Hon. Katharine H. Parker — Individual Rules of Practice

Revised February 2025

INDIVIDUAL PRACTICES IN CIVIL CASES1

KATHARINE H. PARKER, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

The following rules apply for proceedings before Judge Parker on consent and within

the scope of a referral. They do not modify or affect the practices of the District Judge

before whom a case may also be pending.

I. Communications with Chambers.

a. Letters. Communications with the Court should be by letter filed on ECF except

for settlement conference submissions and in camera submissions. Letters may

not exceed 3 single-space pages in length (exclusive of exhibits).

Pro Se Parties. By Standing Order, a pro se party must mail all communications

with the Court to the Pro Se Intake Unit located at 500 Pearl St., Room 230, New

York, NY 10007. A pro se party may not call Chambers or send any document or

filing directly to Chambers. Submissions requiring immediate attention should

be hand-delivered to the Pro Se Intake Unit. Unless the Court orders otherwise,

all communications with the Court will be docketed upon receipt; such docketing

shall constitute service on any user of the ECF system. If any other party is not a

user of the ECF system (e.g., if there is another pro se party in the case), a pro se

party must send copies of any filing to the party and include proof of service

affirming that he or she has done so. Copies of correspondence between a pro

se party and opposing parties shall not be sent to the Court. Question can be

directed to the pro se unit at (212) 805-0175.

1 Requests for reasonable accommodations on account of disability or religion with respect

to the Court’s rules or in connection with any proceeding before Judge Parker may be

emailed to Parker_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov. Counsel and parties are invited to

inform the Court of their preferred pronouns.

Communications between parties and discovery requests and responses should

not be filed with the court (except as exhibits to an otherwise properly filed

document).

b. Letter-Motions. Letter motions shall be filed on ECF in accordance with the

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

Requests that may be made by letter motion include requests for a discovery

conference to address a discovery dispute before formal motion practice,

adjournments, extensions, pre-motion conferences, sealing, and requests for a

settlement conference. Letter motions are limited to 3 single-space pages (not

including exhibits).

c. Requests for Adjournments or Extensions of Time. Absent good cause, any

request for extension or adjournment shall be made at least 48 hours or 2

business days, whichever is greater, before the deadline or scheduled

appearance.

All requests for adjournments or extensions of time must be filed on ECF as

letter-motions. The letter-motion must state: (1) the original date(s); (2) the

number of previous requests for adjournment or extension; and (3) whether the

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

consent.

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

Officers at the Worth Street entrance of 500 Pearl Street and may not be

brought directly to Chambers.

e. Faxes. No faxed communications shall be permitted without prior permission

from Judge Parker’s Chambers. Faxes must not exceed three pages.

f. Courtesy Copies. As a general rule, and except as otherwise specified herein, no

physical/paper courtesy copies of documents filed on ECF should be sent to

Judge Parker.

g. Docketing, Scheduling and Calendar Matters. For docketing, scheduling and

calendar matters, please email Judge Parker’s Chambers email. Please allow

for at least two business days for a response.

h. ECF. All counsel 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, at http://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/ecf_filing.php. Counsel are

responsible for updating their contact information on ECF, should it change, and

they are responsible for checking the docket sheet regularly, regardless of

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whether they receive an ECF notification of case activity.

II. Pre-Trial Practice.

a. Initial Case Management Conference. Before the Initial Case Management

Conference, parties must meet and confer on a discovery plan. One week before

the scheduled conference, the parties shall file on ECF Proposed Case

Management Plan and Report on Rule 26(f) Meeting. For non-pro se cases, the

parties should use the template form Proposed Case Management Plan and

Report on Rule 26(f) Meeting. For cases involving pro se litigants, the parties

may use the simpler Proposed Case Management Plan for Pro Se Cases. Both

forms are available at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-katharine-h-parker.

In complex cases and cases where substantial ESI discovery is contemplated,

the parties are expected to review Judge Parker’s Discussion Topics for Rule 26(f)

Meeting found at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-katharine-h-parker.

Attendance at ICMC. Lead counsel for the parties are expected to attend the

Initial Case Management Conference. Reasonable accommodations will be

made for parties or their counsel who cannot attend in person on account of

disability. Additionally, an incarcerated party who is unable to attend this or

other conferences, may be able to participate by telephone or video. If

appropriate, the Court’s scheduling order will outline the procedures for

participation by telephone or video.

b. Case Management Conferences. The Court holds regular case management

conferences. Counsel are expected to be prepared for such conferences and

ready to discuss the status of discovery, the potential for settlement, and any

other issue. In some cases, the Court may require a joint pre-conference

agenda letter. Joint pre-conference agenda letters shall be limited to 6 pages

and filed a week in advance of a conference unless otherwise specified or

permitted by the Court.

