Hon. Bianka Perez — Part IA-8 Rules

JUSTICE BIANKA PEREZ – PART 8 RULES

(COURTROOM 704)

Supreme Court, Bronx County

851 Grand Concourse Bronx, NY 10451

Principal Law Clerk: Ana Reyes, Esq. Chambers: Room 834

areyes2@nycourts.gov

Assistant Law Clerk: Caitlin McNeil, Esq.

cmcneil@nycourts.gov Courtroom: (718) 618-1205/6

Park Clerk: Keenya Murray

BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov

*EFFECTIVE AUGUST 2024*

ALL COURT APPEARANCES IN PART 8 ARE HELD IN-PERSON

In compliance with 22 NYCRR 202.1(f), counsels who appear before the Court must be familiar with the

case, be fully prepared and authorized to discuss and resolve the issues which are scheduled to be the

subject of the appearance. Counsels are expected to be on time for all scheduled appearances.

THE FINAL CALENDAR CALL FOR ALL MORNING SCHEDULED MATTERS IS 10:30AM. Failure

to appear at the second call of the calendar may result in dismissal or default per 22 NYCRR 202.27.

All attorneys of record are required to register to their respective matters on NYSCEF.

If engaged, attorneys must email to the Court part email at BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov an affirmation of

engagement in compliance with 22 NYCRR 125.1.

I. Inquiries

a. All inquiries should be made to the appropriate clerk's office when possible. Inquiries should

only be directed to chambers when attempts to resolve a matter with the appropriate clerk are

unsuccessful.

b. Correspondences requiring the attention of the Court must be emailed to BxSupCiv-

IA8@nycourts.gov

II. Preliminary Conferences

a. Counsels must file a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI).

b. If you require a preliminary conference, the parties are strongly encouraged to confer with one

another, and jointly complete and submit to the Court the following Preliminary Conference and

Case Scheduling Order, which can be accessed using the following link preliminary-

conference-case-scheduling-order.pdf (nycourts.gov). Please note that the parties must use this

Part’s standard Preliminary Conference and Case Scheduling Order. The same can also be

found on the Bronx County Supreme Court’s part rules webpage.

c. If the parties are able to jointly complete the Preliminary Conference and Case Scheduling Order,

the parties must upload the same to NYSCEF and email a copy of it to the Court’s Part email at

BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov. If the completed Preliminary Conference and Case Scheduling

August 2024

Order is satisfactory, the Court will sign and upload the same to NYSCEF with a future compliance

conference date provided. The parties are advised that the Court may modify the deadlines

set by the parties.

d. If despite good faith efforts, the parties cannot reach a consensus, please send a request for a

Preliminary Conference and Case Scheduling Order to: BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov. After

the request is received, the Court will issue a Preliminary Conference and Scheduling Order

including dates in which to hold depositions, provide demands, responses, insurance information

and other discovery.

e. Please note that the parties do not need to appear in person for any scheduled Preliminary

Conference regardless of whether you provide the Court with an agreed upon Preliminary

Conference and Case Scheduling Order as the Court will issue one if none is provided by the

parties.

III. Discovery Conferences

The parties are expected to complete outstanding discovery on pending matters using every available technology

(including paper discovery, depositions and IMEs, if possible), and must make every effort to resolve discovery

disputes without the need for Court intervention (see generally, 22 NYCRR 202.11).

In compliance with 22 NYCRR 202.11, counsel for all parties shall consult prior to a preliminary or

compliance conference about (1) resolution of the case, in whole or in part; (2) discovery, and other issues

to be discussed at the conference; (3) the use of alternative dispute resolution to resolve all or some of the

issues in the litigation; and (4) any voluntary or information exchange of information that could assist with

early settlement of the case. Counsels must make a good faith effort to reach agreement on these matters

prior to conference.

Status & Compliance Conference appearances will be held in the following manner:

On or before the Status/Compliance Conference date:

(1) If the parties agree on all issues relating to outstanding discovery, the parties shall e-file and e-mail a

fully executed stipulation to BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov. If acceptable, the stipulation will be approved

and sent to the Clerk for uploading without the need to appear for the scheduled conference.

(2) If the parties cannot agree on outstanding discovery issues despite good faith efforts to resolve the

dispute without Court intervention, the parties shall e-file and e-mail a request for a compliance conference

to BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov. Include the case name, index number, and a brief description of the issue.

Please make sure to copy all other parties in the case on any e-mail sent to the Court.

(3) If all parties agree that discovery is complete, the parties shall e-file and e-mail a stipulation to

BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov on or before the scheduled Status/Compliance conference date. The stipulation

must certify that all discovery is complete and provide for the filing of the Note of Issue.

(4) Requests for EBT rulings must be made before the assigned ex-parte Judge and not Part 8.

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IV. Pre-Trial and Settlement Conferences

A. Pre-Trial Conferences

Parties must submit a request to schedule a pre-trial and/or settlement conference regardless of a scheduled

PTC date. The Court will not entertain pre-trial and settlement conferences unless all discovery is complete

and a Note of Issue is filed.

If parties cannot settle at the pre-trial conference, the matter will be referred to TAP. If parties would like to have

the case referred to TAP, please email request to BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov.

