Hon. Jeannette A. Vargas — Individual Rules of Practice

INDIVIDUAL RULES AND PRACTICES IN CIVIL CASES

Honorable Jeannette A. Vargas, United States District Judge

Chambers

United States District Court

Southern District of New York

500 Pearl Street, Room 703

New York, NY 10007

VargasNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov

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

all civil matters before Judge Vargas except for civil pro se cases (see

Individual Practices in Civil Pro Se Cases, available at

https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-jeannette-vargas).

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. Electronic Case Filing (“ECF”). In accordance with the S.D.N.Y.

Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions, except as otherwise

expressly provided, all documents filed with the Court must be filed

electronically.

B. Text Searchable Submissions. If feasible, every submission should

be in text-searchable format created by converting the document

electronically to PDF by computer (that is, not by scanning a printed

document). If a PDF is created by scanning a printed document (for

instance, in the case of a pre-existing documentary exhibit), the party

should use software to make the document text searchable whenever

possible.

C. Amended or Corrected Filings. Any amended or corrected filing

shall be filed with a redline showing all differences between the

original and revised filing.

D. Submission of Large Electronic Files. If a party needs to submit

large files that cannot be uploaded to ECF due to size, the party should

email the Court at VargasNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov. The

email should copy all other counsel in the case and include the name

and docket number of the case and the nature and size of the materials

to be submitted electronically.

E. No Courtesy Copies. Unless the Court orders otherwise, parties

should not submit courtesy copies of any submissions.

F. Related and Consolidated Cases.

i. 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., 22-CV-1234 [rel. 21-CV-4321]).

ii. After two or more actions have been consolidated for all

purposes under a single docket number pursuant to Rule

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.

3. Communications with Chambers

A. Letters and Letter Motions. Except as provided herein or as

otherwise ordered by the Court, communications with Chambers shall

be by letter filed on ECF. Letters may not exceed four pages in length

(single-spaced, with standard font and margins, inclusive of signature

blocks, but exclusive of exhibits or attachments) without prior

permission from the Court. Copies of correspondence between counsel

shall not be sent to the Court or filed on ECF except as exhibits to an

otherwise properly filed document. Letters seeking relief (consistent

with S.D.N.Y. Local Rules and the S.D.N.Y. Electronic Case Filing

Rules and Instructions) should be filed as letter-motions on ECF, not

ordinary letters. Any opposition to letters must be filed within three

(3) business days of the filing party’s letter motion.

B. Telephone Calls. Except as provided in Section 5(L) and 7(B), calls

to Chambers are permitted only in urgent situations requiring

immediate attention, where submission of a letter or letter motion is

not feasible. In such situations, call Chambers. Parties should review

these Individual Rules and Practices before calling with questions

about the Court’s rules and practices.

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C. 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, 200 Worth Street, New

York, NY 10007. 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.

D. Faxes. Faxes to Chambers are not permitted without express prior

permission, and only in cases of unforeseeable emergencies.

E. Requests for Adjournment or Extension 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. Parties should not

submit proposed stipulations or proposed orders purporting to

extend deadlines.

The letter-motion must state: (1) the original date and the new date

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

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

(4) the reason for the extension or adjournment; (5) whether the

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

refusal to consent; and (6) the date of the parties’ next scheduled

appearance before the Court. If the requested extension affects any

dates set forth in the Civil Case Management Plan, a proposed

Amended Civil Case Management Plan must be attached. Absent an

emergency, any request for extension or adjournment shall be made as

early as possible, and at least 48 hours prior to the deadline or

scheduled appearance. Requests for extensions will ordinarily be

denied if made after the expiration of the original deadline.

A request to extend the deadline to complete all discovery is unlikely to

be granted. But any such request shall include a statement as to what

discovery requests have been propounded, who propounded each

request, and on what date; what responses were made, who made each

response, and on what date; and the volume of documents produced,

who produced the documents, and on what date.

