Hon. Jennifer L. Rochon — Individual Rules of Practice

Revised as of August 3, 2026

INDIVIDUAL RULES OF PRACTICE IN CIVIL CASES

JENNIFER L. ROCHON

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

Chambers Courtroom

United States District Court Courtroom 20B

Southern District of New York 500 Pearl Street

500 Pearl Street, Room 1920

New York, NY 10007

Unless otherwise ordered, these Individual Practices apply to all civil matters before Judge

Rochon, except to the extent they are inconsistent with Judge Rochon’s Individual Rules

and Practices in Civil Pro Se Cases. If a case is designated by Order of the Court to be

part of one of the Court’s pilot projects or plans (e.g., the Plan for Certain Section 1983

Cases Against the City of New York, the Pilot Project Regarding Case Management

Techniques for Complex Civil Cases, or the Initial Discovery Protocols for Employment

Cases Alleging Adverse Action), the procedures in such project or plan will govern to the

extent that they are inconsistent with these Individual Practices.

1. Communications with Chambers

A. Letters and Letter Motions. Except as otherwise provided below,

communications with the Court must be by letter. Letters must be filed

electronically on the Electronic Case Filing system (“ECF”). Letters seeking relief

(if consistent with the SDNY Local Rules and the SDNY ECF Rules and

Instructions) should be filed on ECF as letter motions, not as ordinary letters.

Letters may not exceed three pages in length (exclusive of exhibits or attachments)

without prior permission from the Court. Parties should not submit courtesy

copies of letters filed on ECF. Letters solely between parties or their counsel or

otherwise not addressed to the Court may not be filed on ECF or otherwise sent to

the Court (except as exhibits to an otherwise properly filed document).

Letters to be filed under seal or containing sensitive or confidential information must

be filed on ECF in conformity with the Court’s Standing Order, 19-MC-00583, and

ECF Rules & Instructions, Section 6.

B. Telephone Calls. Telephone calls to Chambers are permitted only in

emergency situations requiring immediate attention.

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C. Faxes. Faxes to Chambers are not permitted.

D. Scheduling and Calendar Matters. For scheduling and calendar matters, email

Chambers at RochonNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov. Technical questions

pertaining to ECF filings should be directed to the ECF Help Desk at

helpdesk@nysd.uscourts.gov or (212) 805-0800.

E. Hand Deliveries. Hand-delivered mail should be taken to the Worth Street

entrance of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 200 Worth

Street, New York, NY 10007, and may not be brought directly to Chambers

(unless prior permission is given). Hand deliveries are continuously retrieved by

Courthouse mail staff and then forwarded to Chambers. If the hand-delivered

material 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.

F. 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. (If a request contains sensitive or confidential information, it may

be filed on ECF in conformity with the Court’s Standing Order, 19-MC-00583,

and ECF Rules & Instructions, Section 6.) The letter motion must state: (1) the

original due date, the date or dates sought to be extended, and the new date the

party now seeks through an adjournment or extension; (2) the number of previous

requests for adjournment or extensions of time; (3) whether those previous

requests were granted or denied; and (4) whether the adversary consents, and, if

not, the reasons given by the adversary for refusing to consent. If the parties are

requesting an adjournment of a conference, they must also provide three mutually

agreeable alternative dates. If the requested adjournment or extension affects any

other scheduled dates, a proposed Revised Civil Case Management Plan and

Scheduling Order must be attached. Absent extraordinary circumstances, requests

for extensions will be denied if not made before the expiration of the original

deadline. To be considered, extension requests must be made at least one business

day prior to the deadline, absent unforeseen circumstances. If the request is for an

adjournment of a court appearance, absent an emergency, the request must be

made at least two business days prior to the scheduled appearance.

G. Related 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., 11-cv-

01234 [rel. 10-cv-04321]).

H. ECF. In accordance with the ECF Rules & Instructions, all attorneys representing

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

the case. The pertinent instructions are available on the Court website

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(https://nysd.uscourts.gov/rules/ecf-related-instructions). Counsel are responsible

for updating their contact information on ECF should it change; they should not

file a letter motion advising the Court of the change. Counsel are also responsible

for checking the docket sheet regularly, regardless of whether they receive an ECF

notification of case activity. Under ECF Rule 4.3, counsel “have an obligation to

review the Court’s actual order, decree, or judgment, as available on ECF, and

should not rely on the description of such order, decree or judgment in the Notice

of Electronic Filing (NEF) alone.”

