Hon. Katherine Polk Failla — Individual Rules of Practice

Revised

January 3, 2025

INDIVIDUAL RULES OF PRACTICE IN CIVIL CASES

Katherine Polk Failla, United States District Judge

Chambers Courtroom

United States District Court 40 Foley Square, Courtroom 618

Southern District of New York Talena Noriega, Courtroom Deputy

40 Foley Square, Room 2103 (212) 805-0290

New York, NY 10007

(212) 805-0290

Failla_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov

Pro Se Intake Office

United States District Court

Southern District of New York

500 Pearl Street, Room 205

New York, NY 10007

(212) 805-0175

1. Procedural Rules

A. Generally. The Court’s procedures are governed by the Federal

Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local Rules of the United States

District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

(the “Local Rules”), and the Individual Practices set forth below.

Unless otherwise ordered, these Individual Practices apply to all

civil matters before Judge Failla.

B. Pilot Projects and Plans. If a case is designated by Order of the

Court to be part of one of the Court’s pilot projects or plans

(including the protocols set forth in Local Civil Rule 83.10), the

procedures in such project or plan shall govern to the extent that

they are inconsistent with these Individual Practices.

2. Communications with Chambers

A. ECF. In accordance with Local Civil Rule 1.4 and the Electronic

Case Filing (“ECF”) Rules and Instructions, counsel are required to

register as ECF filers and to enter a notice of appearance in the

case promptly on or before the attorney’s first appearance in court

or filing in the case. Counsel who file(s) a case-initiating

document, such as a complaint, petition, or notice of removal, need

not file a separate notice of appearance. Instructions are available

on the Court website, at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/electronic-

case-filing. Counsel are responsible for updating their contact

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information on ECF as needed, and counsel remain responsible for

checking the docket sheet regularly, regardless of whether they

receive an ECF notification of case activity.

B. Letters. Except as otherwise provided below, communications

with the Court should be by letter. Letters should be filed

electronically on ECF, with a courtesy copy, clearly marked as

such, delivered to the Court via e-mail (Failla_NYSDChambers@

nysd.uscourts.gov). E-mails shall state clearly in the subject line:

(i) the caption of the case, including the lead party names and

docket number; and (ii) a brief description of the contents of the

letter. Parties shall not include substantive communications in the

body of the e-mail; such communications shall be included only in

the body of the letter. Copies of correspondence between counsel

shall not be filed on ECF or otherwise sent to the Court (except as

exhibits to an otherwise properly filed document). The courtesy

copy of any letter filed on ECF must be an electronic copy of the

filed version of the letter and must include the automatically

generated ECF header (that is, the text — e.g., “Case 1:19-cv-

01234-KPF Document 100 Filed 1/1/19 Page 1 of 1” — appearing

at the top of each page of a document on the ECF system).

i. By a Pro Se Party. All communications with the Court by a

pro se party must be sent to the Pro Se Intake Office, or filed

directly on ECF if granted such permission, as discussed in

Rule (2)(B)(2) below. You may contact the Pro Se Intake

Office at (212) 805-0175 during normal business hours,

8:30am - 5:00pm, Monday – Friday. No documents or filings

should be sent directly to Chambers. Copies of

correspondence between a pro se party and counsel should

not be sent to the Court.

1. Consent to receive documents by e-mail. Pro se

parties who want to receive service of notices and

documents by e-mail instead of regular mail, should

submit a completed Consent to Electronic Service form, to

the Pro Se Intake Office, which is available on the court’s

website at: https://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms/consent-

electronic-service-pro-se-cases. If a pro se party consents

to receive documents electronically, they will no longer

receive documents in the mail, and instead, will receive a

Notice of Electronic Filing (“NEF”) by e-mail each time a

document is filed in their case. Electronic service does not

allow a pro se party to electronically file their documents.

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2. Permission for Electronic Case Filing. Once a

Complaint has been filed, a pro se party who wants to

electronically file their court documents, must submit a

written motion that includes information regarding their

ability to use a computer and what computer access they

have, to the Pro Se Intake Office. A form Motion for

Permission for Electronic Case Filing is available on the

court’s website at: https://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms/

motion-permission-electronic-case-filing-pro-se-cases. If a

pro se party is granted permission to participate in

electronic case filing, they must file their documents

electronically, they will no longer receive documents in

the mail, and instead, will receive a Notice of Electronic

Filing (“NEF”) by e-mail each time a document is filed in

their case.