4. Conferences

A. Telephone and Video Conference (“Remote Conferences”).

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, any Remote Conference will be

held via a Microsoft Teams meeting organized by the Court. The

following procedures shall apply to all Remote Conferences:

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i. Prior to the Remote Conference, the Court will issue an Order

with instructions regarding how to join the Microsoft Teams

meeting.

ii. Counsel in attendance who will not be speaking must have their

videos off and be muted for the duration of the conference.

iii. If counsel joins the Remote Conference by audio-only, counsel

should dial-in using a landline whenever possible, should use a

headset or handset instead of speakerphone, and must mute

themselves whenever they are not speaking to eliminate

background noise. To facilitate the creation of an accurate

transcript if the conference is held on the record, counsel who

are joining the conference audio-only are required to identify

themselves every time they speak. Counsel should spell any

proper names for the court reporter. Counsel should also take

special care not to interrupt or speak over one another.

iv. The broadcasting or recording of any court conference is

prohibited by law.

B. Participation by Junior Attorneys. The Court encourages the

participation of less experienced attorneys in all proceedings—

including pretrial conferences, hearings on discovery disputes, and

witness examinations 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 where doing so would afford the opportunity for a junior

attorney to gain courtroom experience. To facilitate this provision, the

Court is amenable to permitting more than one attorney to speak at a

conference or argument.

C. Authority Consistent with Proceeding. All attorneys appearing

before the Court must have authority to bind the party they represent

consistent with the proceedings.

D. Pronouns and Honorifics. The parties and counsel are invited to

advise the Court of their honorifics and/or pronouns—such as Ms., Mx.,

or Mr.—so that the Court may address them respectfully. People

appearing before this Court may do so in writing and/or when

appearing for conferences, hearings, or trials, by speaking to the

Courtroom Deputy.

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5. Motions and Specific Types of Filings

A. Memoranda of Law. Unless prior permission has been granted,

memoranda of law in support of and in opposition to motions are

limited to 8,750 words, and reply memoranda are limited to 3,500

words. The format of all memoranda of law shall comply with Local

Rule 7.1, except that all font, including any footnotes, must be in 12-

point font or larger. Memoranda of 10 pages or more shall contain a

table of contents and a table of authorities, neither of which shall count

against the word limit. Surreply memoranda are not allowed (unless

specifically permitted in extraordinary situations for good cause).

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. To the

extent the court permits a party to submit briefs longer than these

limits, and expresses those limits in pages, each additional page must

not contain more than 350 additional words if the brief is filed by an

attorney or prepared with a computer.

B. 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. In particular, all requests for adjournments, extensions, and

pre-motion conferences (including pre-motion conferences with respect

to discovery disputes) should be filed as letter-motions.

C. Pre-Motion Conferences in Civil Cases. Pre-motion conferences

are not required, except for disputes concerning discovery, which are

governed by Section 6 below.

D. Filing of Motion Papers. Motion papers must be filed promptly

after service.

E. Unpublished Cases. The parties need not provide copies of

unpublished cases if the case is available on Westlaw or LexisNexis.

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

should be used whenever possible.

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F. Failure of the Court to Schedule Argument or Decide a Motion.

If a motion is not decided within 60 days of the date that it was fully

briefed, counsel for the movant shall send a letter to alert the Court.

G. Proposed Orders and Stipulations. Proposed orders to show cause,

temporary restraining orders, stipulations, consent orders and

proposed judgments are to be filed electronically on ECF as explained

in the SDNY Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions. Counsel

should also email an electronic copy of any proposed order to

Chambers, in both Microsoft Word and PDF formats.

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

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

memorandum of law. If a party believes that the Court would benefit

from oral argument for a particular reason not obvious from the

parties’ briefing, the party may file a short letter—not a letter-

motion—explaining the reason(s). In this letter, the party should

advise the Court if oral argument would be handled by a less-

experienced attorney because, as discussed in Section 4(B) 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.

