Hon. P. Kevin Castel — Individual Rules of Practice

Amended

March 17, 2025

Individual Practices in Civil Cases

P. Kevin Castel, United States District Judge

Chambers Courtroom

United States District Court Courtroom 11D

Southern District of New York 500 Pearl Street

500 Pearl Street Florence Nacanther, Courtroom Deputy

New York, New York 10007

CastelNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov

Unless otherwise ordered, all civil actions and miscellaneous matters before Judge

Castel shall be conducted in accordance with the following practices.

1. Communications

A. Letters.

i. Communications with the Court shall be by letter and filed on

ECF. Absent a specific direction from the Court, the text of an

email transmitted to Chambers does not qualify as a letter and its

contents will not be addressed by the Court or Chambers’ Staff.

ii. All letters must contain the docket number of the action, as well

as the docket number of any related action before the Judge (e.g.

25 cv 3456(PKC) [rel. 25 cv 3457(PKC)]).

iii. The first paragraph of all letters must set forth the date of the

next conference before the Court.

B. Questions and Matters Requiring Immediate Attention. Questions or

requests on matters of scheduling, substance or procedure should be presented

by letter. (See 1.A.) For matters requiring immediate attention, please email

Chambers at

CastelNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov.

C. Requests for Adjournments or Extensions of Time. All requests for

adjournments or extensions of time shall be made by letter filed on ECF. The

letter should state:

i. the date sought to be adjourned or extended;

ii. the reasons for the request;

iii. whether any adjournment or extension of the date was previously

sought and whether it was granted;

iv. whether the adversary consents to the request and, if not, the

reasons given by the adversary for declining to consent; and

v. the information in 1.A. ii & iii above.

vi. A request for an extension of the schedule for completion of

discovery shall attach a proposed Revised Case Management

Plan and Scheduling Order (reflecting actual dates which are

business days). It should also include a request to adjourn the

next conference to a date at least 14 days after any proposed date

for the close of fact discovery.

vii. A request for an adjournment of time to answer a complaint

should include a request to adjourn the initial conference to a

date at least 14 days after the answer would be due.

viii. A request for adjournment of a motion schedule shall include

proposed dates for all submissions of all parties relating to the

motion.

D. Courtesy Copies. If, but only if, they exceed 40 pages in length,

courtesy copies of all pleadings (complaint, answer, counterclaim, etc.) shall be

sent to Chambers within five days of filing.

E. Electronic Device Request. The Electronic Device Request form

should not be submitted on ECF. It should be emailed to the Chambers’ email.

It will be processed and returned to the requesting party and the party should

bring a copy of the signed Request Form to Court.

2. Case Management Plans. For all civil cases, the parties shall confer and prepare a

proposed Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order (a model Plan and Order is

found under Judge Castel’s name on the Court website) and the agreed upon Plan and

Order (together with any alternate proposal) shall be filed on ECF no later than 48

hours before the Initial Pretrial Conference.

3. Motions

A. Pre-Motion Letter in Civil Cases

i. The filing of a Pre-Motion letter to the Court is required prior to

the filing of all motions, except the following:

a Discovery motions, which are governed by 3.B. below;

b Motions brought by order to show cause;

c Motions by incarcerated pro se litigants;

d Motions for a default judgment;

e Motions for appointment of lead counsel under the PSLRA;

f Motions for admission pro hac vice;

g Motions to withdraw as counsel;

h Motions for reconsideration;

i Motions to seal or unseal (see 5.B below);

j Motions relating to discovery which shall be brought on in

compliance with 3.B below;

k Any motion described in Rule 6(b)(2), Fed. R. Civ. P., Rule

4(a)(4)(A), Fed. R. App., or section 1447 of title 28.

ii. The letter shall set forth in detail the legal and factual basis for

the anticipated motion and a proposed schedule for the motion.

iii. A response to the letter shall be filed within four business days.

iv. If a Pre-Motion Letter seeks to file a motion to dismiss, the party

responding shall unambiguously state in the first paragraph

whether he, she or it seeks leave to amend. The Pre-Motion

Letter and response will be taken into account in deciding

whether further leave to amend will be granted in the event the

motion to dismiss is granted. Among other purposes, the Pre-

Motion Letter and response enables the Court to set an

appropriate briefing schedule and to explore whether the motion

may be (a) obviated by an amendment to the pleadings or

consent to the relief; or (b) deferred to a different juncture in the

case.

v. The transmittal of a Pre-Motion Letter for a proposed motion

under Rule 12(b), Fed. R. Civ. P., stays the time to answer or

move until further order of the Court.

vi. The Pre-Motion Letter shall state in the first paragraph the date

of any conference scheduled before the Court.

