Hon. Ronnie Abrams — Individual Rules of Practice

January 16, 2025

INDIVIDUAL RULES & PRACTICES IN CIVIL CASES

RONNIE ABRAMS, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Chambers Courtroom

United States District Court United States District Court

Southern District of New York Southern District of New York

40 Foley Square, Room 2203 40 Foley Square, Courtroom 1506

New York, NY 10007 Allison Cavale, Courtroom Deputy

Unless otherwise ordered by Judge Abrams, these Individual Practices apply to all civil

matters except for civil pro se cases.

1. Communications with Chambers

A. Letters. Except as otherwise provided below, communications with the Court shall be by

letter, filed electronically on ECF. Parties should not submit courtesy copies of letters

filed on ECF.

Letters containing sensitive or confidential information that cannot be filed on ECF in

accordance with the procedures set forth in Paragraph 5 below may be emailed to the

Court (Abrams_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov) as a text-searchable .pdf

attachment with a copy simultaneously delivered to all counsel. Any such email shall state

clearly in the subject line: (1) the caption of the case, including the lead party names and

docket number, and (2) a brief description of the contents of the letter. Parties shall not

include substantive communications in the body of the email; such communications shall

be included only in the body of the attached letter. Unless the Court orders otherwise,

letters may not exceed five (5) pages in length.

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).

B. Docketing, scheduling, and calendar matters. For these matters, email Chambers

at Abrams_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov.

C. Faxes. Faxes to Chambers are permitted only with prior authorization. In such situations,

faxed submissions must clearly identify the person in Chambers who authorized the

sending of the fax, and copies must be simultaneously faxed, emailed, or delivered to all

counsel.

D. 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 such

request contains sensitive or confidential information, it may be submitted by email and

served on opposing counsel.) The letter-motion must state: (1) the original due date,

(2) the number of previous requests for adjournments or extensions of time, (3) whether

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these 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 requested

adjournment or extension affects any other scheduled dates, a proposed Revised

Scheduling Order must be included. 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.

E. 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 Civ. 1234 [rel. 10 Civ.

4321]).

2. Initial Case Management Conference. The Court will generally schedule a Fed. R. Civ. P.

16(c) conference within two (2) months of the filing of the Complaint. The Notice of Initial

Pretrial Conference will be made available on ECF and the plaintiff’s counsel will be

responsible for distributing copies to all parties. This Notice will direct the parties to submit

on ECF a proposed Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order and letter to the Court

one week prior to the conference date. In accordance with the Electronic Case Filing Rules

and Instructions, counsel are required to register as ECF filers and enter an appearance in the

case before the initial pretrial conference. The pertinent instructions are available on the Court

website at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/electronic-case-filing.

3. Discovery Disputes. The parties shall 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 may file on

ECF a letter-motion to the Court, no longer than three (3) pages, explaining the nature of the

dispute and requesting an informal conference. The letter-motion must include a

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

If the opposing party wishes to respond, it must call Chambers within one (1) business day to

advise that a responsive letter will be forthcoming, and its response shall be by letter to the

Court not exceeding three pages within three (3) business days of the filing of the original

letter-motion.

4. Motions

A. Memoranda of Law. The formatting and length of motion papers must conform to Local

Civil Rule 7.1 (or, in the case of a motion for reconsideration, Local Civil Rule 6.3). Per

Local Civil Rule 7.1, memoranda of law in support of and in opposition to motions

(except for motions for reconsideration) may not exceed 8,750 words, and reply briefs

may not exceed 3,500 words. 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. The party must also provide a certificate of

compliance as required by Local Civil Rule 7.1(c). Memoranda of 3,500 words or more

shall contain a table of contents and a table of authorities, and shall conform to Local Civil

Rule 11.1. Sur-reply memoranda will not be accepted without prior permission of the Court.

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B. Courtesy Copies. Courtesy copies are not required unless the motion includes numerous

exhibits and/or a voluminous record. Under such circumstances, one courtesy copy of all

motion papers, marked as such, should be submitted to the Court by the movant at the

time the reply is served, in accordance with the SDNY policies regarding mail deliveries.

C. Motions to Dismiss. When a motion to dismiss is filed, the non-moving party must,

within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the motion, notify the Court and its adversary in

writing whether (i) it intends to file an amended pleading and when it shall do so, or (ii) it

will rely on the pleading being attacked. This Rule does not alter the time to file a

response provided by the Federal and Local Rules. If the plaintiff amends its pleading,

any pending motion to dismiss is rendered moot, but the moving party may renew and

refile its motion to dismiss based on the amended pleading.

D. Motions for Summary Judgment. Except in pro se cases, the moving party shall provide

all other parties with an electronic copy, in Word format, of the moving party’s Statement

of Material Facts Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1. The opposing party must reproduce

each entry in the moving party’s Rule 56.1 Statement, admit or deny each entry, and set

out its response directly beneath it. If the opposing party wishes to file its own, additional

statement of material facts, it shall begin numbering each entry where the moving party

left off.