3. Pro Se Legal Clinic. For interested pro se parties, the

City Bar Justice Center (CBJC) Federal Pro Se Legal

Assistance Project is a free legal clinic staffed by attorneys

and paralegals to assist those who are representing

themselves or planning to represent themselves in civil

lawsuits in the Southern District of New York. The clinic,

which is not part of or run by the Court, has offices at 40

Foley Square, Room LL22. More information is available

on the Court’s website at: https://nysd.uscourts.gov/

attorney/legal-assistance.

C. Letter Motions. Letter motions may be filed via ECF if they

comply with the Local Rules and the SDNY Electronic Case Filing

Rules & Instructions. All requests for adjournments, extensions,

and pre-motion conferences should be filed as letter motions. Pre-

motion submissions are discussed in further detail in Rule 4(A)

below. If the letter motion is not on consent, any opposing party

should submit a letter setting forth its position, within three

business days after the initial letter motion is received. A courtesy

copy of each letter motion must also be provided to Chambers via

e-mail as outlined in Rule 2(B) above.

i. Requests for Adjournments or Extensions of Time. Letter

motions for adjournments or extensions of time should state:

(i) the original due date; (ii) the number of previous requests for

adjournment or extension of time; (iii) whether these previous

requests were granted or denied; (iv) the reason for the current

request; and (v) whether the adversary consents, and, if not, the

reasons given by the adversary for refusing to consent. If the

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requested adjournment or extension affects any other scheduled

dates, a proposed Revised Scheduling Order must be attached.

If the request is for an adjournment of a court appearance,

absent an emergency, the request shall be made at least 48

hours prior to the scheduled appearance.

1. By a Pro Se Party. Requests for extensions by pro se

parties should be submitted to the Pro Se Intake Office,

and shall include the information specified in Rule 2(C)(i),

except that a pro se party may, but is not required to,

submit a proposed Revised Scheduling Order.

ii. Discovery Disputes. The parties are to follow 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. If this meet-and-confer process

does not resolve the dispute, the party seeking discovery shall

promptly file on ECF a letter motion, no longer than three

pages, explaining the nature of the dispute and requesting an

informal conference. Such a letter motion 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 submit a responsive letter, not to exceed

three pages, within three business days after the request is

received. 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, let alone more time for discovery.

D. Proposed Orders and Stipulations. All stipulations and proposed

orders — including emergency applications, with or without

preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders —

should be filed electronically using the court’s ECF system. Parties

seeking emergency relief, including preliminary injunctions and

temporary restraining orders, shall also notify Chambers by

telephone immediately after filing their request for such relief on

ECF. For further information, parties are directed to consult the

SDNY Electronic Case Filing Rules & Instructions, available at

https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/electronic-case-filing.

E. Related Cases. After an action has been accepted as related to a

prior filing, all future court papers and correspondence must also

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contain the docket number of the case to which it has been

related.

F. Cases Removed from State Court. Counsel for the removing

party or parties must, in addition to providing a copy of all process,

pleadings, and papers served upon the defendants pursuant to 28

U.S.C. § 1446(a), provide the Court with a courtesy copy of any

pleading filed or served while the case remained in state court.

Counsel for all parties must file notices of appearance in this Court

promptly upon removal.

G. Urgent Communications. Materials filed via ECF are generally

reviewed within one business day of filing. If a given submission

requires immediate attention, please notify Chambers by telephone

after it is filed on ECF.

H. Telephone Calls. For docketing, scheduling, and calendar

matters, call Chambers at (212) 805-0290. Otherwise, telephone

calls to Chambers are permitted only for urgent matters.

i. By a Pro Se Party. Pro se parties are not permitted to

telephone Chambers. Pro se parties are directed to contact

the Pro Se Intake Office at (212) 805-0175.

