Hon. John A. Howard - Algarin — Part IA-14 Rules

Supreme Court, Bronx County

851 Grand Concourse Bronx, NY 10451

JUSTICE JOHN A HOWARD-ALGARIN – PART 14 RULES (ROOM 607)

Principal Law Clerk: Erious Johnson, Esq.: ejohnson2@nycourts.gov

Assistant Law Clerk: Kerin R. Daly, Esq.: kedaly@nycourts.gov

Part Clerk: Dana Steele-Fernandez: BxSupCiv-IA14@nycourts.gov

Courtroom: (718) 618-1244

Chambers: Room 840A

Phone: (718) 618-1741

ALL COURT APPEARANCES IN PART 14 ARE HELD IN-PERSON

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

familiar with the case and be fully prepared and authorized to discuss and resolve all

issues that in keeping with the purpose of the appearance. Counsel are expected to be on

time for all scheduled appearances. THE INITIAL CALENDAR CALL FOR ALL SCHEDULED

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

11:30 AM.

Failure to appear at the final call of the calendar may result in dismissal or default per

22 NYCRR 202.27. *All attorneys of record are required to register their respective

matters on NYSCEF.*

I. Discovery Conferences:

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

all available technology 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 exchange of information that could assist with early

settlement of the case. Counsel must make a good faith effort to reach agreement

on these matters prior to conference.

II. Compliance & Status Conferences.

Appearances will be held in the following manner:

(1) There shall be one preliminary and one compliance conference followed by

status conferences.

(2) 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-

IA14@nycourts.gov. If acceptable, the stipulation will be approved and sent to

the Clerk for uploading without the need to appear for the scheduled

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conference. With the exception of preliminary conference orders which require a

compliance conference date, all stipulations for compliance and status

conferences must include a Note of Issue date. The court in its discretion may

modify any discovery stipulation submitted prior to endorsing same.

(3) ALL OUTSTANDING DISCOVERY MATTERS NOT INCLUDED IN A PROPOSED

STIPULATION SHALL BE DEEMED COMPLETED OR WAIVED.

(4) If the parties cannot agree on outstanding discovery issues despite good faith

efforts to resolve any dispute without Court intervention, the parties shall e-file

AND e-mail a request for a compliance/status conference to BxSupCiv-

IA14@nycourts.gov. Such request shall include the case name and index number,

and provide 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.

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

stipulation to BxSupCiv-IA14@nycourts.gov on or before the scheduled

Status/Compliance conference date. All parties must certify in the stipulation

that all discovery is complete and that the parties are prepared to file a Note of

Issue. Any Note of Issue filing date included in the stipulation should be no more

than 30 days after the stipulation date.

(6) Requests for EBT rulings must be made before the assigned ex-parte Judge, not Part

14.

III. Pre-Trial and Settlement Conferences.

With few exceptions, the Court will not entertain pre-trial and settlement

conferences unless all discovery is certified as complete by the parties and a Note

of Issue is filed. Each such request must include the case name, index number, the

names and contact phone number for the attorneys and applicable insurance

policy limits. All parties must be included in any communication to the Court.

The Court expects that plaintiff will have conveyed an initial settlement demand

prior to appearing at any settlement conference/pre-trial conference. Conveyance of

initial settlement demands upon arriving at the settlement/pre-trial conference is

strongly discouraged.

Anyone appearing at a settlement conference is expected to be fully familiar with

the case file, have full authority to resolve the case, and have immediate access to

their client (or carrier) to obtain such authority. Plaintiff(s) and claims

representatives should be available by phone at the time of the conference.

Additional vertical calendars (“blockbuster” conferences) can be arranged with

specific carriers and firms. If you have a case inventory that would benefit from a

vertical calendar day, please advise the Court via email at BxSupCiv-

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IA14@nycourts.gov.

IV. Motions:

A. Summary Judgment.

Summary judgment motions must be filed via NYSCEF 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 and lack of prejudice. All motions for summary judgment shall be

returnable on a Tuesday or Thursday, at 9:30am.

B. Discovery.

Discovery motions are highly discouraged. 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 are encouraged to 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 which provides the details as to how the

moving party received leave of the court to file the motion. Discovery motions

must be returnable on a Tuesday or Thursday.

C. Oral Argument.

Motions will be decided upon being marked “fully submitted.” Absent a special

request for a virtual appearance, all motions shall be argued in person before the

judge as scheduled by the Court. Parties will be notified of oral argument in

advance and are encouraged to monitor appearance dates online. If oral argument is

scheduled, the parties shall be fully familiar with the arguments advanced in their

respective motion papers.