I. Motion to Dismiss.

i. Upon the filing of a motion to dismiss, the non-moving party is

required, within 10 days, to notify the Court whether it intends

to file an amended pleading or rely on the pleading being

attacked. If the non-moving party elects not to file an amended

pleading, the motion will proceed in the regular course, and the

Court is unlikely to grant the non-moving party a further

opportunity to amend to address the purported deficiencies

made apparent by the fully briefed arguments in the moving

party’s motion. See Loreley Fin. (Jersey) No. 3 Ltd. v. Wells

Fargo Sec., LLC, 797 F.3d 160, 190 (2d Cir. 2015) (leaving

“unaltered the grounds on which denial of leave to amend has

long been held proper, such as undue delay, bad faith, dilatory

motive, and futility”). This provision does not alter the time to

file a response to the motion to dismiss.

ii. If the non-moving party amends its pleading, within 21 days of

such amendment, the moving party may file an answer, file a

new motion to dismiss, or notify the Court that it will rely on the

initially-filed motion to dismiss. If the moving party files a new

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motion to dismiss, the Court will terminate the prior motion to

dismiss as moot.

J. Motion for Leave to Amend a Pleading. When moving to amend

any pleading, the moving party shall file with the motion a redline

showing all differences between the operative pleading and the

proposed amended pleading.

K. Summary Judgment

i. Discouraged in Non-Jury Cases. Summary judgment

motions are discouraged in non-jury cases.

ii. Rule 56.1 Statements. Any party represented by counsel that

moves for summary judgment shall provide all other parties

with an electronic copy, in a standard word processing format, of

the moving party’s Statement of Material Facts Pursuant to

Local Civil Rule 56.1 (“Rule 56.1 Statement”). 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. Each factual assertion in Rule 56.1 Statements must

be followed by a citation to the portion(s) of the evidentiary

record relied upon.

iii. Record Evidence Citations. Each memorandum of law must

include a statement of facts and may not simply incorporate by

reference the entirety of a party’s Rule 56.1 Statement.

Moreover, all factual assertions in memoranda of law should be

supported by citations to the underlying record evidence, not to

the Rule 56.1 Statement.

iv. Deposition Transcripts. Deposition transcripts that are

supplied in connection with a summary judgment motion,

whether in whole or in part, should be text-searchable and

include an index where available.

L. Applications for a Temporary Restraining Order. A party must

confer with their adversary before making an application for a

temporary restraining order unless the requirements of Federal Rule

of Civil Procedure 65(b) are met. As soon as a party decides to seek a

temporary restraining order, that party must file a letter on ECF

(under seal if proceeding ex parte) and state clearly whether: (1) it has

notified its adversary and whether the adversary consents to

temporary injunctive relief; or (2) the requirements of Federal Rule of

Civil Procedure 65(b) are satisfied and no notice is necessary.

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The moving party must email

VargasNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov giving notice of the filing

and the time frame requested for Court action. The moving party

should then file a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order,

supporting documents and a proposed order on ECF in accordance with

ECF procedures. Where the motion is made on notice to the other

parties, the moving party should simultaneously serve the documents

on any party that will not receive electronic service via ECF. If the

matter is time sensitive and Chambers does not respond within two

hours, the movant may call Chambers before the end of the business

day.

If a party’s adversary has been notified but does not consent to

temporary injunctive relief, the party seeking a restraining order must

file the application at a time mutually agreeable to it and the

adversary, so that the Court may have the benefit of advocacy from

both sides in deciding whether to grant temporary injunctive relief.

M. Default Judgment Motions. A plaintiff seeking a default judgment

must proceed by way of motion pursuant to the procedure set forth in

Attachment A to these rules.

N. Protective Order. Any party seeking a protective order must submit

a proposed protective order that conforms as closely as possible to the

Court’s Model Protective Order, which is available on the Court’s

public webpage at https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-jeannette-

vargas. The proposed protective order must be filed on ECF in

accordance with Rule 13.18 of the SDNY ECF Rules and Instructions.

