Hon. Barbara Moses — Individual Rules of Practice

April 8, 2025

INDIVIDUAL PRACTICES OF

MAGISTRATE JUDGE BARBARA MOSES

Chambers Courtroom

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse

500 Pearl Street, Room 740 500 Pearl Street, Courtroom 20A

New York, NY 10007 Courtroom Deputy: Tamika Kay

Dedicated WEBEX Teleconference Line

855-244-8681

Access Code: 23141814376#

Civil cases come before magistrate judges in two ways: (i) for one or more specific purposes,

pursuant to an order of reference by the assigned district judge, or (ii) for all purposes, on

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

purposes consent form signed by counsel, the magistrate judge assumes the role of the district

judge. 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 civil trials for firm dates, rather than using a trailing trial calendar or 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 have Judge Moses preside over their case for all purposes, including

trial, the necessary form is available at:

http://nysd.uscourts.gov/judge/Moses.

Unless otherwise ordered by Judge Moses, the following practices are applicable to all civil

matters conducted before her, whether by reference or on consent:

1. Communications with Chambers

a. Motions and Letters. Except as otherwise provided below, communications

with the Court (other than during conferences, hearings, or trials) should be by

motion or letter, filed on ECF. Except for confidential settlement letters,

discussed in § 1(e) below, or as specifically directed by chambers in advance, the

Court will not accept letters or motions from counseled parties by email, fax,

telephone, or hard copy mailed or delivered directly to chambers.

b. Letter-Motions. Letter-motions, as permitted by Local Civ. R. 7.1(d) and § 13.1

of the SDNY ECF Rules & Instructions, should be filed using the "letter-motion"

option, listed under "motion." In particular, parties should file as letter-motions

all requests for pre-motion conferences, adjournments, extensions, increased

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word limits, oral argument, and settlement conferences. Requests for other types

of non-dispositive relief listed in § 13.1 may also be made by letter-motion.

c. Informational Letters. Letters that are informational in nature and do not

request relief (for example, status updates requested by the Court) should be filed

using the "letter" option, listed under "other documents."

d. Word Limits; Courtesy Copies; Service. Absent advance permission from the

Court, letters and letter-motions may not exceed 2000 words (approximately four

pages) in length, exclusive of attachments, which should be kept to a minimum.

Please do not try to cheat the word limit by splitting a request into two separate

2000-word letters. If a letter or letter-motion includes more than one attachment

or exhibit, a paper courtesy copy of the entire submission, marked as such, must

be promptly delivered to chambers by mail, overnight courier, or hand delivery.

The courtesy copy should bear the ECF header generated at the time of electronic

filing and include tabs for the attachments. In pro se cases, letters and letter-

motions filed via ECF by represented parties must also be served on the pro se

parties (unless they have consented to electronic service via ECF). Counsel must

indicate the mode of service in the letter to the Court and must also file a proof

of service.

e. Ex Parte Settlement Letters. Ex parte letters required by the Court in advance

of a settlement conference should be emailed to the chambers email address,

which will be provided in the settlement conference scheduling order.

f. Notification of Settlement. If the parties have settled while a motion is pending,

or shortly before a scheduled conference or hearing, they must promptly so

advise the Court, by letter, in order to avoid unnecessary expenditure of judicial

resources.

g. Hand Delivery. Permitted hand deliveries may be left with a Court Security

Officer at the Worth Street entrance of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse.

If the matter requires the Court's immediate attention, ask the Court Security

Officer to notify chambers that an urgent delivery has arrived.

h. Letters or Emails between Parties. Copies of correspondence between the

parties or their counsel should not be copied to chambers, or filed on ECF, except

as exhibits to otherwise properly-filed documents.

i. Telephone Calls. For scheduling and calendar matters, counsel may call

chambers at 212-805-0228. Otherwise, telephone calls are permitted only for

urgent matters requiring immediate attention or to obtain permission to submit a

document other than via ECF.

2. Motions

a. Requests for Adjournments or Extensions. Requests to adjourn a court

conference or other court proceeding or to extend a deadline must be made by

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letter-motion, after consultation with all affected parties, and must state: (1) the

original date of the conference or proceeding; (2) the number of previous

requests for adjournment or extension; (3) whether those requests were granted

or denied; (4) the reason for the present request; (5) whether all affected parties

consent; and (6) if not, the reasons given for refusing. If the requested

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

Scheduling Order must be attached.