D. Adjournments: Stipulations and Requests.

Stipulations to adjourn the return date of a motion must be made in writing and

submitted to the Court via email. A maximum of three (3) stipulated

adjournments may be submitted for a given motion without prior leave of the

Court, and no adjournment may exceed sixty (60) days. The parties must seek

leave from the Court to further adjourn the return date if necessary. Unless

otherwise requested by the parties, the Court’s practice is to adjourn motions for

60 days at a time.

All requests for any adjournment, whether it be for a motion or a conference,

shall be sent to the Court via e-mail (BxSupCiv-IA14@nycourts.gov) and identify

the type of adjournment requested and index number in the subject line.

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E. Orders to Show Cause.

All orders to show cause shall be 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 MS Word format.

Following the death of a party, any motion requesting dismissal of an action

under CPLR § 1021 or substitution of the deceased party under CPLR § 1015 shall

be brought by Order to Show Cause, and not by Notice of Motion, so that the

court may exercise its discretion to notify interested parties outside the NYSCEF

service list.

F. Other Guidance on Motion Practice.

For procedural motions, including but not limited to motions to change venue,

default judgment, amend, consolidate, and appear pro hac vice, the party making

the motion must upload a proposed order to NYSCEF and e-mail a proposed

order in Word format to BxSupCiv-IA14@nycourts.gov and kedaly@nycourts.gov.

When an exhibit is a video, the Court prefers for counsel to provide a hyperlink to

the video exhibit. However, if submitting a hard copy exhibit, the Court asks that a

USB drive be placed in an envelope with the caption and index number of the

matter to which it relates.

Additionally, 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.*

V. Infant’s Compromise Orders.

Once an Infant’s Compromise Order (“ICO”) and supporting documents have been

submitted to the Clerk’s Office in Room 217, the Court shall review the submission

and schedule an in-person hearing. The parties will be informed via email. 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.

Plaintiff’s petition for an ICO must include both a redacted and an unredacted copy

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of the ICO order, and, in the case of infant 14 years of age or older, an

affirmation/affidavit from the infant consenting to the compromise.

VI. Subpoenas.

All subpoenas that parties are requesting to be So-Ordered shall be uploaded to

NYSCEF, with a courtesy copy being emailed to BxSupCiv-IA14@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 14 accepts in-person

drop-offs to the courtroom. Not all subpoenas are required to be “so ordered.” The

Court in its discretion may decline to “so order” subpoenas for which such

endorsement is not required under applicable rules and regulations.

VII. Notice of Entry

Upon entry of an order or judgment, the NYSCEF site shall transmit to the e-mail

service addresses of record a notification of receipt of such entry which SHALL NOT

constitute service of notice of entry by any party. A party shall serve notice of entry

of an order or judgment on another party by serving a copy of the written order or

judgment and written notice of its entry by filing them with the NYSCEF site or by

mailing a hard-copy by any method set forth in CPLR § 2103[b][1] to [6] (22 NYCRR

§202.5- b[h][2]).

VIII. Stipulation Of Discontinuance.

If the case has been resolved at any stage of the litigation, the parties are to e-file a

Stipulation OF Discontinuance Action via NYSCEF and submit a copy to the Part at

BxSupCiv-IA14@nycourts.gov via e-mail.

IX. Redaction Rules

Pursuant to 22 NYCRR §202.5[e][1], the parties shall omit or redact confidential

personal information (“CPI”) in papers submitted to the Court including: [1]

taxpayer identification number of an individual or entity except for the last 4 digits;

[2] the date of birth except for the year of birth; [3] a minor’s full name, except for

the initials; and, [4] financial account numbers including credit and/or debit card

numbers, a bank account number or an investment account number, except for the

last 4 digits or letters thereof. The parties are on notice that the Court may refuse

to accept a paper for non-compliance with 22 NYCRR §202.5[d][2] Further the

parties shall be aware of the rules outlined in 22 NYCRR 202.5[e][2] and [3].

X. Miscellaneous.

If at any time, there is any issue that the attorneys become aware of such as

bankruptcy stays, or withdrawal of counsel, it shall be immediately brought to the

attention to the Court by letter e-filed via NYSCEF and a copy of same to BxSupCiv-

IA14@nycourts.gov.

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If a default judgment has been entered against any defendant in an action with

multiple defendants, the inquest and assessment of damages against such defendant

shall be conducted at the time of trial or other disposition of the action against the

remaining defendants.

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