Hon. Alicia Gerez — Part IA-19 Rules

Updated January15, 2026

STATE OF NEW YORK

UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM

TWELFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

SUPREME COURT, CIVIL TERM

851 GRAND CONCOURSE

BRONX, NEW YORK 10451-2937

ALICIA M. GEREZ

Acting Supreme Court Justice

Part 19 - Medical Malpractice: Rules and Procedures

Hon. Alicia Gerez

Email: BxSupCiv-IA19A-30@nycourts.gov

Telephone: 718-618-1377

Courtroom 600

Compliance with Orders

Strict compliance with Preliminary and Compliance Conference Orders is required (see Kihl v.

Pfeffer, 94 NY2d 118 [1999] holding that when a party fails to comply with a court Order and

frustrates the disclosure scheme set forth in discovery rules, it is well within trial court’s

discretion to dismiss the complaint orstrike an answer). All parties are cautioned that no

adjournments are permittedof the discovery dates provided in an Order. Unexcused or

unjustified failures to comply with requirements and deadlines fixed by the Court in the subject

Orders may result in the imposition of costs, sanctions, penalties or other remedies upon the

offending party pursuant to section 130.2.1 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator, 22 NYCRR

§202.27, or other applicable rules or statutes, including but not limited to CPLR §3126.

Extensions of deadlines set forth in a Preliminary or Compliance Conference Order must be

requested from the Court in writing and shall only be granted upon a showing of good cause.

Absent good cause, failure to comply with a discovery Order may result in the imposition of

penalties upon the offending party and, where warranted, upon Counsel. Such penalties may

include waiver of the discovery, preclusion, dismissal, striking of an answer, costs, sanctions,

and/or attorneys’ fees.

1| P age

Updated January15, 2026

Letters and Communications to the Court

Communications, including questions and scheduling issues,should include all relevant parties

and be transmitted to the Court via email at BxSupCiv-IA19A-30@nycourts.gov. Letters are

required in some instances when communicating with the Court. When a letter is required, it

must be transmitted to the Court via email, as an attachment, to BxSupCiv-IA19A-

30@nycourts.govand uploaded to NYSCEF.

Motions

Adjournments

Toextendthe time to move, and to adjourn a motion, parties mustrequest permission from the

Court bysubmittinga letter through NYSCEFand emailing a courtesy copy to the Court at

BxSupCiv-IA19A-30@nycourts.gov. The letter must state the reason for the extension, the new

filing date, and whether all the parties agree to the extension. If the extension is granted, the

Court will provide a written response stating same.

Disclosure Disputes

Prior to making a discovery motion, Counsel should consult one another in a good faith effort

to resolve any discovery disputes in compliance with Uniform Rule § 202.7(a)(2).

If the parties are unable to resolve a discovery dispute after good faith efforts, the Court

strongly encourages that anapplication be made for a pre-motion conference to discuss the

discovery dispute and all other discovery issues in the case. The application should bemade

via email to BxSupCiv-IA19A-30@nycourts.gov,statethe nature of the discovery dispute and

the applicable law relative thereto. Where possible, a conference will be scheduled by the Court

if the issue cannot be otherwise resolved. If the discovery dispute is not resolved at the

conference, a briefing schedule will be issued for the motion to be made.

Filing a motion

For all motions other than summary judgment, parties are strongly encouraged torequesta

conference to discuss the dispute prior to filingthe motion.

All motions must be electronically filed. Parties must submit their motion on NYSCEF.

All motions submitted must complywithword counts as outlined in the CPLR.

Motions for Summary Judgment

Any motions for summary judgment must be made within ninety (90) days from the filing of

the Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness. Stipulations to extend the time to move for

summary judgment will not be accepted by the Court.

Parties must submit a Statement of Material Facts with their motions.

2| P age

Updated January15, 2026

Note of Issue

A Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness must be filed by the deadline imposed by the Court

at the final Compliance Conference. A Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness may not be

filed unless a stipulation executed by all Counsel,indicating that discovery is complete,has

beenfiled via NYSCEFprior to filing the Note of Issue.

Rules Regarding Conferences

All conferences, unless otherwise specified, will be held in person in the Bronx Supreme Court,

851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York 10451-2937 in Room 600.

Appearances by all Counsel aremandatory. Upon a party’s failure to appear for a conference,

costs, sanctions,or other remedies may be imposed upon the offending party pursuant to

section 130.2.1 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator, 22 NYCRR §202.27, or any other

applicable rule and statute. Attendees are encouragedto appear a few minutes ahead of time to

ensure a timely start. Attorneys appearing at conferences are expected to be fully familiar with

all aspects of their case including, but not limited to, what discovery remains outstanding.

The Court mayaccept a proposed Order, or a status update,in lieu of an appearancefor

Compliance Conferences and Status Conferences, respectively.

A proposed Order may be accepted in lieu of an appearancefor a Compliance Conference

when:

(1) the proposed Order is timely submitted,at least seven (7)days in advance of an

upcoming conference;

(2) the proposed Order is not identical to the previous Order;and

(3) the Court approves of the contents of the Order.