2. Conferences and Discovery

A. In Person Conferences. Unless the Court orders otherwise, all conferences will

be held in person in Courtroom 20B of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United

States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY. If counsel jointly requests

that the conference be held remotely, they must, at least three business days

before the conference, file a letter on ECF so requesting, with good cause shown.

B. Remote Conferences. At least 48 hours before a scheduled remote conference,

the parties must file a joint letter to the Court on ECF containing a list of the

names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of counsel who may speak

during the conference. Absent permission of the Court, no more than two

attorneys may speak on behalf of either party.

C. Participation by Junior Attorneys. 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 the attorneys played a substantial role in drafting the

underlying filing or in preparing the relevant witness. The Court is amenable to

permitting more than one attorney to argue for one party if this creates an

opportunity for a junior attorney to participate. All attorneys appearing before

the Court must have authority to bind the party that they represent consistent with

the proceedings (for example, by agreeing to a discovery resolution or briefing

schedule).

D. Initial Pretrial Conference. The Court will generally schedule a Federal Rule of

Civil Procedure 16(c) conference within three months of the filing of the

Complaint. The Notice of Initial Pretrial Conference will be docketed on ECF.

Plaintiff’s counsel (or, in removed actions, Defendant’s counsel) is responsible for

promptly distributing copies of the Notice to all parties. At least ten days before

the conference date, the parties must file on ECF: (1) a proposed Civil Case

Management Plan and Scheduling Order, available on the Court’s website at

(https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-jennifer-l-rochon); and (2) a joint letter, not to

exceed three pages, describing the case, any contemplated motions, and the

prospect for settlement. When filling out the Civil Case Management Plan and

Scheduling Order, download the form into Adobe Acrobat to complete it. Do not

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fill out the form in your web browser. The Court encourages the participation of

junior attorneys in the initial conference. At the initial conference, the Court will

schedule a post-discovery pretrial conference to be held approximately one month

after the close of discovery. The post-discovery pretrial conference will serve

either as a pre-motion conference (in the event any party intends to move for

summary judgment, see Section 3.I below) or as an opportunity to set a trial date

and dates for pretrial submissions.

E. Discovery Disputes. The parties must follow SDNY Local Civil Rule 37.2 with

the following modifications. Any party wishing to raise a discovery dispute with

the Court must first confer in good faith with the opposing party, in person or by

telephone, in an effort to resolve the dispute. The Court enforces this requirement

in both counseled and pro se cases (except where not feasible, such as when the

pro se litigant is incarcerated) and will not consider any discovery dispute where

the moving party has not satisfied the good-faith conference requirement. The

moving party should note that “good-faith conference” does not mean that it has

merely sent its adversary a letter or email, to which the adversary has not yet

responded. The Court expects that, at a minimum, the moving party will have

called its adversary and made efforts to engage in a meaningful dialogue, in an

attempt to resolve any discovery issues. If this meet-and-confer process does not

resolve the dispute, the party must submit a letter motion to the Court on ECF, no

longer than three pages (excluding exhibits), explaining the nature of the dispute,

the legal standards governing the issue, and case law, if any, supporting the party’s

position. Such a letter must include a representation that the meet-and-confer

process occurred and was unsuccessful. If the opposing party wishes to respond to

the letter, it must inform the Court within one business day that a responsive letter

is forthcoming and file the letter within three business days. The same page limits

and filing instructions apply. Reply letters are not permitted.

3. Motions

A. Pre-Motion Conferences in Civil Cases. Pre-motion conferences are not

required, except for motions concerning discovery, which are governed by

Section 2.E above, and for summary-judgment motions, which are governed by

Section 3.I below.

B. Motions to Dismiss. If a motion to dismiss is filed, the plaintiff has a right to

amend its pleading under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(1)(B), within 21

days. If the plaintiff amends its pleading as of right, the Court will dismiss the

original motion to dismiss as moot.

C. Memoranda of Law. The Court encourages and appreciates brevity. 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. All memoranda of law must be in 12-point font or larger, including

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footnotes, and must be double-spaced. Memoranda of 3,000 words or more must

contain a table of contents, a table of authorities, and a certification of the word

count, none of which will count against the word limit. All appendices to

memoranda of law must be tabbed and indexed.

