inquest into damages would be

unnecessary;

iii. if the proposed damages are supported by calculations, native versions of

the files with calculations (i.e., versions of the files in their original format,

such as in “.xlsx”), which shall be emailed to Chambers;

iv. a proposed default judgment;

v. copies of all the operative pleadings; and

vi. a copy of the affidavit of service of the summons and complaint.

M. Proposed Stipulations and Orders. In accordance with the S.D.N.Y. Local Rules

and the S.D.N.Y. Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions, parties should file

on ECF all proposed stipulations and orders that they wish the Court to sign, using

the appropriate ECF filing event. See SDNY ECF Rules & Instructions §§ 13.17–

19 & App’x A. As noted above, requests for extensions and adjournments must be

made by letter-motion, not by proposed stipulation or proposed order.

9. Other Pretrial Guidance

A. Applications for Temporary Restraining Orders. A party should confer with its

adversary before making an application for a temporary restraining order unless the

party seeking relief is able to satisfy the requirements for obtaining temporary relief

without notice to the adverse party set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

65(b)(1). If the party seeking relief believes that Rule 65(b)(1)’s requirements can

be met and a temporary restraining order should issue without notice to the adverse

party, the party should file its papers on ECF under seal (or, if ECF is not a viable

option, by email to Chambers) and then email Chambers providing notice. If the

party is prepared to seek relief on notice to the adverse party, the party seeking

relief should simultaneously file its papers on ECF, serve them on all other parties,

and then email Chambers.

B. Settlement Agreements. Unless the Court orders otherwise, the Court will not

retain jurisdiction to enforce confidential settlement agreements. If the parties wish

that the Court retain jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement, the parties must

place the terms of their agreement on the public record. The parties may either

9

provide a copy of the settlement agreement for the Court to endorse or include the

terms of their settlement agreement in their stipulation of settlement and dismissal.

C. Bankruptcy Appeals. The parties must comply with the briefing schedule and the

format and length specifications set forth in the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy

Procedure (8014–8018) unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

10. Trial Submissions and Procedures

A. Joint Pretrial Order. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, at least 14 days prior

to the scheduled final pretrial conference, the parties shall both file on ECF, as a

“Joint Pretrial Statement,” and submit by email to the Court a proposed joint pretrial

order, which shall include the following:

i. the full caption of the action;

ii. the names, law firms, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses

of trial counsel if not already listed on the docket;

iii. 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 shall include citations to all statutes relied on and relevant facts

as to citizenship and jurisdictional amount;

iv. a brief summary by each party of the claims and defenses that the party

asserts remain to be tried, including citations to any statutes on which the

party relies. Such summaries shall also identify all claims and defenses

previously asserted that are not to be tried. The summaries should not

recite any evidentiary matter;

v. a statement as to the number of trial days needed and whether the case is

to be tried with or without a jury;

vi. a joint statement summarizing the nature of the case, to be read to potential

jurors during jury selection;

vii. a list of people, places, and institutions that are likely to be mentioned

during the trial, to be read to potential jurors during jury selection;

viii. a statement as to whether all parties have consented to trial by a Magistrate

Judge, without identifying which parties do or do not consent;

ix. any stipulations or agreed statements of fact or law to which all parties

consent. In a jury case, the parties should memorialize any such

stipulations or agreed statements of fact or law in a standalone document

that can be marked and admitted at trial;

10

x. a list of all trial witnesses, indicating whether such witnesses will testify

in person or by deposition, whether such witnesses will require an

interpreter (and, if so, which party will pay the costs for the interpreter),

and a brief summary of the substance of each witness’s testimony. Absent

leave of Court, a witness listed by both sides shall testify only once (with

the defendant permitted to go beyond the scope of the direct on cross-

examination), and counsel should confer with respect to scheduling;

xi. a designation by each party of deposition testimony to be offered in its

case-in-chief and any counter-designations and objections by any other

party. The parties need not designate deposition testimony to be used for

impeachment purposes only;

xii. a list by each party of all exhibits to be offered in its case-in-chief, with a

single asterisk indicating exhibits to which no party objects on any ground.

If a party objects to an exhibit, the objection should be noted by indicating

the Federal Rule of Evidence that is the basis for the objection. If any party

believes that the Court should rule on such an objection in advance of trial,

that party should include a notation to that effect (e.g., “Advance Ruling

Requested”) as well. In general, the Court will rule on relevance and

authenticity objections at the time of trial;

xiii. 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; and

xiv. a statement of whether the parties consent to less than a unanimous verdict.