I. Faxes. Faxes to Chambers are not permitted.

J. Hand Deliveries. Where requested by the Court, hand-delivered

mail should be left with the Court Security Officers at the Worth

Street entrance of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States

District Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007, and

may not be brought directly to Chambers. During business hours,

however, if the hand-delivered letter is urgent and requires the

Court’s immediate attention, it should brought to the Court

Security Officers at the Centre Street entrance of the Thurgood

Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, New York,

NY 10007, and the person making the delivery should ask the

Court Security Officers to notify Chambers that an urgent package

has arrived that needs to be retrieved by Chambers staff

immediately.

3. Conferences

A. Attendance by Principal Trial Counsel. The attorney who will

serve as principal trial counsel must appear at all conferences with

the Court.

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B. Initial Case Management Conference. With the exception of

those categories of cases listed in Local Civil Rule 16.1, the Court

will generally schedule a Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(c) conference to take

place within three months of the filing of the Complaint. The

conference will be scheduled by means of a Notice of Initial Pretrial

Conference that is filed on ECF. Plaintiff’s counsel is responsible

for distributing the Notice of Initial Pretrial Conference to those

parties who have not yet appeared in the case. Pursuant to that

Notice, the parties are required to file on ECF, a joint letter and

Proposed Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order by

Thursday of the week prior to the initial pretrial conference. A

courtesy copy of the joint letter and Proposed Civil Case

Management Plan and Scheduling Order must also be provided to

Chambers via e-mail in PDF format.

The Court schedules initial pretrial conferences with the

expectation that one or more of the parties would like an

opportunity to bring matters to the Court’s attention, and it

welcomes that opportunity. However, the Court recognizes that in

certain circumstances — as, for example, where the parties are in

agreement about the proposed discovery schedule and have no

issues to raise with the Court — such conferences may represent

less-efficient uses of the parties’ time and resources. If the parties

agree on a schedule that calls for the close of all discovery within

six months, and have no other issues to raise with the Court, the

parties can, if they wish, submit a Proposed Civil Case

Management Plan and Scheduling Order and request in their joint

letter that the initial pretrial conference be cancelled. The Court

will ordinarily grant such requests.

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 that attorney played a substantial role in drafting the

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

amenable to permitting more than one lawyer to argue for one

party if this creates an opportunity for a junior lawyer to

participate.

4. Motions

A. Pre-Motion Submissions in Civil Cases. Pre-motion submissions

are required for motions to dismiss, motions for summary

judgment, motions for judgment on the pleadings, motions for

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sanctions, and motions concerning discovery. Motions concerning

discovery are discussed in Rule 3(C) above.

To request a pre-motion conference for motions to dismiss,

motions for summary judgment, motions for judgment on the

pleadings, and motions for sanctions, the putative moving party

shall file a letter motion, not to exceed three pages, describing the

grounds for the proposed motion, and whether the motion is on

consent of all parties. If the motion is not on consent, any

opposing party should file a letter setting forth its position, not to

exceed three pages, within three business days after the request is

received. The Court will then determine whether to hold a pre-

motion conference in the matter. A courtesy copy of the letter

motion and opposition must also be provided to Chambers via e-

mail in accordance to Rule 2(B) above.

The submission of a pre-motion letter does not stay any future

deadlines, except that submission of a pre-motion letter

concerning a motion to dismiss will stay a defendant’s time to

answer or otherwise move with respect to the Complaint.

i. By a Pro Se Party. Pre-motion submissions are not

required from pro se parties. If the pro se party’s adversary

files a pre-motion submission, the pro se party may, but is

not required to, file a response to the pre-motion

submission. Any such response shall be due three business

days after the pre-motion submission is received by the pro

se party.

B. Memoranda of Law. The typeface, margins, spacing, and length of

motion papers must conform to Local Civil Rule 7.1 (or, in the case

of motions for reconsideration, Local Civil Rule 6.3 and Rule 4(C)

below). All text must be 12-point type or larger, except for text in

footnotes which may be 10-point type; (2) all documents must have

at least one-inch margins on all sides; (3) all text must be double-

spaced, except for headings, text in footnotes, or block quotations,

which may be single-spaced; (4) all memoranda of law are limited

to 8,750 words, and reply briefs are limited to 3,500 words (if filed

by a party who is not represented by an attorney and handwritten

or prepared with a typewriter, briefs in support of and in response

to a motion may not exceed 25 pages, and reply briefs may not

exceed 10 pages). Memoranda of 3,500 words or more shall

contain a table of contents and a table of authorities, neither of

which shall count against the word limit. These limits also do not

include the caption, any index, signature blocks, or any required

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certificates, but do include material contained in footnotes or

endnotes. All appendices to memoranda of law must be indexed.