Requests for extension of a deadline must be made in advance of the deadline to

be extended. Absent unforeseeable emergencies, requests for adjournment of a

court conference or other proceeding must be made at least four days 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.

b. Discovery Motions. No discovery dispute will be heard unless the moving party

(including a non-party seeking relief from a subpoena) has first conferred in good

faith and in "real time" (e.g., in person or by telephone) with the adverse party or

parties, in an attempt to resolve the dispute. An exchange of letters or email alone

does not satisfy this requirement. Counsel must respond promptly and in good

faith to a request from another party to meet and confer in accordance with this

paragraph.

If the parties have met and conferred but cannot resolve their dispute, the moving

party must request a discovery conference with the Court, by letter-motion, as

required by Local Civ. R. 37.2. The letter-motion must succinctly set forth the

basis of the dispute and the relief sought, certify that the required good faith

conference took place, and state: (1) the date, time, and duration of the parties'

conference; (2) the names of the counsel who participated; and (3) the position

of any relevant adverse party as to each contested issue. None of these

requirements may be satisfied by attaching copies of correspondence between

counsel. In addition, the letter-motion must set forth verbatim each discovery

request and response in contention in accordance with Local Civ. R. 37.1 and

5.1. This requirement may be satisfied by attaching the relevant request(s) and

response(s) to the letter-motion. Please do not submit an entire set of discovery

requests and responses if only a few are in dispute.

c. Summary Judgment Motions. Strict compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c) and

Local Rule 56.1 is required. The moving party must provide all other parties with

an electronic copy, in Microsoft Word format, of the moving party's Statement

of Material Facts pursuant to Local Civ. R. 56.1. The opposing party must

reproduce each paragraph of the moving party's Statement of Material Facts, with

the opposing party's response directly beneath. As required by Local Civ. R.

56.1(d), each statement of undisputed material fact and response thereto shall be

followed by a citation to the specific evidentiary material that supports the

statement or response, e.g., "Bennett Deposition Tr. 3:15-4:20," or "Salim

Interrog. Resp. No. 18." General references to a "transcript," "interrogatory

responses," or the like are inadequate. Similarly, the parties must append to their

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motion papers the specific evidentiary material upon which they rely and no

more. If a party wishes to submit a complete deposition transcript, that party must

(i) highlight the portions cited in their Statement of Material Facts or response,

and (ii) tab the relevant pages in the courtesy copies submitted pursuant to § 2(g)

below.

i. Exception: A counseled party moving for summary judgment against a

pro se party must attach the pro se party's complete deposition transcript.

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

motion conferences are not required, but may be requested by letter-motion

where counsel believe that an informal conference with the Court may obviate

the need for the motion or narrow the issues in dispute.

e. Briefing Schedule on Letter-Motions. Unless the Court has ordered otherwise

or the parties have agreed to a different briefing schedule, any opposition to a

letter-motion shall be filed within three court days of the moving letter, and any

reply shall be filed within two court days of the opposition. If the parties have

agreed to a different briefing schedule, they must so inform the Court, either in

the moving letter or as soon as agreement is reached. If the letter-motion requests

expedited relief, opposing counsel are advised to file any opposition as promptly

as possible.

f. Briefing Schedule on Formal Motions. Unless the Court has ordered otherwise

or the parties have agreed to a different briefing schedule, opposition and reply

papers with respect to formal motions will be due in accordance with Local Civ.

R. 6.1. The parties are encouraged to agree on a reasonable briefing schedule

before or promptly after the moving papers are filed. If the parties have agreed

to such a schedule, they must so inform the Court, either in the moving party's

notice of motion or by letter as soon as agreement is reached. Should the parties

thereafter agree to modify their briefing schedule, they must promptly inform the

Court of the new schedule by letter.

g. Courtesy Copies. Paper courtesy copies of all formal motion papers, marked as

such, must be delivered by hand, mail, or courier promptly after filing. Courtesy

copies should bear the ECF header generated at the time of electronic filing and

include protruding tabs for any exhibits. Bulky materials should be neatly bound

or placed in 3-ring binders with appropriate dividers.

h. Memoranda of Law. Unless advance permission has been granted, briefs in

support of and in response to a motion (except for motions for reconsideration)

must comply with the word limits prescribed by Local Civ. R. 7.1(c). Motions

for reconsideration must comply with the requirements of Local Civ. R. 6.3. The

Court expects parties to adhere strictly to the typeface, margin and spacing

requirements of Local Civ. R. 7.1(b).