B. Required Pretrial Filings. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, each party shall

file and serve with the joint pretrial order:

i. in all cases, motions addressing any evidentiary issues or other matters that

should be resolved in limine. Absent leave of the Court, each party must

file a single memorandum of law, consistent with Paragraph 8(C) above,

in support of all motions in limine filed by that party;

ii. in all jury cases, joint requests to charge, joint proposed verdict forms, and

joint proposed voir dire questions as specified by Paragraph 10(D) below;

and

iii. in all non-jury cases, proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The

proposed findings of fact should be detailed and should include citations to

the proffered trial testimony and exhibits, as there may be no opportunity

for post-trial submissions. At the time of filing, parties should also submit

copies of these documents to the Court by email, both in PDF format and

as a Microsoft Word document.

11

C. Electronic Copies of Exhibits and Exhibit Lists. Unless otherwise ordered by the

Court, the parties shall also submit with the joint pretrial order (but not file on ECF):

i. an electronic copy of each exhibit sought to be admitted (with each

filename corresponding to the relevant exhibit number—e.g., “PX-1,”

“DX-1,” etc.). If submission of electronic copies would be an undue burden

on a party, the party may seek leave of Court (by letter-motion filed on

ECF) to submit prospective documentary exhibits in hard copy. Each hard

copy shall be pre-marked (that is, with an exhibit sticker) and assembled

sequentially in a loose-leaf binder (not to exceed 2-1/2 inches in thickness)

or in separate manila folders labeled with the exhibit numbers and placed

in redweld folders labeled with the case name and docket number; and

ii. a Microsoft Word document listing all exhibits sought to be admitted,

emailed to the court. The list shall contain four columns labeled as follows:

(1) “Exhibit Number”; (2) “Description” (of the exhibit); (3) “Date

Identified”; and (4) “Date Admitted.” The parties shall complete the first

two columns, but leave the third and fourth columns blank, to be filled in

by the Court during trial.

D. Requests to Charge and Proposed Voir Dire. Unless otherwise ordered by the

Court, in all jury trials, joint requests to charge, joint proposed verdict forms, and

joint proposed voir dire questions shall be submitted as attachments to the proposed

joint pretrial order, with any differing proposals displayed in track-change format

and supported by authority or other justification. At the time of filing, parties should

also submit copies of these documents to the Court by email, as Microsoft Word

documents. For any request to charge or proposed voir dire question on which the

parties cannot agree, each party should clearly set forth its proposed charge or

question, and briefly state why the Court should use its proposed charge or question,

with citations to supporting authority.

E. Additional Submissions in Non-Jury Cases. Unless otherwise ordered by the

Court, at the time the joint pretrial order is filed, each party in a non-jury trial shall

submit to the Court by email and serve on opposing counsel, but not file on ECF, the

following:

i. copies of affidavits constituting the direct testimony of each trial witness,

except for the direct testimony of an adverse party, a person whose

attendance is compelled by subpoena, or a person for whom the Court has

agreed to hear direct testimony live at the trial. The affidavit should be

treated as a direct substitute for the witness’s live testimony; that is, counsel

should be attentive to the Rules of Evidence (e.g., hearsay and the like) and

authenticate any exhibits that will be offered through that witness’s

testimony. Three business days after submission of such affidavits, counsel

for each party shall submit a list of all affiants whom they intend to cross-

examine at the trial. Only those witnesses who will be cross-examined need

to appear at trial. The original signed affidavits should be brought to trial

12

to be marked as exhibits, at which time any objections to particular

paragraphs of an affidavit can be made; and

ii. all deposition excerpts that will be offered as substantive evidence, as well

as a one-page synopsis of those excerpts for each deposition. Each synopsis

shall include page citations to the pertinent pages of the deposition

transcripts.

F. Filings in Opposition. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, any party may file

the following documents within one week after the filing of the pretrial order:

i. opposition to any motion in limine; and

ii. opposition to any legal argument in a pretrial memorandum.

11. Redactions and Sealed Filings

A. Redactions Not Requiring Court Approval. The parties are referred to Rule 5.2

of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the S.D.N.Y. ECF Privacy Policy

(“Privacy Policy”). There are two categories of information that may be redacted

from public court filings without prior permission from the Court: “sensitive

information” and information requiring “caution.” Parties should not include in

their public filings, unless necessary, the five categories of “sensitive information”

(i.e., social security numbers [use the last four digits only], names of minor children

[use the initials only], dates of birth [use the year only], financial account numbers

[use the last four digits only], and home addresses [use only the City and State]).

Parties may also, without prior Court approval, redact from their public filings the

six categories of information requiring caution described in the Privacy Policy (i.e.,

any personal identifying number, medical records [including information regarding

treatment and diagnosis], employment history, individual financial information,

proprietary or trade secret information, and information regarding an individual’s

cooperation with the government).