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. Sur-reply memoranda will not be accepted without

prior permission of the Court.

C. Memoranda of Law for Motions for Reconsideration. If filed by

an attorney or prepared with a computer, briefs in support of and

in response to a motion may not exceed 3,500 words, and reply

briefs may not exceed 1,750 words; if filed by a party who is not

represented by an attorney and handwritten or prepared with a

typewriter, briefs in support of and in response to a motion may

not exceed 10 pages, and reply briefs may not exceed five pages.

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, the party must also provide a certificate of compliance

as required by Local Civil Rule 7.1(c). 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.

D. Courtesy Copies. One courtesy copy of all motion papers, marked

as such, shall be mailed or hand-delivered to the Court by the

movant at the time the reply is served. All courtesy copies should

be double-sided, three-hole-punched, tabbed, and placed in

binders.

E. Oral Argument on Motions. Parties may request oral argument

by letter at the time their moving or opposing or reply papers are

filed. The Court will determine whether argument will be heard

and, if so, will advise counsel of the argument date.

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F. Preliminary Injunction Motions. The Court generally follows the

procedure for the conduct of non-jury trials described in Rule 7(D)

below.

G. Motions to Exclude the Testimony of Experts. Pursuant to

Rules 702-705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and the line of

cases beginning with Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,

509 U.S. 579 (1993), motions to exclude testimony of experts must

be made by the deadline for dispositive motions and should not be

treated as motions in limine.

H. Pro Se Notices. Parties who file a motion to dismiss, a motion for

judgment on the pleadings, or a motion for summary judgment

must provide the pro se party with a copy of the notices required

under Local Civil Rules 12.1 or 56.2.

I. Default Judgments. A plaintiff seeking a default judgment must

proceed by way of an Order to Show Cause pursuant to the

procedure set forth in Attachment A.

5. Special Rules for Summary Judgment Motions.

A. Generally Not Available in Non-Jury Cases. Absent good cause,

the Court will not have summary judgment practice in a non-jury

case.

B. Courtesy Copy of Deposition Transcript. Except in pro se cases,

the parties shall provide the Court with an electronic, text-

searchable courtesy copy of any hearing or deposition transcript on

which the parties rely, if such a copy is available, unless doing so

would be unduly burdensome. Parties should provide these

materials on a thumb drive only, not on a CD or DVD and not by e-

mail. Where parties rely on deposition testimony, they should not

include excerpts of deposition transcripts as exhibits, but rather

should include (only once) the entire deposition transcript as an

exhibit.

C. Local Rule 56.1 Statements. With the exception of claims

brought under the Administrative Procedure Act or the Freedom of

Information Act, pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1, a movant for

summary judgment shall file a statement of material undisputed

facts and the opposing party shall respond.

i. Electronic Copy to Other Parties. Except in pro se cases,

the moving party should provide all other parties with an

electronic copy, in Microsoft Word format, of the moving

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party’s Statement of Material Facts Pursuant to Local Civil

Rule 56.1.

ii. Organization of 56.1 Statements. The 56.1 Statement

must be organized into numbered paragraphs and each

numbered paragraph must contain only one factual

assertion. Each factual assertion must be followed by a

citation to the portion(s) of the evidentiary record relied

upon.