Junior members of legal teams representing clients are invited to address the

Court at case management conferences. Firms are encouraged to provide this

opportunity to junior attorneys for training purposes. This Court is amenable to

permitting different lawyers on a team to speak on different issues if this creates

an opportunity for a junior lawyer to participate.

c. Discovery Disputes. Parties shall follow Local 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. If this meet-and-confer process

does not resolve the dispute, the party may submit an ECF letter-motion to the

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Court or, if applicable, to the Pro Se Intake Clerk, no longer than 3 single-space

pages, explaining the nature of the dispute and requesting a conference. Such

letter must include a representation that the meet-and-confer process occurred

and state when it occurred. Any responsive letter should be submitted within 3

business days after submission of the letter-motion. The Court will endeavor to

resolve the issue during a conference without the need for formal briefing.

However, if formal briefing is required, the Court will set a schedule for such

briefing at the conference.

Parties shall keep in mind Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which

requires the Court and the parties to construe, administer, and employ the rules

of procedure to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every

action. Parties also shall keep in mind Rule 26(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure, which provides that “[p]arties may obtain discovery regarding any

nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense and

proportional to the needs of the case, considering the importance of the issues

at stake in the action, the amount in controversy, the parties’ relative access to

relevant information, the parties’ resources, the importance of the discovery in

resolving the issues, and whether the burden or expense of the proposed

discovery outweighs its likely benefit.” Discovery motions should address these

rules to the extent applicable.

d. Confidentiality Stipulations and Orders. In cases where confidential information

will be exchanged, the parties must utilize the Court’s model Protective Order

found at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-katharine-h-parker; provided, however,

the parties may apply for a protective order that differs from the Court’s model

by submitting a letter request via ECF and attaching the proposed order showing

in a blackline comparison how the proposed order differs from the Court’s

model. The letter should explain why the modifications are needed and note

any disagreements between the parties regarding the modifications from the

Court’s model.

e. Electronic Discovery. The parties are expected to review Judge Parker’s

Discussion Topics for Rule 26(f) Meeting found at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-

katharine-h-parker. The parties also may utilize the model Joint Electronic

Discovery Submission and Proposed Order, as appropriate, found at

https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-katharine-h-parker. This model may be modified

to the extent appropriate for the case.

f. Video Depositions. A model form for the conduct of video depositions can be

found at hattps://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-katharine-h-parker.

g. Telephonic and Video Conferences. The Court, in its discretion,

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may schedule or permit telephonic or video conferences. The Court utilizes

Microsoft Teams for virtual proceedings. Counsel and parties appearing by

video are expected to be dressed appropriately for Court.

III. Formal Motions.

a. Conferences of Counsel Before Filing Motions Under Rule 12(b) or (c). Except in

cases involving pro se parties, if a motion pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) or

12(c) is contemplated, the plaintiff or counterclaimant must indicate whether it

wishes to amend the subject pleading before motion practice, and the parties

must consider in good faith a stipulation permitting such amendment. If the

parties are unable to reach a resolution, counsel for the moving party shall

include the following statement in the notice of motion: “This motion is made

following the conference of counsel, which took place on [date]. Plaintiff [or

Counter Claimant] declined an opportunity to amend.”

b. Pre-Motion Conferences. A pre-motion conference is required for all motions

except (i) letter motions specified in 1(b) above; (ii) motions that are required by

the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure or the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

to be made by a certain time, (iii) motions by litigants in actions where a party is

incarcerated and pro se, (iv) motions for reconsideration, (v) motions for a new

trial, (vi) motions in limine, (vii) motions to dismiss habeas corpus petitions, (viii)

motions for default (see also Appendix A); and (ix) motions for judgment on the

pleadings or summary judgment in social security cases.

Letters requesting a pre-motion conference should summarize the basis of the

motion and follow the procedures for communicating with the Court set forth in

Section I. Letters may not exceed 3 pages. Within 3 business days of receipt of

the letter, each opposing party may submit a written response of no more than 3

pages. The Court will, as soon as possible thereafter, hold the pre-motion

conference. The filing of a request for a pre-motion conference to dismiss prior

to the Answer stays the time for the filing of an Answer until after the

conference is held or until further order of the Court.

c. Memoranda of Law. The formatting and length of motion papers must conform

to Local Civil Rule 7.1. Memoranda of law may only exceed the length limitations

set forth under Local Civil Rule 7.1 if prior permission has been granted.

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. Sur-reply

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

All moving papers, letter-motions, and letters filed on ECF or emailed to

chambers must be in searchable PDF form. Additionally, to the extent citing

unreported cases, parties are requested to use Westlaw citations whenever possible.

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d. Redactions and Filing Under Seal. All Confidential Materials filed with the Court

may be redacted or filed under seal only as the Court directs upon appropriate

application by either party or as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2,

which describes sensitive information that must be redacted from public court

filings.