A status update may be accepted in lieu of an appearance for a Status Conference when:

(1) the status update is timely provided to the Part email at least seven (7)days in advance

of an upcoming conference;

(2) the status update provides sufficient detail, including dates and efforts made; stating

simply that Surrogate’s Court is working on a case is insufficient;and

(3) the Court accepts the update.

All parties mustappearfor scheduled conferences unless told explicitlyby the Court that the

proposed Order or status update has beenaccepted in lieu of an appearance.

3| P age

Updated January15, 2026

Adjournment of Conferences

Any application to adjourn a conference must be made via email to BxSupCiv-IA19A-

30@nycourts.govand to NYSCEF at least seven (7) daysprior to the scheduled date. Parties

must submit a letter stating both the reason for seeking the adjournment, and whether all

parties consent to the adjournment.

Preliminary Conferences

The procedure for scheduling a Preliminary Conference is as follows:

Counsel must:

(1) File an RJI (Request for Judicial intervention);

*indicate Request for Preliminary Conference

(2) Ensure the case is properly assigned to Part 19 and is designated as a medical

malpractice matter;and

(3) Confer with all Counsel regarding the completion of a proposed Preliminary

Conference form and submit same by both uploading the proposed form to

NYSCEF andsending a courtesy copy to the Court viaemail atBxSupCiv-

IA19A-30@nycourts.gov.

a. When completing a proposed form for the Court’s review, Counsel is

encouragedto use exact dates and refrain from open ended

timeframes such as “on or about,” “within 45 days,” and so forth.

Additionally, vague phrases such as “all discovery not yet provided”

may not preserve any rights and shall be used sparingly.

(4) Once submitted, either:

a. A preliminary conference will be scheduled to discuss the proposed

form prior to signing; or

b. The proposed form will be signed and uploaded to NYSCEF with a

future compliance conference date provided.

Link to Preliminary Conference Order

Compliance Conferences

Absent extenuating circumstances (and factoring case complexity), a Compliance Conference

will be scheduled no later than four (4) months after the Preliminary Conference order is

signed.

The Court directs that prior to any Compliance Conference the parties must:

(1) Review all prior Court Orders (to the extent prior Orders exist);

(2) Converse with all Counsel regarding any outstanding discovery; and

4| P age

Updated January15, 2026

(3) Complete the fillable Compliance Conference Order form and submit to the Court at

least seven (7) days in advanceof the scheduled conference date. Proposed Compliance

Conference Orders mustbe sent to BxSupCiv-IA19A-30@nycourts.govand uploaded to

NYSCEF.

a. When completing a proposed form for the Court’s review, Counsel is

encouragedto use exact dates and refrain from open ended timeframes such as

“on or about,” “within 45 days,” and so forth. Additionally, vague phrases such

as “all discovery not yet provided” may not preserve any rights and shall be

used sparingly.

In certain cases, the Court may deem it necessary to hold further Compliance Conferences to

ensure adherence with outstanding discovery.

Link to Compliance Conference Order

Pre-Trial Conferences

The Court will schedule a Pre-Trial Conference ON ALL CASES, regardless of whether a

Motion for Summary Judgment has been filed.The Pre-Trial Conference will be scheduled at

the time the Note of Issue is filed for an in-person appearance.

Attorneys appearing at the Pre-Trialmust be fully familiar with all aspects of the case,including

any available lien information.

Should any case not be scheduled for a Pre-Trial Conference within four (4) months after the

filing of the Note of Issue, the parties are to notify the Court via email at BxSupCiv-IA19A-

30@nycourts.govand request such conference.

Settlement Conferences

Attorneys appearing at aSettlement Conference must be fully familiar with all aspects of the

case and must have authority fromtheirrespective parties to settle.

Requesting a Conference

To request a conference, parties must send an email to BxSupCiv-IA19A-30@nycourts.gov,

copyall parties,indicatethe type of conference being requested,and the reason for the request.

Subpoenas

When requesting that the Court So Order a Subpoena, in addition to uploading the Subpoena to

NYSCEF, parties must send an email of the proposed Subpoena along with a letter to the Court

explaining the context and need for the proposed Subpoena to the Part email at BxSupCiv-

IA19A-30@nycourts.gov.

5| P age

Updated January15, 2026

Settlements

Upon a case settling, parties must submit a stipulation of discontinuancevia NYSCEF,and a

letterinforming the Court of sameto BxSupCiv-IA19A-30@nycourts.gov.Status Conferences

will be scheduled until a stipulation of discontinuance and a letter are received.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Any party interested in referring a case for Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) is directed

to conspicuously indicate their interest in ADR on the Preliminary Conference and/or

Compliance Conference Order.

E-file Conversion

All attorneys are required to convert any non-e-filed cases into an e-file. All parties are to add

their email addressesto the case on NYSCEF.

6| P age