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i. Oral Argument on Motions. Parties may request oral argument at the time their

motion papers are filed. The Court will determine whether to hear argument and

will advise the parties of the argument date and time.

3. Sealing Motions

a. File the Letter-Motion Electronically. Filing under seal requires permission of

the Court, which may be sought via letter-motion. The letter-motion requesting

approval of sealed or redacted filings and the document(s) as to which sealing is

requested must be filed electronically on ECF in compliance with standing order

No. 19-mc-00583 and § 6 of the SDNY ECF Rules & Instructions.

b. File the Letter-Motion in Public View. The letter-motion must be filed in

public view, must explain the particular reasons for seeking to file that

information under seal, and should not include any of the 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.

c. File the Document as to which Sealing is Required under Seal. The

document(s) as to which sealing is requested must be contemporaneously filed

under seal on ECF and electronically related to the letter-motion. The summary

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

therefore should not include confidential information sought to be filed under

seal.

d. Redacted Documents. If the letter-motion seeks approval to redact information

from a document that is otherwise to be publicly filed, the filing party shall: (a)

publicly file the document in the proposed redacted form, 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.

e. Lugosch Standard. To be approved, any sealing or redaction of a court filing

must be narrowly tailored to serve the purpose that requires the sealing or

redaction and must be otherwise consistent with the presumption in favor of

public access to judicial documents described in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of

Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110, 119-20 (2d Cir. 2006). The parties are cautioned that

the designation of documents as "confidential" for discovery purposes does not,

without more, justify a sealing or redaction order. If a sealing or redaction request

is based on another party's designation of documents or information as

"confidential," or if any party opposes the sealing or redaction request, that other

party shall respond to the requesting party's letter-motion via ECF on the

schedule set forth above in § 2(e).

f. Meet and Confer. The party seeking leave to file sealed or redacted materials

should meet and confer with any opposing parties (or third parties seeking

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confidential treatment of the information) in advance to narrow the scope of the

request. When a party seeks leave to file sealed or redacted materials on the

ground that an opposing party or third party has requested it, that party shall

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

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

g. No Leave Required to Comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2. Notwithstanding the

foregoing, no leave is required to redact all but the last four digits of an

individual's social-security number or taxpayer-identification number, the day

and month of an individual's birth, the name of an individual known to be a

minor, or all but the last four digits of a financial-account number, consistent

with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2.

4. Settlement Conferences

a. Scheduling. Parties may request a settlement conference before Judge Moses.

Settlement conferences are normally held Monday through Thursday, beginning

at 2:15 p.m.

b. Attendance. Settlement conferences are normally held in Courtroom 20A.

Unless excused in advance, each party must attend the conference in person,

accompanied by that party's lead trial attorney. If a party is a corporation, union,

government entity, or other non-natural person, it must send a decision-maker

with knowledge of the case, responsibility for determining the amount of any

ultimate settlement, and authority to enter into such a settlement.

c. Pre-Conference Responsibilities. If and when a settlement conference is

scheduled, a separate order will issue concerning the conduct of the conference

and the parties' pre-conference responsibilities.

5. Pretrial Procedures

a. Applicability. The procedures set out below apply only to cases in which the

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

before Judge Moses, including trial.

b. Joint Pretrial Order. Unless the Court has ordered otherwise, the parties shall

submit to the Court for its approval a proposed Joint Pretrial Order 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 shall be signed by all parties and include the

following:

i. The full caption of the action.

ii. The names and addresses of trial counsel, together with their office and

cellular telephone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses.

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iii. A brief statement by plaintiff 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, including 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 party has

asserted which remain to be tried, including citations to all statutes relied

on but without recital of evidentiary matter.