B. Discovery Disputes. Discovery Disputes shall be brought on by letter motion

and the parties shall comply with Local Civil Rule 37.2 unless otherwise

ordered. A Discovery Dispute Letter to the Court shall contain the certification

required under Rule 37(a)(1), Fed. R. Civ. P., and set forth the full text of any a

discovery request and response or objection thereto, together with any case law

support and any affidavits required to adjudicate the issue. The party from

whom discovery is sought shall respond within four business days and shall

include any case law support and any affidavits required to adjudicate the

motion.

C. Motion Response Time. Unless otherwise ordered, the time for a response or

reply to a motion is as set forth in Local Civil Rule 6.1. (The response time to a

Pre-Motion Letter or Discovery Dispute are as set forth in 3.A.iii and 3.B.)

D. Memoranda of Law. Unless prior permission has been granted, memoranda of

law in support of and in opposition to motions are limited to 25 pages, and reply

memoranda are limited to 10 pages. A memorandum of 10 pages or more shall

contain a table of contents.

E. Courtesy Copies. Courtesy copies of all motion papers shall be submitted in

hard copy to Chambers within four days of filing.

F. Oral Argument on Motions. Parties may request oral argument by letter. The

court will determine whether argument will be heard and, if so, will advise

counsel of the argument date.

G. Summary Judgment.

i. A summary judgment movant shall provide the opposing party with a

copy of its Local Rule 56.1(a)(1) Statement in Microsoft Word format within

four days of filing.

ii. The Local Rule 56.1(a)(2) Statement by the party opposing summary

judgment shall set forth verbatim the text of each paragraph of the Local Rule

56.1(a)(1) Statement of the movant immediately preceding its response thereto.

H. Default Judgment. A party seeking a default judgment must proceed by filing

a motion for default judgment on ECF pursuant to Rule 55(b)(2), Fed. R. Civ. P.

and Local Civil Rule 55.2(b). A party 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; and

(e) an explanation why an inquest into damages would be necessary or

not.

ii. a proposed default judgment;

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

iv. if failure to answer is the basis for the default, a Certificate from the Clerk

of Court stating that no answer has been filed.

The Court for a motion for default judgment shall be served on the party against whom default

judgment is sought. The time for a response and reply are as set forth in Local Civil Rule 6.1.

4. Confidentiality Orders. Any proposed Confidentiality Order shall contain the

following language:

Notwithstanding any other provision, no document may be

filed with the Clerk under seal without a further Order of this Court

addressing the specific documents or portions of documents to be

sealed. Any application to seal shall be accompanied by an affidavit

or affidavits and a memorandum of law, demonstrating that the

standards for sealing have been met and specifically addressing the

applicability of Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110,

119-120 (2d Cir. 2006) and any other controlling authority. Unless

otherwise ordered, a party seeking to file an opposing party’s

confidential information shall so advise the opposing party fourteen

(14) days in advance specifying the precise portion of the

information the party seeks to use, the general purpose thereof and

any redactions to which the party does not object. Within seven (7)

days thereafter, the party whose confidential information is sought

to be used may make an application to seal in accordance with the

first paragraph of this Order, indicating the portion or portions of

the information it seeks to have sealed. Nothing herein is intended

to alter or modify the applicability of Rule 5.2, Fed. R. Civ. P., to

this case. The redactions expressly authorized by Rule 5.2 may be

made without further application to the Court.

5. Sealing in Civil and Miscellaneous Cases: ECF Requirements

A. Sealing/Redactions Not Requiring Court Approval. Rule 5.2, Fed. R. Civ. P.,

describes sensitive information that must be redacted from public court filings

and such redactions shall be made without seeking prior permission from the

Court.

B. Sealing/Redaction Requiring Court Approval. Motions or 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.

Specifically, the following procedures must be followed:

i 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.

ii. 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.