D. Unpublished cases. The parties need not provide copies of unpublished cases if the

case is available on Westlaw or Lexis.

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

F. Courtesy Copies. Two courtesy copies of the parties’ briefing must be submitted

via mail or hand delivery by the movant at the time that the reply is served, not by

each party at the time of filing. The Court does not require courtesy copies of

supporting declarations or exhibits. All courtesy copies must be labeled as such

and should be double-sided, three-hole punched, and tabbed such that they can be

placed in binders. The copies should not, however, be submitted in binders. If the

parties have redacted or filed under seal any portion of the motion papers or

attendant exhibits, courtesy copies are to be unredacted, but the portions redacted

from public filings should be highlighted.

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

the time their moving or opposing or reply papers are filed by placing “ORAL

ARGUMENT REQUESTED” on the cover page of its memorandum of law.

The Court will determine whether argument will be heard and, if so, will

advise counsel of the argument date.

H. Letter Motions. Letter motions must be filed on ECF in accordance with the

SDNY Local Rules and the ECF Rules and Instructions. In particular, all

requests for adjournments, extensions, and pre-motion conferences (including

pre-motion conferences with respect to discovery disputes) must be filed as

letter motions.

I. Motions for Summary Judgment.

i. Pre-motion Conference. If a party wishes to move for summary

judgment or to exclude expert testimony, it must, no later than three

weeks before the post discovery pre-trial conference, request that the

conference serve as a pre-motion conference. To so request, the moving

party must file a letter on ECF, not to exceed three pages in length, setting

forth the basis for the anticipated motion, including the legal standards

governing the claims at issue. Other parties must respond two weeks

before the conference. The Court will review and discuss with counsel

any anticipated summary-judgment motions at the post-discovery pretrial

conference.

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ii. Discouraged in Non-Jury Cases. Summary-judgment motions are

discouraged in non-jury cases.

iii. Rule 56.1 Statements. Any party moving for summary judgment 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 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. If the opposing

party wishes to file its own, additional statements of material fact, it must

begin numbering each entry where the moving party left off. To

streamline the summary-judgment briefing process, the Court requires the

parties to also negotiate and submit, prior to or along with the movant’s

Rule 56.1 Statement, a joint Rule 56.1 Statement setting out all facts on

which the parties agree. Each factual assertion in all Rule 56.1 Statements

(other than the Joint statement) must be followed by a citation to the

portion(s) of the evidentiary record relied upon. Each memorandum of

law must include a statement of facts and may not simply incorporate by

reference a party’s Rule 56.1 Statement.

J. Motions to Exclude Expert Testimony. Motions to exclude expert testimony

must be made by the deadline for dispositive motions and should not be treated as

a motion in limine.

K. Preliminary Injunction Motions. If a hearing is held, the Court generally

follows the procedure for the conduct of non-jury trials described in Section 5.C

below.

L. Applications for a Temporary Restraining Order. A party must confer with his

or her 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 (or in person 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. The moving party must give notice of 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.

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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 that is

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.

O. Default Judgments. A plaintiff 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 SDNY Local Civil Rule 55.2. A plaintiff seeking a default judgment

should not proceed by order to show cause. The motion must be supported by the

following papers:

i. An attorney’s affidavit or declaration setting forth:

(a) The basis for entering a default judgment, including a

description of the method and date of service of the

summons and complaint;

(b) The procedural history beyond service of the summons and

complaint, if any;

(c) Whether, if the default is applicable to fewer than all of the

defendants, the Court may appropriately order a default

judgment on the issue of damages prior to resolution of the

entire action;

(d) The proposed damages and the basis for each element of

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

(e) Evidence in support of the proposed damages, including

contemporaneous records and other such documentation; and

(f) Legal authority for why an inquest into damages is or is not

unnecessary;

ii. A proposed default judgment;

iii. Copies of all the operative pleadings;

iv. A copy of the affidavit of service of the summons and complaint; and

v. If failure to answer is the basis for the default, a Certificate from the

Clerk of Court stating that no answer has been filed.