Additionally, the party or parties seeking entry of the protective order

must file a letter on ECF either a) certifying that the parties have

adopted, without alteration, the Court’s Model Protective Order, or b)

if alterations were made, explaining the reasons for such alterations.

If the proposed protective order does deviate from the Model Protective

Order, the parties should include as an attachment to the letter a

blackline showing all changes. The Court disfavors modifications to

the Court’s Model Protective Order.

O. Exclude Testimony of Experts. Unless the Court orders otherwise,

motions to exclude the testimony of experts, pursuant to F.R.E. 702–

705 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.

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6. Discovery

A. Stay of Discovery. It is not the Court’s practice to stay discovery

while a dispositive motion is pending. If a party nonetheless seeks a

stay of discovery, such request must be made in writing and filed on

ECF as a letter-motion, not an ordinary letter. Moreover, if the

grounds for the requested stay of discovery is the filing of a dispositive

motion that is either contemplated or pending at the time the Court

holds the initial pretrial conference, the motion for a stay of discovery

should be filed no later than two weeks prior to the date of the

conference. The opposition to such a motion should be filed one week

after the letter-motion is filed. No reply will be permitted.

B. Discovery Disputes. Prior to bringing a motion pursuant to Rules 26

through 37 or Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party

must follow the procedures set forth below.

i. Meet and Confer. Any party wishing to raise a discovery

dispute with the Court must first confer in good faith at least

once with the opposing party—in person, by videoconference, or

by telephone—to resolve the dispute. E-mail communication

alone will not satisfy the meet-and-confer requirement. 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 three business days of a request for

a conference.

ii. Letter-Motions. If the meet-and-confer process does not

resolve the dispute, the party seeking discovery must promptly

submit a letter-motion to the Court via ECF, no longer than four

pages (single spaced, with standard font and margins, inclusive

of the signature block), explaining the nature of the dispute and

why the party is entitled to relief. The initial letter-motion must

state: (1) the date(s), time(s), and duration of each meet-and-

confer conference; (2) the names of the attorneys who

participated; and (3) that the moving party informed the

adversary during the last conference that the moving party

believed the parties to be at an impasse and that the moving

party would be requesting relief from the Court.

If the opposing party wishes to respond, it must do so in a letter

not to exceed four pages (single spaced, with standard font and

margins, inclusive of the signature block) within two business

days, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. Reply letters are

not permitted.

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iii. Timeliness. 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.

7. 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,

the examining attorney 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 call 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 call the Court jointly.

8. Pre-Trial Procedures and Filings

A. Initial Case Management Conference. Plaintiff’s counsel (or, in a

matter removed from state court, defendant’s counsel) is responsible

for distributing copies of the Notice of Initial Pretrial Conference to all

parties. The Notice will direct the parties to submit to the Court,

approximately one week prior to the conference date, a joint proposed

Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order (a model of which can

be found on the Court’s public webpage at

https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-jeannette-vargas). Requests for

adjournments of the initial pretrial conference must be made in

accordance with Section 3(E), supra.

B. Cases Removed from State Court. Counsel for the party or parties

that removed the case must follow 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a) and file a copy

of the state court docket sheet within three calendar days of filing the

notice of removal. Plaintiffs shall ensure that a copy of the operative

complaint is posted electronically to the docket on the ECF system.

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Counsel for all parties must file on ECF a notice of appearance in this

Court promptly upon removal.

C. Post-Fact Discovery Settlement Discussions. No later than one

week after the close of fact discovery, counsel for all parties must meet

for at least one hour to discuss settlement. If no settlement is reached

during this meeting, the parties should discuss whether a mediation or

referral to the magistrate judge for a settlement conference would be

productive.