Except in pro se cases, opposing parties must reproduce

each entry in the moving party’s 56.1 Statement, and set out

the opposing party’s response directly beneath it. The

response must state specifically what is admitted and what

is disputed, and the basis for any dispute, citing specific

portions of the evidentiary record relied upon. The response

may go on to make additional factual allegations in

paragraphs numbered consecutively to those of the moving

party (i.e., they do not begin re-numbering at 1). If

additional factual allegations are made by the opposing

party, the moving party must file its own responsive 56.1

Statement addressing the additional assertions.

iii. Multiple Parties Must Coordinate Statements. If multiple

parties are submitting 56.1 Statements, they must

coordinate their statements to provide for consecutive, non-

overlapping, numbered paragraphs in their respective

statements.

iv. Statement of Facts. Each memoranda of law must include

a statement of facts, and may not simply incorporate by

reference the entirety of a party’s 56.1 Statement. For cases

concerning confirmation or vacatur of arbitration awards, or

disputes regarding insurance coverage, the parties shall file

a joint Local Rule 56.1 Statement of Facts as well as a joint

set of exhibits along with the movant’s opening brief.

6. Other Pretrial Guidance

A. 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 Fed. R. Civ.

P. 65(b) are met. As soon as a party files an application to seek a

temporary restraining order, he or she must call Chambers at (212)

805-0290 and state clearly whether (i) he or she has notified the

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adversary, and whether the adversary consents to temporary

injunctive relief; or (ii) the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b) are

satisfied and no notice is necessary. If a party’s adversary has

been notified but does not consent to temporary injunctive relief,

the party seeking a restraining order must call Chambers with all

parties present at a time mutually agreeable to the party and its

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

both sides in deciding whether to grant temporary injunctive relief.

B. Settlement Agreements. 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.

C. Diversity Jurisdiction Cases. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 7.1, 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 shall, prior to the Initial

Pretrial Conference, file on ECF in accordance with Rule 2(B)

above, a letter no longer than three pages explaining the basis for

that party’s belief that diversity of citizenship exists. In cases

where any party is a corporation, the letter shall 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 shall state the

citizenship of each of the entity’s members, shareholders, partners,

and/or trustees.

D. Bankruptcy Appeals. The briefing schedule and format and

length specifications set forth in the applicable provisions of

Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure shall govern unless

otherwise ordered by the Court. Counsel may extend the default

deadlines by stipulation submitted to the Court no later than two

business days before the brief is due.

7. Trial Procedures

A. Joint Pretrial Order. The Court will set the deadline for the

submission of the Joint Pretrial Order at a conference that will

follow either the close of discovery or the resolution of dispositive

motions. On the date ordered by the Court, the parties shall file

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on ECF, with courtesy copy e-mailed to the Court, a proposed joint

pretrial order, which shall include the following:

i. The full caption of the action;

ii. The names, law firms, addresses, telephone numbers, and e-

mail addresses 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 shall include citations to all

statutes relied on and relevant facts as to citizenship and

jurisdictional amount;

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

that the party asserts remain to be tried, including citations

to any statutes on which the party relies. Such summaries

shall also identify all claims and defenses previously

asserted 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;

vi. A joint statement summarizing the nature of the case, to be

read to potential jurors during jury selection;

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

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

potential jurors during jury selection;

viii. Any stipulations or agreed statements of fact or law to which

all parties consent;

ix. 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;

x. 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;

xi. A list by each party of exhibits to be offered in its case in

chief, with one asterisk indicating exhibits to which no party

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objects on grounds of authenticity, and two asterisks

indicating exhibits to which no party objects on any ground;

xii. 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

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

unanimous verdict.

B. Required Pretrial Filings. Each party shall file and serve with the

joint pretrial order:

i. In both jury and non-jury cases, motions addressing any

evidentiary issues or other matters that should be resolved

in limine.

ii. In all cases where a party believes it would be useful to the

Court, a pretrial memorandum of law;

iii. In jury cases, requests to charge and proposed voir dire

questions, with courtesy copies e-mailed to Chambers as

both .pdf and Microsoft Word documents; or

In non-jury cases, where directed by the Court, proposed

findings of fact and conclusions of law. The proposed

findings of fact should be detailed and should include

citations to the proffered trial testimony and exhibits.