B. Redactions and Sealed Filings Requiring Court Approval. Except for redactions

permitted by Paragraph 11(A) or as provided by the protective order approved in

the case, all redactions or sealing of public court filings require Court approval. To

be approved, any redaction or sealing of a court filing must be narrowly tailored to

serve whatever purpose justifies the redaction or sealing and must be otherwise

consistent with the presumption in favor of public access to judicial documents. In

general, the parties’ consent or the fact that information is subject to a

confidentiality agreement between litigants is not, by itself, a valid basis to

overcome the presumption in favor of public access to judicial documents.

C. Procedures for Filing Sealed or Redacted Documents. Any party seeking leave

to file a document under seal or in redacted form shall proceed as follows:

i. Meet and Confer. The party should meet and confer with any opposing

party (or any third party seeking confidential treatment of the information)

13

in advance to narrow the scope of the request. When a party seeks leave to

file a document under seal or in redacted form on the ground that an

opposing party or third party has requested it, the filing party shall notify

the opposing party or third party that it must file, within three business days,

a letter explaining the need to seal or redact the document.

ii. Sealed Document(s). The party shall file a letter-motion seeking leave to

file a document under seal on ECF in accordance with Standing Order 19-

MC-583 and Section 6 of the S.D.N.Y. Electronic Case Filing Rules and

Instructions. The letter-motion itself shall be filed in public view, should

explain the reasons for seeking to file the document under seal, and should

not include confidential information. The proposed sealed document shall

be contemporaneously filed under seal on ECF (with the appropriate level

of restriction) and electronically related to the motion (or to the relevant

Court order if the Court previously granted leave to file the document under

seal). Note that the summary docket text, but not the document itself, will

be open to public inspection and should not include confidential

information sought to be filed under seal.

iii. Redacted Document(s). Where a party seeks leave to file a document in

redacted form, the party shall file a letter-motion seeking leave to file a

document in redacted form on ECF in accordance with Standing Order 19-

MC-583 and Section 6 of the S.D.N.Y. Electronic Case Filing Rules and

Instructions. The letter-motion itself shall be filed in public view, should

explain the reasons for seeking to file the document in redacted form, and

should not include confidential information. At the same time, the party

shall: (1) publicly file on ECF and electronically relate to the letter-motion

a copy of the document with the proposed redactions; and (2) file under

seal on ECF (with the appropriate level of restriction) and electronically

relate to the motion an unredacted copy of the document with the proposed

redactions highlighted.

iv. Submission by Email. Any party unable to comply with the requirements

for electronic filing under seal through the ECF system, or who believes

that a particular document should not be electronically filed at all, shall file

a letter-motion seeking leave of the Court to file in a different manner. If

the party is unable to file such a letter-motion on ECF or believes there is

good cause not to file such a letter-motion on ECF, the party may submit it

by email as a text-searchable PDF attachment with a copy simultaneously

delivered to all counsel. Any such email shall state clearly in the subject

line: (1) the caption of the case, including the lead party names and docket

number; and (2) a brief description of the contents of the letter. Parties may

not include substantive communications in the body of the email; such

communications may be included only in the body of the letter.

D. Protective Order. The parties should conform any proposed protective order as

closely as possible to the Court’s Model Protective Order, which is available on

14

Judge Subramanian’s webpage. If the parties alter the Court’s Model Protective

Order in any way other than conforming the caption and signatures, they must

provide a redline indicating all such modifications by email to Chambers. The Court

disfavors modifications to the Court’s Model Protective Order.

12. Use of Electronic Devices and WiFi Access for Hearings and Trials

A. Use of Electronic Devices. Electronic devices (including mobile telephones,

personal electronic devices, and computers) may not be used in Judge

Subramanian’s Courtroom without his permission. More broadly, the use of any

such devices within the Courthouse and its environs is governed by the Court’s

Standing Order M10-468. If required by the Standing Order, counsel seeking to

bring a device into the Courthouse shall submit an Electronic Device and Wi-Fi

Access Request Form, available on the Court’s website, to the Court by e-mail as

early as possible—and certainly no later than three business days before the start of

the trial or hearing. Requests submitted later than three business days prior to the

relevant trial or hearing may be denied on that basis alone. If permitted by the

Standing Order, mobile telephones are permitted inside the Courtroom, but they

MUST be kept turned off at all times. Non-compliance with this rule may result in

forfeiture of the device for the remainder of the proceedings.

Wi-Fi Access for Hearings and Trials. Attorneys may obtain authorization to use

the Court’s Wi-Fi system in Judge Subramanian’s Courtroom during a hearing or

trial. For further information, see Judge Subramanian’s Individual Practices for

Hearings and Trials, available on Judge Subramanian’s webpage.

15