D. Post-Fact Discovery Joint Status Letter. Two weeks following the

close of fact discovery, or at a time otherwise ordered by the Court, the

parties shall file a joint letter updating the Court on the status of the

case, including but not limited to confirming that the one-hour

settlement discussion occurred and stating whether all parties consent

to mediation or a settlement conference to be held before the

designated Magistrate Judge. The letter should not identify any party

that has declined to consent. The parties should indicate in the letter

whether the parties intend to conduct expert discovery. In a case

without expert discovery, the letter shall notify the Court if any party

anticipates filing a dispositive motion, and if so, set forth a proposed

briefing schedule for any such motion(s).

E. Post-Expert Discovery Joint Status Letter. In cases in which the

parties conduct expert discovery, no later than one week after the close

of expert discovery, or at a time otherwise ordered by the Court,

counsel for all parties must file a joint status letter. This letter shall

notify the Court if any party anticipates filing a dispositive motion or a

motion to exclude testimony of experts pursuant to Federal Rules of

Evidence 702–705 and the Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals,

Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) line of cases. If so, the parties should set

forth a proposed briefing schedule for any such motion(s).

F. Joint Pretrial Order. Unless otherwise specified by the Court,

within thirty (30) days after the close of discovery or if any dispositive

motion is filed, within thirty (30) days from the Court’s decision on

such motion, the parties shall file on ECF a joint pretrial order. The

joint pretrial order shall include the information required by Fed. R.

Civ. P. 26(a)(3) and the following:

i. the full caption of the action;

ii. the names, law firms, addresses, and telephone numbers of trial

counsel;

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iii. a statement as to whether or not all parties have consented to

trial by a magistrate judge, without identifying which parties do

or do not consent;

iv. a statement as to the number of trial days needed and as to

whether the case is to be tried with or without a jury;

v. a brief statement by the 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. Such

statements shall include citations to all statutes relied on and

relevant facts as to citizenship and jurisdictional amount;

vi. 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 which are

not to be tried. The summaries should not recite any

evidentiary matter;

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

to potential jurors during jury selection;

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

mentioned during the course of the trial, to be read to potential

jurors during voir dire;

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

parties consent;

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

will testify in person or by deposition, and a brief summary of

the substance of each witness’s testimony;

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 should not designate deposition

testimony to be used for impeachment purposes only. Any

objections not made are waived;

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

with a single asterisk indicating exhibits to which no party

objects to on grounds of authenticity, and two asterisks

indicating exhibits to which no party objects on any ground.

Any objections not made are waived;

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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.

G. Motions in Limine. At the time the joint pretrial order is filed, the

parties shall file and serve motions addressing any evidentiary issues

or other matters which should be resolved in limine. Any party

wishing to file a motion in limine must first confer in good faith with

the opposing party in an effort to resolve the dispute. Any motion in

limine must include a representation that the meet and-confer process

occurred and was unsuccessful. Each party must file a single

memorandum of law, consistent with Rule 5(A) above, in support of all

motions in limine filed by that party. Any opposition papers will be

due in two weeks.

H. Pretrial Memoranda of Law. At the time the joint pretrial order is

filed, a party may file a pretrial memorandum of law if it believes it

would be useful to the Court. Any response or opposition to a pretrial

memorandum of law shall be due two weeks after the filing of the

opening memorandum. The pretrial memorandum and response each

shall not exceed 25 pages.

I. Deposition Designations. In any civil case in which the parties

have designated deposition testimony in the joint pretrial order, by no

later than a week prior to the final pretrial conference, the parties

shall jointly submit by email to

VargasNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov the complete deposition

transcripts with color-coded highlighting indicating the portions

designated by each party (including any counter-designations) and the

objections listed in the margins. The highlighted deposition

transcripts should not be filed on ECF.

J. Additional Required Pretrial Filings in Jury Cases. No later

than two weeks before trial, the parties shall jointly file on ECF and

submit by email to VargasNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov a

Microsoft Word version of the following documents:

i. Voir Dire Questions. The parties shall submit in a single

document a set of joint case-specific proposed voir dire questions.