E. Letter-Motions. Letter-motions filed via ECF must comply with the S.D.N.Y. Local

Rules and the S.D.N.Y. “Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions.” In particular, all

requests for adjournments, extensions, and pre-motion conferences with respect to

discovery disputes should be filed as letter-motions.

F. Default Judgments. A plaintiff seeking a default judgment must proceed by way of a

motion pursuant to the procedure set forth in Attachment A.

G. Oral Argument on Motions. Parties may request oral argument at the time they file their

moving, opposing, or reply papers. They may do so by filing on ECF a letter specifically

requesting oral argument. The Court will determine whether argument will be heard and, if

so, will advise counsel of the argument date.

5. Other Pretrial Guidance

A. Redactions and Filing Under Seal.

i. Redactions Not Requiring Court Approval. The parties are referred to Rule 5.2

of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 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

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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).

ii. Redactions and Sealed Filings 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 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, 2015 WL 4750774, at *4

(S.D.N.Y. Aug. 11, 2015).

iii. Procedures for Filing Sealed or Redacted Documents. Any party seeking to

file a document under seal or in redacted form shall 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 shall notify the

opposing party or third party that it must file, within three (3) days, a

letter explaining the need to seal or redact the document.

b. Sealed Document(s). The party shall electronically file a letter-motion

seeking leave to file a document under seal on ECF in accordance with

Standing Order 19-MC-583 and Section 6 of the S.D.N.Y. Electronic

Case Filing Rules and Instructions. The letter-motion itself shall be filed

in public view, should explain the reasons for seeking to file the

document under seal, including why the request to seal is consistent with

the test set forth in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110

(2d Cir. 2006), and should not include confidential information. The

proposed sealed document shall be separately and contemporaneously

filed under seal on ECF (with the appropriate level of restriction) and

electronically related to the motion (or to the relevant Court order if the

Court previously granted leave to file the document under seal). Note that

the summary docket text, but not the document itself, will be open to

public inspection and, thus, the summary docket text should not include

confidential information sought to be filed under seal.

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c. Redacted Document(s). Where a party seeks leave to file a document in

redacted form, the party shall electronically file a letter-motion seeking

leave to file a document in redacted form on ECF in accordance with

Standing Order 19-MC-583 and Section 6 of the S.D.N.Y. Electronic

Case Filing Rules and Instructions. The letter-motion itself shall be filed

in public view, should explain the reasons for seeking to file the

document in redacted form, including why the request for redaction is

consistent with the test set forth in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga,

435 F.3d 110 (2d Cir. 2006), and should not include confidential

information. At the same time, the party shall (1) publicly file on ECF

and electronically relate to the letter-motion a copy of the document with

the proposed redactions; and (2) file under seal on ECF (with the

appropriate level of restriction) and electronically relate to the motion an

unredacted copy of the document with the proposed redactions

highlighted.

d. Submission by E-Mail. Any party unable to comply with the

requirement for electronic filing under seal through the ECF system, or

who believes that a particular document should not be electronically filed

at all, shall file a letter-motion by e-mail, in accordance with Paragraph

1(A) above, seeking leave of the Court to file in a different manner.

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 a

settlement agreement, the parties must place the terms of their agreement on the public

record. The parties may either provide a copy of the settlement agreement for the Court to

endorse or include the terms of their settlement agreement in their stipulation of

settlement and dismissal.

C. Bankruptcy Appeals. Briefs must be submitted in accordance with Fed. R. Bankr. P.

8015–18. Counsel may seek to extend these dates by joint request submitted to the Court no

later than two business days before the brief is due.

6. Trial Submissions

A. Joint Pretrial Order. Unless otherwise specified by the Court, within thirty (30) days

after the close of discovery or if any dispositive motion is filed, within thirty (30) days

from the Court’s decision on such motion, the parties shall submit a proposed joint pretrial

order by email to Abrams_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov. The proposed joint

pretrial order shall include the information required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3) and the

following:

i. the full caption of the action;

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

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

judge, without identifying which parties do or do not consent;

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

be tried with or without a jury;

v. a brief statement by the plaintiff as to the basis of subject matter jurisdiction, and a

brief statement by each other party as to the presence or absence of subject matter

jurisdiction. Such statements shall include citations to all statutes relied on and

relevant facts as to citizenship and jurisdictional amount;

vi. a brief summary by each party of the claims and defenses that the party asserts

remain to be tried, including citations to any statutes on which the party relies.

Such summaries shall also identify all claims and defenses previously asserted

which are not to be tried. The summaries should not recite any evidentiary matter;

vii. any stipulations or agreed statements of fact or law to which all parties consent;

viii. 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;

ix. 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;

x. a list by each party of exhibits to be offered in its case in chief, with an indication

by exhibit number as to whether any party objects to the exhibit. The party

objecting must include a brief statement that makes clear the basis for its objection

and provide any necessary supporting authority;

xi. 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

xii. a statement of whether the parties consent to less than a unanimous verdict.