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

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

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

element or category.

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

without a jury, and the estimated number of trial days needed.

vii. All stipulations or agreed statements of fact or law.

viii. A list by each party of the witnesses whose testimony is to be offered in

that party's case in chief, indicating whether each witness will testify in

person, via affidavit (in bench trials), or by deposition, and briefly stating

the topic(s) on which the witness will testify. 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.

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

party's case in chief, together with any cross-designations or 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 cross-designation or objection not made will

be deemed waived. Absent extraordinary circumstances a party may not

offer in its case in chief any deposition testimony not listed in the Joint

Pretrial Order.

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

exhibit shall 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., "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.

c. Filings Prior to Trial. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, each party shall

file, 15 days before the date of commencement of trial (or 30 days after the filing

of the final pretrial order if no trial date has been fixed):

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i. In jury cases: proposed voir dire questions, requests to charge, and a

proposed verdict sheet.

ii. In nonjury cases: a statement of the elements of each claim or defense

involving such party, together with a summary of the facts that will be

relied upon to establish each element. If the parties believe it would be

useful, they may also file pretrial memoranda, limited to 8,750 words

(approximately 25 pages).

iii. In all cases: motions addressing any evidentiary or other issues which

should be resolved in limine.

d. Marking Exhibits for Trial. Three court days before the date set for the final

pretrial conference, each party must provide each other party, and the Court, with

a tabbed binder or binders containing copies of its trial exhibits and deposition

designations.

6. Conferences and Hearings. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, all conferences,

hearings, and other proceedings in civil cases will be held in Courtroom 20A of the

Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, New

York 10007.

a. Teleconferencing. If the Court instead schedules a proceeding via

teleconference, using its dedicated WEBEX teleconference line, the parties must

dial (855) 244-8681 and enter the access code 23141814376# a few minutes

before the time scheduled for the proceeding.

b. Video Conferencing. If the Court instead schedules a proceeding via

videoconference, the Court will provide the videoconferencing link to counsel,

via email, in advance of the conference, and will also provide an audio-only dial-

in line, which may be used by the public and will be published on ECF. For video

settlement conferences, no public dial-in information will be provided.

c. Junior Lawyers. Normally, the Court applies the "one lawyer per party" rule for

conferences, hearings, and motion arguments. However, the Court is willing to

vary that rule in order to create opportunities for less experienced lawyers to

argue or otherwise participate in courtroom proceedings as to matters they have

helped prepare, and firms are encouraged to provide such opportunities for the

junior members of their teams. Lead counsel should advise the Court at the outset

of a proceeding of any request to permit a second lawyer to handle a portion of

that proceeding.

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7. Pro Se Parties

a. All letters, motions, 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. Non-incarcerated pro se parties who have an email address

and wish to receive court orders and other case-related documents quickly,

automatically, and electronically, may consent to electronic service by filing a

Pro Se (Nonprisoner) Consent & Registration Form, available from the Pro Se

Intake Unit or at:

https://nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/proseconsentecfnotice-final.pdf

Non-incarcerated pro se parties who have an email 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:

https://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms/motion-permission-electronic-case-filing-pro-

se-cases

b. Pro se parties may file pleadings, letters, and other documents with the Court by

using any of the following methods:

i. Drop off the documents in the drop box located in the lobby of the U.S.

Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY, 10007.

ii. Mail the documents to the Pro Se Intake Unit at 500 Pearl Street, Room

205, New York, New York, 10007.

iii. Email the documents to ProSe@nysd.uscourts.gov. Instructions for

filing documents by email may be found on the Court's website at

nysd.uscourts.gov/prose.

c. A pro se party must provide the Court and opposing parties with his or her

address, telephone number, and email address, and must promptly update the

Court and opposing parties if that information changes, using the Notice of

Change of Address form, available from the Pro Se Intake Unit or at:

http://nysd.uscourts.gov/node/823

d. A free legal clinic called the Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Project assists

parties who are representing themselves in civil lawsuits in this Court. The

project is run by a private organization, not the Court. To request assistance from

the project, parties may complete the clinic's intake form, available at:

https://www.citybarjusticecenter.org/projects/federal-pro-se-legal-assistance-

project/

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