For any disputes, each party should clearly set forth its proposed

question and briefly state why the Court should use it. Absent

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good cause, proposed voir dire questions should include only

those questions unique to the facts of the case being tried.

ii. Requests to Charge. The parties shall submit in a single

document a joint request to charge. The parties shall endeavor

to use plain English that can be readily understandable by a

layman, and to define terms that may be unfamiliar to the jury.

Each proposed request to charge should cite to the supporting

authority from which it is derived. For any proposed request to

charge on which the parties cannot agree, the disputed language

must be highlighted or readily identifiable in track changes.

Any counterproposal(s) should be presented together with the

disputed section, along with a brief explanation of the grounds

for each party’s position, with citations to supporting authority.

Absent good cause, the parties should not include proposed

language for standard instructions (about, for example, the role

of the Court and the jury, the standard of proof, what is

evidence, etc.), as the Court is likely to use its own standard

instructions. The parties should, however, include a list of

standard instructions that they believe are appropriate for the

Court to give in the case.

iii. Verdict Form. The parties shall submit in a single document a

joint proposed verdict form, noting any areas of disagreement

between the parties and, if applicable, citing supporting

authority in support of the parties’ respective positions.

K. Additional Required Pretrial Filings in Non-Jury Cases. At the

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

file and serve proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The

proposed findings of fact must be detailed and include citations to the

anticipated trial testimony and exhibits. This document should also be

submitted by email to VargasNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov in

Microsoft Word format.

9. Settlements

A. As soon as the parties reach an agreement to settle in principle, the

parties must file a joint letter via ECF notifying the Court.

B. 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 provide a

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

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the terms of their settlement agreement in their stipulation of

settlement and dismissal.

C. Parties that seek to settle FLSA claims through a stipulated dismissal

with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

41(a)(1)(A)(ii) must submit the settlement agreement and all other

necessary information for Court approval in accordance with Cheeks v.

Freeport Pancake House, Inc., 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015). The Court

will not approve a settlement agreement that contains an overly broad

release clause or for which the parties fail to submit all necessary

information, including, inter alia, the parties’ estimations for the

plaintiff’s number of hours worked, applicable wages, and a detailed

breakdown of the justification for any requested attorneys’ fees.

10. Redactions and Filing Under Seal

A. Privacy Policy. The parties are referred to Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 5.2 and the S.D.N.Y. ECF Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”).

The parties should not include, unless necessary, the five categories of

“sensitive information” in their submissions (i.e., social security

numbers, names of minor children [use the initials only], dates of birth

[use the year only], financial account numbers and home addresses

[use only the City and State]).

B. Redactions Not Requiring Court Approval. Without Court

approval, parties may redact the five categories of “sensitive

information” and the six categories of information requiring caution

(i.e., personal identifying number, medical records, treatment and

diagnosis, employment history, individual financial information,

proprietary or trade secret information and information regarding an

individual’s cooperation with the government), as described in the

Privacy Policy.

C. Redactions and Sealed Filings Requiring Court Approval. All

redactions other than those under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2

require Court approval. The Court will review each proposed redaction

individually. To be approved, redactions must be narrowly tailored to

serve whatever purpose justifies them and otherwise consistent with

the presumption in favor of public access to judicial documents. See,

e.g., Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110, 119–20 (2d

Cir. 2006). In general, the parties’ consent or the fact that information

is subject to a confidentiality agreement (or protective order) between

litigants is not, by itself, a valid basis to overcome the presumption in

favor of public access to judicial documents.

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Any party seeking to file a document under seal or in redacted form

shall proceed as follows:

i. Meet and Confer. The party seeking leave to file sealed or

redacted materials should meet and confer with any opposing

party (or any third party seeking confidential treatment of the

information) 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 electronically 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 separately and 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, thus, the summary docket text 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.