To avoid the unnecessary filing of documents under seal, counsel for the parties

will discuss, in good faith, the need to file Confidential Materials under seal. If

the parties agree in writing that a particular document that has been designated

Confidential Material shall not be filed under seal, that document can be filed

without redaction and such filing will not be a breach of any Stipulation of

Confidentiality.

Any party wishing to file in redacted form any pleading, motion, memorandum,

exhibit, or other document, or any portion thereof, based on a party’s

designation of information as Confidential, must make a specific request to the

Court by letter motion explaining the reasons for seeking to file that submission

under seal and addressing the request in light of the Court of Appeals’ opinions

in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110 (2d Cir. 2006) and

Bernstein v. Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman LLP, 814 F.3d 132 (2d Cir.

2016). If a request for redactions is based on another party’s designation of

information as Confidential, the parties shall confer and jointly submit the

request for redactions.

Letter Motions for approval of sealed or redacted filings in civil and

miscellaneous cases and the subject documents, including the proposed sealed

document(s), must be filed electronically through the court’s ECF system in

conformity with the court’s standing order, 19-mc-00583, and ECF Rules &

Instructions, section 6.

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

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

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

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

necessary to safeguard information to be filed under seal.

The proposed sealed document must be contemporaneously filed under seal in

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

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

not include confidential information sought to be filed under seal.

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

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

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

unredacted document with the proposed redactions highlighted. Both

documents must be electronically filed through the ECF system and related to

the motion.

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

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

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

traditional manner, on paper.

If the Court approves the filing under seal, no further submissions shall be

required. If the Court denies, in part, the motion for filing under seal, the party

who made the submission shall be required to refile the document with modified

redactions as directed by the Court. The Court will file under seal any clean and

unredacted pages for which the Court has approved redactions.

The above practices for filing under seal are applicable to cases before Judge

Parker if the matter is within the scope of the district judge’s order of

reference or if the case is before Judge Parker for all purposes pursuant to 28

U.S.C. § 636(c). Otherwise, the practices of the district judge to whom the case

is assigned apply.

e. Oral Argument on Motions. Parties may request oral argument when the

motion has been fully briefed. This request should be made by letter in

accordance with the procedures set forth in Section I.

Junior members of legal teams representing clients are invited to argue motions

they have helped prepare and to question witnesses with whom they have

worked. Firms are encouraged to provide this opportunity to junior attorneys

for training purposes. This court is amenable to permitting a number of lawyers

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

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

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

f. Proposed Stipulations and Orders. Parties should file stipulations and orders

they wish the Court to sign on ECF, in accordance with the ECF Rules and

Instructions.

g. Nothing in my Individual Practices supersedes a specific time period for filing a

motion specified by statute or Federal Rule -- including but not limited to Fed.

R. Civ. P 50, 52, 54, 59, and 60, and Fed. R. App. P. 4 -- where failure to comply

with the specified time period could result in forfeiture of a substantive right.

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IV. Pretrial Procedures.

Joint Pretrial Orders. After the close of discovery, the Court will file a Scheduling Order

scheduling a pre-trial conference and containing instructions for the parties’ Proposed Joint

Pretrial Order. In general, except in pro se cases, a Joint Pretrial Order shall include, as

applicable:

a. the full caption of the action;

b. the name, address, telephone number and email of each principal member of

the trial team, and an identification of each party’s lead trial counsel;

c. a list of each claim and defense that will be tried and identification of the

governing law (including applicable regulations) governing each such claim and

defense;

d. if applicable, a list of any claims and defenses asserted in the pleadings that are

not to be tried;

e. a list by each party of its trial witnesses that it, in good faith, expects to present,

with an indication of whether the witnesses will testify in person or by

deposition and the general subject area of the witness’s testimony and

anticipated length of time needed for witness;

f. a statement as to how and when the parties will give notice to each other of the

order of their trial witnesses and, if the parties cannot agree, the parties

statement that they will agree to the Court’s default rule for trials of this length

(i.e., that the parties shall advise each other by no later than 48 hours before the

start of trial as to the order of their witnesses);

g. a list by each party of exhibits that it, in good faith, expects to offer in its case in

chief, together with any specific objections thereto;

h. all stipulations or statements of fact or law on which the parties have agreed;

i. a proposed schedule by which the parties will exchange demonstratives that the

parties intend to use at trial, notify each other of any objections thereto, consult

with each other regarding those objections and notify the Court of any remaining

disputes;

j. proposed voir dire questions;

k. proposed jury instructions;

l. proposed verdict sheet; and

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m. all other matters that the Court may have ordered or that the parties believe are

important to the efficient conduct of the trial, such as bifurcation or sequencing

of issues to be tried, anticipated in limine motions, and technology needed for

trial.

The parties shall each send a courtesy copy of all exhibits, pre-marked, to

Parker_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov. Exhibits need not be filed electronically on ECF.