C. Filings in Opposition. Objections to another party’s requests to

charge or proposed voir dire questions, oppositions to any motion

in limine, and oppositions to any legal argument in a pretrial

memorandum, shall be filed within seven days after the filing of

the pretrial filings, and reply papers, if any, shall be filed within

four days of any opposition, or as specified in the trial scheduling

order;

D. Additional Submissions in Non-Jury Cases. At the time the joint

pretrial order is filed, each party shall e-mail to the Court and

serve on opposing counsel, but not file on ECF, the following:

i. Copies of affidavits constituting the direct testimony of each

trial witness, except for the direct testimony of an adverse

party, a person whose attendance is compelled by subpoena,

or a person for whom the Court has agreed to hear direct

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testimony live at the trial. Three business days after

submission of such affidavits, counsel for each party shall

submit a list of all affiants whom he or she intends to cross-

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

examined need to appear at trial. The original signed

affidavits should be brought to trial to be marked as

exhibits;

ii. All deposition excerpts which will be offered as substantive

evidence, as well as a one-page synopsis of those excerpts for

each deposition. Each synopsis shall include page citations

to the pertinent pages of the deposition transcripts; and

iii. All documentary exhibits.

E. Courtesy Copies. Two courtesy copies of all documents identified

in Rules 7(A), (B)(i-ii), (C), and (D) above should be mailed to

Chambers or hand-delivered on the date on which they are to be

served or filed. Only one set of documentary exhibits is required.

Voluminous material may be organized either in binders or manila

file folders, but in any event, the courtesy copies shall be

separately arranged into two independent sets.

F. Trial Schedule. Trials will generally be conducted Monday

through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with one short break

from approximately 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

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

method.

8. Trial Procedures in Pro Se Cases

A. Generally. Rule 7 applies equally to cases involving a pro se party,

with the following exceptions:

i. Pretrial Statement. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court,

within 30 days of the completion of discovery, a pro se party

shall file a concise, written Pretrial Statement. This

Statement need take no particular form, but it must contain

the following: (i) a statement of the facts the pro se party

hopes to prove at trial; (ii) a list of all documents or other

physical objects that the pro se party plans to put into

evidence at trial; and (iii) a list of the names and addresses of

all witnesses the pro se party intends to have testify at trial.

The Statement must be sworn by the pro se party to be true

and accurate based on the facts known by the pro se party.

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The pro se party shall file an original of this Statement with

the Pro Se Intake Office. Two weeks after service of the pro

se party’s Statement, counsel for any represented party must

file and serve a similar Statement containing the same

categories of information.

ii. Pretrial Filings. The pro se party may also file either

proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law or a

proposed jury charge but is not required to do so. Counsel

for any represented party is directed to follow Rules 7(B)-(D).

9. Electronic Filing Under Seal in Civil and Miscellaneous Cases

A. Redactions Not Requiring Court Approval. Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 5.2 describes sensitive information that must be

redacted from public court filings without seeking prior permission

from the Court. The parties are also referred to the E-Government

Act of 2002 and the Southern District’s ECF Privacy Policy

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

be redacted from public court filings without prior permission from

the Court: “sensitive information” and information requiring

“caution.” Parties should not include in their public filings, unless

necessary, the five categories of “sensitive information” (i.e., social

security numbers [use the last four digits only], names of minor

children [use the initials only], dates of birth [use the year only],

financial account numbers [use the last four digits only], and home

addresses [use only the City and State]). Parties may also, without

prior Court approval, redact from their public filings the six

categories of information requiring caution described in the Privacy

Policy (i.e., any personal identifying number, medical records

[including information regarding treatment and diagnosis],

employment history, individual financial information, proprietary

or trade secret information, and information regarding an

individual’s cooperation with the government).

B. Redactions Requiring Court Approval. Except for redactions

permitted by the previous paragraph, all redactions or sealing of

public court filings require Court approval. To be approved, any

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

serve whatever purpose justifies the redaction or sealing and must

be otherwise consistent with the presumption in favor of public

access to judicial documents. 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

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Revised: January 3, 2025

basis to overcome the presumption in favor of public access to

judicial documents. See, e.g., In re Gen. Motors LLC Ignition Switch

Litig., No. 14-MD-2543 (JMF), 2015 WL 4750774, at *4 (S.D.N.Y.