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The plaintiff must serve the motion for default judgment and supporting paperwork

on the party against whom the default judgment is sought and file an affidavit of

service on ECF within 14 days of filing the motion for default judgment. If more

than 14 days are required to complete service of the motion for default judgment and

supporting papers, the plaintiff should file a letter on ECF explaining why additional

time is necessary and when the plaintiff anticipates service will be completed.

The Court will review the motion for default judgment and, if appropriate, issue an

order setting a date and time for a default judgment hearing. If the Court issues such

an order, the plaintiff must then serve on the party against whom default judgment is

sought: (1) the motion for default judgment and supporting papers; and (2) the

Court’s order setting a date and time for the default judgment hearing. The plaintiff

must file on ECF proof of such service on the docket in the manner and by the date

specified in the Court’s order setting the default judgment hearing.

P. Proposed Orders. All proposed orders that parties wish the Court to sign should

be filed in ECF as attachments or exhibits to an appropriate formal application to

the Court seeking the endorsement of such order.

4. Other Pretrial Guidance

A. 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.

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

promptly upon removal.

B. Redactions and Filing Under Seal.

i. Sealing / Redactions Not Requiring Court Approval. The parties are

referred to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 and the SDNY ECF Privacy

Policy (“Privacy Policy”) and reminded not to include, unless necessary,

the five categories of “sensitive information” in their submissions (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 the

City and State only]). Parties may redact the five categories of “sensitive

information” and the six categories of information requiring caution (i.e.,

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), as

described in the Privacy Policy, without Court approval.

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ii. Sealing / Redaction Requiring Court Approval. Except for redactions

permitted by Section 4.B.i, all redactions require Court approval. 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

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

in favor of public access to judicial documents. See, e.g., Delta Air Lines,

Inc. v. Bombardier, Inc., 462 F. Supp. 3d 354, 359 (S.D.N.Y. 2020); In re

Gen. Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litig., Nos. 14-md-02543 (JMF), 14-mc-

02543 (JMF), 2015 WL 4750774, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 11, 2015).

iii. Procedures for Filing Sealed / Redacted Documents. Any party seeking

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

(a) 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 must notify the

opposing party or third party that it must file, within three

days, a letter explaining the need to seal or redact the

document.

(b) Sealed Document(s). Motions or letter motions for approval

of sealed filings in civil and miscellaneous cases and the

subject documents, including the proposed sealed

document(s), must be filed on ECF in conformity with the

Court’s Standing Order, 19-MC-00583, and Section 6 of the

ECF Rules & Instructions (https://nysd.uscourts.gov/rules/ecf-

related-instructions).

The motion must be filed in public view, must explain the

particular reasons for seeking to file that information under

seal and should not include confidential information sought to

be filed under seal. Supporting papers must be separately

filed on ECF and may be filed under seal or redacted only to

the extent necessary to safeguard information sought to be

filed under seal.

The proposed sealed document must be contemporaneously

filed under seal on ECF and electronically related to the

motion. The summary docket text, but not the sealed

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document, will be open to public inspection and should not

include confidential information sought to be filed under seal.

(c) Redacted Document(s). Motions or letter motions for

approval to file a document in redacted form must be filed on

ECF in conformity with the Court’s Standing Order, 19-MC-

00583, and Section 6 of the ECF Rules & Instructions

(https://nysd.uscourts.gov/rules/ecf-related-instructions). The

motion itself must 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 filing party must: (a) publicly file the document with

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

unredacted document with the proposed redactions

highlighted. Both documents must be filed on ECF and

related to the motion.

(d) Submission by Paper. Any party unable to comply with the

requirement for electronic filing under seal on ECF, or who

has reason to believe that a particular document should not be

filed on ECF, must move for leave of the Court to file on

paper.

C. Settlement Agreements. As soon as the parties reach an agreement to settle,

the parties must email Chambers to alert the Court and file a joint letter on ECF

promptly. The Court will not retain jurisdiction to enforce confidential

settlement agreements. If the parties wish that the Court retain jurisdiction to

enforce the agreement, the parties must place the terms of their settlement

agreement on the public record. The parties may either 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. Settling

parties in cases brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C.

§ 201 et seq., should also refer to Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., 796

F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015).