B. Settlement Conferences

Part 8 conducts its settlement conference/ADR calendar in-person. Please adhere to the following guidelines to

request a settlement conference:

1. Parties shall confer with one another, and e-mail a request to BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov. In the request,

please include the case name, index number, the names and contact phone number for the attorneys. *In

addition, please disclose the insurance policy limits for the defendant(s), where applicable.

2. Make sure that all parties are included on any e-mail communication to the Court.

3. Anyone appearing at a settlement conference is expected to be fully familiar with the file, have full

authority to resolve the case, and/or immediate access to their client to obtain such authority.

Plaintiff(s) and claims representatives should be available by phone at the time of the conference.

V. Motions

A. Discovery

Discovery motions are highly discouraged and require the Court’s permission to file. Pursuant to 22 NYCRR

202.20-f, discovery disputes should be resolved through informal procedures, such as conferences, to the

maximum extent possible. Prior to the submission of any motions on discovery-related matters, counsels must

first seek a conference with the Court to resolve discovery disputes. Prior to seeking a conference with the Court,

parties must make good faith efforts to resolve disputes without Court intervention.

Discovery motions shall be supported by an affidavit or affirmation from counsel, as set forth in 22 NYCRR

202.20-f and require permission from the Court.

B. Summary Judgment

Summary judgment motions must be filed within sixty (60) days after the filing of the Note of Issue. A summary

judgment motion filed in violation of this deadline may be considered by the Court upon a detailed demonstration

of good cause (i.e. due to the COVID-19 Pandemic) and lack of prejudice.

Motions for summary judgment shall include a statement of the material facts as to which the moving party

contends there is no genuine issue to be tried, as set forth in 22 NYCRR 202.8-g (a)-(b).

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C. Adjournment Stipulations and Requests

Stipulations to adjourn the return date of a motion must be made in writing and submitted to the Court via email.

No more than three stipulated adjournments, for a period of 60 days each, for a total of 180 days, shall be

submitted without prior permission of the Court.

Regardless of the agreed upon adjourn date on the parties’ stipulation or request, the Court will only adjourn

motions for 60 days at a time.

Upon expiration of the first 60 days, parties may stipulate to another 60-day adjournment, up to 3 adjournments.

For any further adjournments, the parties must seek leave from the Court to further adjourn the return date if

necessary.

D. Other Guidance on Motion Practice

All motions will be decided “on submission” unless the Court notifies the parties that the matter has been

scheduled for oral argument/conference before the Court. Any party may request oral argument of a motion by

letter accompanying the motion papers, pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.8-f (b) and also email at BxSupCiv-

IA8@nycourts.gov.. If scheduled for oral argument, the parties should have a copy of their filed papers readily

available for the Court, if needed.

Where appropriate, proposed orders should be submitted with motions pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.8-a and a

courtesy copy emailed to BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov.

Parties shall abide by the word count limits set forth in 22 NYCRR 202.8-b. The Court may permit oversize

submissions upon oral or letter application on notice to all parties.

Please contact the Court immediately if there are any developments in a case that would affect the resolution of a

pending motion (i.e., settlement, withdrawal, etc.), pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.28. Please make sure to copy all

other parties in the case on any e-mail sent to the Court.

Chambers does not require working copies of electronically-filed motion papers.

E. Orders to Show Cause

Orders to Show Cause are decided “on submission” unless specifically scheduled for oral argument/conference

before the Court. Where appropriate, movant shall submit a proposed Order to expedite relief. Proposed Orders

should be e-filed and emailed to the Law Clerks in Word format.

Orders to Show Cause to be relieved as Counsel shall be in-person and service of the Order to Show Cause must

show as delivered to the client per the tracking system. The Court will deny without prejudice to renew all Orders

to Show Cause to be relieved as counsel if not delivered to client.

VI. Hearings and Inquests

All scheduled hearings and inquests will be held in-person, unless otherwise indicated by the Court. Appearing

attorneys should be familiar with the underlying facts of the case and be able to provide a paper copy of the

relevant documents for the hearing/ inquest.

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VII. Infant Compromise

Once the Infant Compromise Order and necessary documents have been submitted to the Clerk’s Office in Room

217, the Court shall review the Order and documents, and shall approve and schedule a hearing. Justice Perez’s

chambers will schedule an in-person hearing and inform the parties via email. Please request the list of approved

banks and discuss with your clients before the scheduled hearing by emailing the part BxSupCiv-

IA8@nycourts.gov.

Please note that the infant(s)’ appearance will not be waived unless, in the interest of justice, there is a valid reason

to do so. Plaintiff’s counsel must make all arrangements to have the infant and the parent/natural guardian appear

on the hearing date with Identification and the Birth Certificate of the Infant.

VIII. Subpoenas

All subpoenas that parties are requesting to be So-Ordered shall be uploaded to NYSCEF, with a courtesy copy

being emailed to BxSupCiv-IA8@nycourts.gov (Parties should be aware that some providers require notarized

HIPAA forms and the parties shall do their due diligence to ascertain whether required). Part 8 does not accept

in-person drop-offs to the courtroom.

Note: It is incumbent on the litigants to be familiar with the rules of the Part, including any

amendments (see Appleyard v Tigges, 171 A.D.3d 534, 536 [1st Dept 2019]).

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