B. Additional Required Pretrial Filings in Jury Cases. At the time the joint pretrial order

is filed in a jury case, the parties shall:

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

should be resolved in limine;

ii. file and serve a pretrial memorandum of law, when a party believes it would be

useful to the Court;

iii. file joint proposed voir dire questions, a verdict form, and jury instructions. These

joint submissions shall consist of single documents, jointly composed, noting any

areas of disagreement between the parties. The voir dire questions and jury

instructions shall 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

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documents should also be submitted by email to Chambers in Word format; and

iv. submit to the Court and serve on opposing counsel, but not file on ECF, all

documentary exhibits. Exhibits should be submitted to the Court both in hard copy

and by email to Abrams_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov.

C. Additional Required Pretrial Filings in Non-Jury Cases. At the time the joint pretrial

order is filed in a non-jury case, the parties shall:

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

should be resolved in limine;

ii. file and serve a pretrial memorandum of law, when a party believes it would be

useful to the Court;

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. These documents should also be submitted by email to

Abrams_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov in Word format;

iv. submit to the Court and serve on opposing counsel, but not file on ECF, 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 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 shall be brought to trial to be marked

as exhibits;

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

vi. submit to the Court and serve on opposing counsel, but not file on ECF, all

documentary exhibits. Exhibits should be submitted to the Court both in hard copy

and by email to Abrams_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov.

D. Filings in Opposition. Any party may file the following documents in opposition. These

documents shall be filed no later than one (1) week after the filing of the pretrial order or

one (1) week before the scheduled trial date, whichever comes first:

i. objections to another party’s requests to charge or proposed voir dire questions;

ii. opposition to any motion in limine; and

iii. opposition to any legal argument in a pretrial memorandum.

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E. Courtesy Copies. Two courtesy copies of all documents identified in Sections 6(A)–(D)

above shall be submitted to Chambers on the date on which they are to be served or filed.

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. Exhibits. All exhibits must be pre-marked in advance of trial. If counsel intend to

distribute copies of documentary exhibits to the jury, they are to make a separate copy for

each juror. Counsel shall make certain that they have custody of all original exhibits. The

Court does not retain them and the Clerk is not responsible for them.

7. Policy on the Use of Electronic Devices

A. Mobile Phones and Personal Electronic Devices. Attorneys’ use of mobile phones and

other personal electronic devices within the Courthouse and its environs is governed by

Standing Order M10-468. Any attorney wishing to bring a telephone or other personal

electronic device into the Courthouse must be a member of this Court’s Bar, must obtain

the necessary service pass from the District Executive’s Office, and must show the service

pass upon entering the Courthouse. Mobile phones are permitted inside the

Courtroom, but must be kept turned off at all times. Non-compliance with this rule

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

B. Computers, Printers, or Other Electronic Equipment. In order for an attorney to bring

into the Courthouse any computer, printer, or other electronic equipment not qualifying as

a “personal electronic device,” specific authorization is required by prior Court Order.

Any party seeking to bring such equipment into the Courthouse shall submit an Electronic

Device Order, available at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/standing-

order-electronic-devices.pdf, to Chambers at least 10 business days in advance of the

relevant trial or hearing requesting permission to use such equipment. The request letter

shall identify the type(s) of equipment to be used and the name(s) of the attorney(s) who

will be using the equipment. Chambers will coordinate with the District Executive’s

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

bringing the equipment into the Courthouse.

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ATTACHMENT A

DEFAULT JUDGMENT

PROCEDURE

1. A plaintiff seeking a default judgment must proceed by filing on ECF a motion for default

judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b)(2) and Local Civil Rule 55.2. A

plaintiff seeking a default judgment should not proceed by order to show cause.

2. Before seeking a default judgment, a plaintiff must seek the entry of default under Fed. R.

Civ. P. 55(a) by filing a “Request to Enter Default” and other supporting papers consistent

with Local Civil Rule 55.1.

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

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;

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

iii. whether the Clerk of Court has entered default under Local Civil Rule 55.1;

iv. whether the party seeking default judgment has complied with the

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50a U.S.C. § 521;

v. if the party against whom judgment is sought is a minor or an incompetent person,

whether they are represented by a general guardian, conservator, or other fiduciary

who has appeared;

vi. 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;

vii. a statement of damages, sworn or affirmed to by one or more people with personal

knowledge, in support of the request, showing the proposed damages and the basis

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

viii. legal authority for why an inquest into damages would be unnecessary.

B. A proposed order to show cause.

C. A proposed default judgment.

D. Copies of all of the pleadings.

E. A copy of the affidavit of service of the summons and complaint.

F. A certificate of service stating that all documents in support of the request for default

judgment, including the “Clerk’s Certificate of Default” and any papers required by

Local Civil Rule 55.2, have been personally served on, or mailed to the last known

residence (for an individual defendant) or business address (for other defendants) of, the

party against whom default judgment is sought. If the mailing is returned, a

supplemental certificate of service must be filed setting forth that fact, together with the

reason provided for return, if any.

G. A Certificate of Default from the Clerk of Court.

4. 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.

5. If the Court issues such an order, the plaintiff should be prepared to serve on the defendant

(a) a conforming copy of the motion and supporting papers and (b) the Court’s order setting

the date and time for the default judgment hearing.

6. Prior to the hearing date, the plaintiff must file on ECF proof of service in the manner and by

the date specified by the Court’s order setting the default judgment hearing.