D. Diversity Jurisdiction Cases. In any action in which subject matter jurisdiction is

founded on diversity of citizenship pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332, the party

asserting the existence of such jurisdiction must include in their joint letter to the

Court prior to the Initial Pretrial Conference the basis for that party’s belief that

diversity of citizenship exists. Where any party is a corporation, the letter must

state both the place of incorporation and the principal place of business. In cases

where any party is a partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, or

trust, the letter must identify and state the citizenship of each of the entity’s

members, shareholders, partners, and/or trustees.

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E. Bankruptcy Appeals. Briefs must be submitted in accordance with the Federal

Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure unless otherwise ordered by the Court. Counsel

may extend the default deadlines by joint stipulation submitted to the Court no

later than two business days before the brief is due.

5. Trial Procedures

A. Joint Pretrial Order. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, within 30 days

from the Court’s decision on a summary judgment motion, the parties must file on

ECF a proposed Joint Pretrial Order. The Joint Pretrial Order must include the

information required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3) and the

following:

i. The full caption of the action;

ii. The names, law firms, addresses, telephone numbers, and emails of

trial counsel;

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. Such statements must 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 must also identify all claims and defenses

previously asserted which 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, without identifying which parties do or

do not seek a jury trial;

vi. A brief joint statement summarizing the nature of the case (one or two

paragraphs), that may be read to potential jurors during jury selection;

vii. A joint 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 jury selection;

viii. 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;

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

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

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stipulations or agreed statements of fact in a standalone document

that can be marked and admitted at trial;

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),

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

expected duration of direct and cross-examination for each witness.

Absent leave of Court, a witness listed by both sides may testify only

once (with 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. In

addition to a designation list, the parties must provide the complete

deposition transcript with color-coded highlighting indicating the portions

designated by either party and the objections listed in the margins;

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

asterisk indicating an exhibit to which a party objects on the grounds of

authenticity and two asterisks indicating an exhibit to which a party

objects to the admissibility of the exhibit. If a party objects to an exhibit,

the objection should be noted by indicating the grounds for the objection,

with citations to the Federal Rule of Evidence and any other authority.

Objections not made will be waived. If any party believes that the Court

should rule on the objection in advance of trial, that party should include a

notation to that effect (e.g., “Advance Ruling Requested”) as well. In

most cases, 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;

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

verdict; and

xv. A statement confirming that the parties have submitted all pretrial

submissions and courtesy copies required herein.

B. Additional Required Pretrial Submissions in Jury Cases. Unless otherwise

ordered by the Court, at the time the joint pretrial order is filed in a jury case, the

parties must:

i. File and serve motions addressing any evidentiary issues or other matters

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which should be resolved in limine. Motions in limine are limited to 8,750

words. Opposition papers, no longer than 8,750 words, shall be filed

within seven days. No replies are permitted. 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;

ii. File and serve a pretrial memorandum of law no longer than 3,500 words

in cases where a party believes it would be useful to the Court.

Opposition to any pretrial memorandum, if any, may be no longer than

3,500 words and filed and served within seven days of any opening

memoranda;

iii. File and serve joint proposed jury instructions, verdict form, and voir dire

questions. These joint submissions must consist of single documents, jointly

composed, noting any areas of disagreement between the parties. The voir

dire questions and jury instructions must include both the text of any

requested question or instruction as well as a citation, if available, to the

authority from which it derives. These documents should also be submitted

by email to Chambers in Microsoft Word format;

iv. Submit to the Court and serve on opposing counsel, but do not file on ECF,

all documentary exhibits and demonstratives. All exhibits should be

premarked using consecutive numbers and not letters. The Court must be

provided with an electronic copy of all exhibits. The parties must provide

the Court with a hard copy and Microsoft Word document listing all exhibits

sought to be admitted. The list must contain four columns labeled as

follows: (1) “Exhibit No.”; (2) “Description” (of the exhibit); (3) “Date

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

two columns, but leave the third and fourth columns blank, for use by the

Court. Counsel must make certain that they retain custody of all original

exhibits. Demonstratives that will not be introduced into evidence need not

be listed, but must be shared with the Court and opposing counsel. The

Court does not retain exhibits or demonstratives and is not responsible for

them.