The parties shall also each submit one hard copy of the pre-marked exhibits in a well-

organized three-ring binder separated by tab dividers.

In pro se cases, no Joint Pretrial Order is needed. Instead, within 30 days after the

completion of discovery each party shall file its own Pretrial Statement. The pro se party’s

Pretrial Statement need take no particular form, but must be concise and contain: (1) a

statement of the facts the party hopes to prove at trial; (2) a list of all documents or other

physical objects that the party plans to put into evidence at trial; and (3) a list of the names

and addresses of all witnesses the party intends to have testify at trial. The Statement must

be sworn by the party to be true and accurate based on the facts known by the party. The

party must file an original Statement with the Pro Se Office (see I(a)) and serve a copy on all

other parties or their counsel if represented. The original Statement must indicate the date

a copy was mailed to the other party or that party’s attorney.

V. Settlement Conferences

The Court believes the parties should fully explore settlement at the earliest practical

opportunity. Early consideration of settlement allows the parties to avoid the substantial

cost, expenditure of time, and uncertainty that are typically a part of the litigation process.

Even for those cases that cannot be resolved, early consideration of settlement can provide

the parties with a better understanding of the factual and legal nature of their dispute and

streamline the issues to be litigated.

The following are the procedures applicable to Settlement Conferences:

a. Confidential. All settlement conferences are “off the record” and strictly

confidential. All communications relating to settlement may not be used in

discovery and will not be admissible at trial.

b. Magistrate Judge’s Role. The magistrate judge functions as a mediator,

attempting to help the parties reach a settlement.

c. Pre-Conference Telephone Call. The Court will schedule a telephone call with

the parties prior to the conference to discuss issues pertinent to the conference,

after which a settlement conference will be scheduled.

d. Ex Parte Settlement Conference Summary Form and Letter. Unless otherwise

directed by the Court, no later than 7 days before the Settlement Conference,

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each party must complete the Court’s Settlement Conference Summary Form

found at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-katharine-h-parker. Each party also

must provide the Court with a letter, not to exceed three pages, summarizing the

issues in the case, the settlement value of the case and rationale for it, case law

authority relevant to settlement discussions, and any other facts that would be

helpful to the Court in preparation for the conference. Parties may attach

exhibits to their letters to the extent they believe the exhibits would aid

settlement discussions. The Settlement Conference Summary Form and letter

should be emailed to Parker_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov.

e. Exchange of Demand/Offer. If the plaintiff has not already made a settlement

demand, such a demand shall be communicated to the opposing party no later

than 14 days prior to the conference. If it has not already done so, the opposing

party shall respond to any demand no later than 8 days prior to the conference.

f. Attendance. The parties – not just the attorneys – must attend the Settlement

Conference in person. In the event personal attendance is a hardship, a party

may make a written request no later than one week in advance of the

conference to attend by phone. Each party must supply its own interpreter, if

required. Corporate parties or labor unions must send the person with decision-

making authority to settle the matter to the conference. Where liability

insurance is involved, a decision-making representative of each carrier must

attend unless specifically excused by the Court. Where any government agency

is a party, counsel of record must be accompanied by a knowledgeable

representative from the agency. In addition, in cases where the Comptroller of

the City of New York has authority over settlement, the Assistant Corporation

Counsel must make arrangements in advance of the conference for a

representative of the Comptroller either to attend the conference or to be

available by telephone to approve any proposed settlement.

g. Consequences of Non-Compliance with Attendance Requirement. If a party fails

to comply with the attendance requirements, that party may be required to

reimburse all the other parties for their time and travel expenses and may face

other sanctions.

h. Conference Location. Unless advised otherwise by the Court, the conference will

take place in Courtroom 17D at 500 Pearl Street.

i. Settlement Conference Materials: A courtesy copy of Ex Parte Settlement

Conference Summary Forms and Letters shall be submitted to the Court if the

exhibits to the Letter exceed 10 pages. Courtesy copies must be provided no

later than one business day after submission of the Form and Letter. Courtesy

copies should be placed in well-organized three-ring binder(s). Where

appropriate, the binder(s) shall be separated by tab dividers preceded by an

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exhibit list. Courtesy copies must be provided no later than one business day

after the filing.

If a party is submitting a video, the clip shall be provided on a thumb drive

delivered to Chambers and labeled with a case name and docket number.

Alternatively, the clip may be emailed to the Chambers email address noted

above.

VI. Default Judgment

Parties should follow Local Civil Rule 55 regarding default judgment. In addition,

parties shall provide the following information in the notice of motion or memorandum of

law supporting the motion:

1. The procedural history beyond service of the summons and complaint, if any;

2. Whether the default is applicable to fewer than all of the defendants, and, if so, a

statement addressing whether the Court may appropriately order a default judgment on

the issue of damages prior to resolution of the entire action.

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