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

6. Final Pretrial Submissions. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, no later than 45

days following the scheduled date for completion of fact and expert discovery, the

parties shall submit to the Court and electronically file:

A. A proposed Joint Pre-Trial Order that includes the information required by

Rule 26(a)(3), Fed. R. Civ. P., and also the following:

i. The names, addresses, mobile phone numbers and email addresses of all

counsel participating in the trial.

ii. Stipulations of fact and testimony, including a certification by lead trial

counsel for all parties that they have met face-to-face for the purpose of

endeavoring to reach agreement upon stipulations of fact and

stipulations of testimony and the content of their stipulations.

iii. A statement of the claims and defenses that remain to be tried. Any

claim or defense not so identified is deemed withdrawn.

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

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

v. A page and line designation of deposition testimony to be offered by

each party on the party’s case-in-chief, with any cross-designations and

objections by any other party.

vi. A list by each party of exhibits to be offered in the party’s case-in-chief,

with one star indicating exhibits to which no party objects on grounds of

authenticity, and two stars indicating exhibits to which no party objects

on any ground.

vii. A statement of the damages claimed and any relief sought, including the

manner and method used to calculate the claimed damages and a

breakdown of its elements.

B. Unless otherwise ordered, any motions in limine shall be filed within 21 days

following the scheduled date for completion of fact and expert discovery and

responded to within 14 days of service.

C. In addition to A and B above, in any action to be tried to a jury, the following

shall be submitted:

i. proposed voir dire;

ii. proposed jury instructions; and

iii. proposed verdict form.

Unless otherwise ordered, plaintiff shall file (i), (ii), and (iii) 21 days following

the scheduled date for completion of fact and expert discovery and defendant’s

response (including areas of agreement) and counterproposals on (i), (ii) and

(iii) shall be filed 14 days thereafter. These submissions must be filed on ECF

with a copy in Microsoft Word submitted to Chambers electronically within

four days.

D. In addition to A and B above, in any action to be tried to the Court without a

jury, the following procedures shall govern, unless otherwise ordered:

i. The direct testimony of each witness under the control of a party (i.e.

excluding adverse witnesses and witnesses whose appearance must be

compelled by subpoena) shall be presented in the form of an affidavit or

declaration setting forth the narrative of their testimony in numbered

paragraphs.

ii. The direct testimony of the plaintiff’s witnesses shall be filed 21 days

following the scheduled date for completion of fact and expert discovery

and the direct of the defendant’s direct testimony shall be filed 14 days

thereafter. The direct testimony of each witness shall be delivered to

Chambers within four days of filing in both hard copy and Microsoft

Word.

iii. At trial, each witness whose direct testimony previously has been

submitted in affidavit or declaration form shall appear and under oath

shall reaffirm that the affidavit or declaration is true and correct. The

party offering the witness then shall offer the affidavit or declaration as

an exhibit, subject to appropriate objections by the opposing party. For

good cause shown, the witness then may be allowed to supplement his

or her statement by additional direct testimony. Thereafter, cross-

examination and any redirect shall proceed in the ordinary course.

iv. The parties may by agreement waive the appearance and cross-

examination of any witness.

7. Trials and Hearings

A. Exhibits. Unless otherwise ordered, all trial or hearing exhibits

shall be pre-marked with exhibit letters for the plaintiff (e.g. PX A, PX

B, etc.) and numbers for the defendant (e.g. DX 1, DX 2, etc.) A party

shall have two hard copies of all trial exhibits in the Courtroom to be

handed up if and when requested by the Court. Unless otherwise

ordered, at the commencement of trial, an electronic set of trial exhibits

shall be presented to the Court and to opposing counsel. At the close of

evidence in a jury trial, a set of all admitted exhibits in electronic form,

together with an index, shall be prepared by the parties for the jury’s use

during deliberation. Counsel for each side is responsible for maintaining

custody of the side’s own exhibits at the conclusion of trial.

B. Witnesses. Ordinarily, trials and hearings continue from day to day

until completed. The Court will advise if a trial or hearing will be held

on a Friday (which is often reserved for motions and hearings in other

actions). A party is expected to have their next witness at the

Courthouse ready to testify immediately upon completion of a prior

witness’s testimony.