C. Additional Required Pretrial Submissions in Non-Jury Cases. Unless

otherwise ordered by the Court, at the time the joint pretrial order is filed, the

parties must:

i. File and serve motions addressing any evidentiary issues or other matters

which should be resolved in limine. Motions in limine are limited to 8,750

words. Opposition papers, no longer than 8,750 words, may be filed

within seven days. No replies are permitted. Any party wishing to file a

motion in limine must first confer in good faith with the opposing party in

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an effort to resolve the dispute. Any motion in limine must include a

representation that the meet-and-confer process occurred and was

unsuccessful;

ii. File and serve a pretrial memorandum of law no longer than 3,500 words in

cases where a party believes it would be useful to the Court. Opposition to

any pretrial memorandum, if any, may be no longer than 3,500 words and

filed and served within seven days of any opening memoranda;

iii. File and serve proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The

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

proffered trial testimony and exhibits. 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;

iv. Submit to the Court and serve on opposing counsel, but do not file on ECF,

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 must include page citations to the pertinent pages of the

deposition transcripts; and

v. Submit to the Court and serve on opposing counsel, but do not file on ECF,

all documentary exhibits and demonstratives. All exhibits should be

premarked using consecutive numbers and not letters. The Court must be

provided with an electronic copy of exhibits. The parties must provide the

Court with a hard copy and Microsoft Word document listing all exhibits

sought to be admitted. The list must contain four columns labeled as

follows: (1) “Exhibit No.”; (2) “Description” (of the exhibit); (3) “Date

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

two columns but leave the third and fourth columns blank for use by the

Court. Counsel must make certain that they retain custody of all original

exhibits. Demonstratives that will not be introduced into evidence need not

be listed, but must be shared with the Court and opposing counsel. The

Court does not retain exhibits or demonstratives and is not responsible for

them.

D. Courtesy Copies. Two courtesy copies of all documents identified in Sections

5.A-C above should be submitted to Chambers via mail or hand delivery on the

date on which they are to be served or filed, except that counsel should submit

exhibits only in electronic form.

E. Final Witness List. Two business days before trial is scheduled to begin, the

parties must jointly file a final list of all trial witnesses in the form provided by

the Court’s Individual Rule 5.A.x.

F. Jury Selection. The jury will be selected by the struck panel method.

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i. The Court will conduct a voir dire of the number of panelists computed by

combining the number of jurors to be selected and the number of peremptory

challenges. In the ordinary case, there will be a voir dire of 13-14 panelists,

depending on the length of the trial. After and during the voir dire, the Court

will determine whether there are any challenges for cause. Each panelist

removed for cause will be replaced, so that there is a full panel before any

peremptory challenges are exercised.

ii. Next, peremptory challenges are exercised against the panelists who

compose the potential members of the regular jury, that is, against the 13-14

panelists. Peremptory challenges will be exercised alternatively, with

Plaintiff(s) and Defendant(s) each providing the Court with their peremptory

challenges. After each side exercises their 3 peremptory challenges, the

remaining jurors will constitute the jury. There shall be no alternate jurors in

civil cases. If a party does not wish to exercise one or more of their

challenges, the unchallenged 7-8 jurors with the lowest numbers shall

constitute the jury, again depending on the length of the trial.

6. Policy on the Use of Electronic Devices

A. Electronic Devices in the Courthouse. Attorneys’ use of electronic devices

(including mobile telephones, personal electronic devices, computers, and

printers) within the Courthouse and its environs is governed by the Court’s

Standing Order M10-468, available at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms/standing-

order-electronic-devices-general-purpose. Counsel seeking to bring a device into

the Courthouse for an appearance must, at least three business days before the

appearance, file a letter (not letter motion) and completed Electronic Devices

General Purposes Form, available at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms/fillable-

form-electronic-devices-general-purpose. If WiFi is requested, counsel must

check the appropriate box on the form. If electronic devices are permitted inside

the Courtroom, they MUST be kept silent at all times. Non-compliance with this

rule may result in forfeiture of the device for the remainder of the proceedings.

B. Technology Walk-Through. Prior to an evidentiary hearing or trial, counsel

should contact Chambers by phone to coordinate a time for a technology walk-

through of the Courtroom and then contact the Audio and Visual Department at

212-805-0134 to schedule the walk-through. If counsel seek to bring an electronic

device to the walk-through or appearance, they must first complete the steps

required by the Court’s Individual Rule 6.A.

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