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

requirement for electronic filing under seal on ECF, or who

believes that a particular document should not be electronically

filed at all, shall file a letter-motion by email, seeking leave of

the Court to file in a different manner. Such letter-motions may

be emailed to VargasNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov as

text-searchable PDF attachments, with copies simultaneously

delivered to all counsel. In the subject line, the cover email

should state clearly: (1) the caption of the case, including the

lead party names and docket number; and (2) a brief description

of the nature of the request. Parties shall not include

substantive communications in the body of the email. The

letter-motion must explain why sealing or redaction is justified

in light of the standards discussed in Section 10(C) above. If the

party believes that the letter-motion itself should be sealed or

redacted, the letter-motion should so state and should provide

the justification therefor. Unless otherwise ordered by the

Court, letter-motions seeking leave to file in a different manner

shall comply with Section 3(A).

11. Use of Electronics

A. Electronic Devices in the Courtroom. Attorneys’ use of personal

electronic devices (including mobile phones) and general purpose

computing devices (such as laptops and tablets) within the Courthouse

and its environs is governed by Standing Order M10-468. When Court

permission is required under the Standing Order, attorneys seeking to

bring electronic devices to the Court should email a completed Model

Court Order to VargasNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov. Chambers

will coordinate with the District Executive’s Office to issue the Order

and forward a copy to counsel. The Order must be shown upon

bringing the equipment into the Courthouse.

B. Mobile Phones. Attorneys in compliance with the Standing Order

may bring mobile phones into the Courtroom, but the phones MUST be

kept turned off at all times. Non-compliance with this rule will result

in forfeiture of the device for the remainder of the proceedings.

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ATTACHMENT A

DEFAULT JUDGMENT PROCEDURE

If a party fails to respond to a claim, the party asserting the claim should promptly

move for entry of default judgment if appropriate. If a failure to answer is the basis

for the default, the party seeking a default judgment must begin by seeking a

Clerk’s Certificate of Default pursuant to Local Civil Rule 55.1. Only after

obtaining a Clerk’s Certificate of Default should the party proceed to file a motion

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

and Local Civil Rule 55.2. (Counsel should therefore seek and obtain a Clerk’s

Certificate of Default well in advance of any Court-imposed deadline to move for

default judgment.)

A party seeking a default judgment should not proceed by order to show cause. Any

motion for default judgment must be supported by the following papers:

A. an attorney’s affidavit or declaration pursuant to Local Civil Rule

55.2(a)(1);

B. a statement of damages, sworn or affirmed to by one or more people

with personal knowledge, showing the proposed damages and the basis

for each element of damages, including interest, attorney’s fees, and

costs;

C. a memorandum of law setting forth:

i. choice of law;

ii. the basis for subject-matter and personal jurisdiction;

iii. the basis for entering a default judgment, including a

description of the method and date of service of the summons

and complaint;

iv. the procedural history beyond service of the summons and

complaint, if any;

v. legal authority for why such service was proper;

vi. the elements of each cause of action as to which default

judgment is sought, with supporting legal authority;

vii. for each defendant and for each cause of action as to which

default judgment is sought, an analysis demonstrating that the

facts pleaded in the complaint support the conclusion that the

relevant defendant is liable with respect to that cause of action;

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

counterparties, the Court may appropriately order a default

judgment on the issue of damages prior to resolution of the

entire action;

ix. if applicable, the legal authority supporting the conclusion that

an inquest into damages is unnecessary; and

x. where, in the view of the moving party, no inquest is necessary,

for each defendant as to which default judgment is sought, an

analysis demonstrating that the information presented together

with the application for default judgment support the requested

award of damages.

D. 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 at

VargasNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov;

E. a proposed default judgment;

F. copies of all the operative pleadings;

G. a copy of the affidavit of service of the summons and complaint; and

H. a certificate of service stating that all documents in support of the

request for default judgment have been personally served on or mailed

to the party against whom default judgment is sought, pursuant to

Local Civil Rule 55.2(a)(3).

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