Aug. 11, 2015).

i. Procedures for Filing Documents with Redactions. Any

party seeking to file a document with partial redactions should

file on ECF a letter motion seeking leave to file the document

with those redactions. The letter motion must be filed in public

view, must explain the purpose of the redactions and why the

redactions are consistent with the standards discussed in Rule

9(B) above, and should not include the confidential information

sought to be redacted. Supporting papers must be separately

filed electronically and may be filed under seal or redacted only

to the extent necessary to safeguard information sought to be

redacted. (If, however, the party believes that the letter motion

itself should be redacted, the party should include an

unredacted copy of the letter motion as an attachment to the e-

mail described in Rule 9(B)(ii) below.)

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 on ECF and related to

the motion.

ii. E-mailing of Documents to Chambers. At the same time of

filing on ECF, the party should e-mail to Chambers

(Failla_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov) (i) a clean (i.e.,

unredacted) copy of the document; (ii) a copy of the document

highlighting the information that has been redacted in the ECF

filing; and (iii) an unredacted copy of the letter motion described

in Rule 9(B)(i), should the party also be seeking leave to file that

letter motion with redactions.

C. Procedure for Filing Sealed Documents

i. Sealing Exhibits. Any party seeking leave to file an unsealed

or redacted document with a fully sealed exhibit attached

thereto should file the main document (in accordance with the

procedures above, if the party seeks to do so with redactions) on

ECF, accompanied by a single page marked “SEALED” in place

of any exhibit that the party seeks leave to file under seal,

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Revised: January 3, 2025

regardless of the actual length of such exhibit. The party

should simultaneously file a letter motion seeking leave to file in

that manner according to the procedure described in Rule

9(B)(i)-(ii) above.

ii. Sealing Entire Documents. Any party seeking leave to file

under seal an entire submission (with or without exhibits)

should file on ECF a letter motion seeking leave to file the

document under seal.

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 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 document, will be

open to public inspection and should not include confidential

information sought to be filed under seal.

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.

10. Policy on the Use of Electronic Devices

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/sites/default/files/

pdf/standing-order-electronic-devices.pdf. If required by the Standing

Order, counsel seeking to bring a device into the Courthouse shall

submit a copy of the Electronic Devices General Purpose Form, available

at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms/fillable-form-electronic-devices-

general-purpose, to the Court by e-mail at least 72 hours prior to the

relevant trial or hearing. Untimely requests may be denied on that basis

alone. If permitted by the Standing Order, mobile telephones are

permitted inside the Courtroom, but they must be kept turned off at all

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Revised: January 3, 2025

times. Non-compliance with this rule may result in forfeiture of the

device for the remainder of the proceedings.

18

ATTACHMENT A

DEFAULT JUDGMENT PROCEDURE

1. Obtain a Certificate of Default from the Clerk’s Office for each defaulting

party stating that no answer or response has been filed, and in

accordance with Local Civil Rule 55.1 and the SDNY Electronic Case

Filing Rules & Instructions, available at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/

electronic-case-filing.

2. After the Clerk’s Office enters a signed Clerk’s Certificate of Default on

the docket, electronically file on ECF a proposed Order to Show Cause

Without Emergency Relief using the filing event of the same name, found

under PROPOSED ORDERS.

a. The Proposed Order to Show Cause for default judgment is to be made

returnable before Judge Failla in Courtroom 618. Leave blank the

date and time of the conference. Judge Failla will set the date and

time when she signs the Order.

3. Electronically file on ECF, as separate ECF filing events, the following

supporting papers with the Proposed Order to Show Cause.

a. An attorney’s affidavit setting forth:

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

description of the method and date of service of the Summons

and Complaint (include as attachments copies of all pleadings

and the affidavit of service of the Summons and Complaint);

ii. the procedural history beyond service of the Summons and

Complaint, if any; and

iii. 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.

b. A statement setting forth the proposed damages and the basis for

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

costs (unless requesting an inquest). If not requesting an inquest,

include the legal authority for why an inquest into damages would

be unnecessary.

c. A proposed default judgment.

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Revised: January 3, 2025

4. Once electronically filed, a courtesy copy of the Proposed Order to Show

Cause and the supporting papers must also be provided to Chambers via

e-mail.

5. After the Judge signs the Order, and it is electronically filed on ECF,

serve a conformed copy of the Order and supporting papers on the

defendant.

6. Prior to the return date, file an affidavit of service, reflecting that the

defendant was served with the Order to Show Cause and supporting

papers, via ECF.

2