Hon. Paul Alpert — Part IA-26 Rules

Justice Paul L. Alpert, J.S.C.

Supreme Court of the State of New York

Bronx County Civil Term

851 Grand Concourse

Bronx, New York 10451

Part IA-26, Room 621

______________________________________________________________________________

Principal Law Clerk

Sharon M. Ferguson, Esq.

Assistant Law Clerk

Isabelle Davidov, Esq.

Part Clerk

Yvonne Bermudez

Court Room Phone

(718) 618-1617

Fax

(212) 457-2886

*Effective May 2025*

APPEARANCES

Litigants must appear in court at 9:30 a.m. for their case, unless otherwise specified by the Court.

The failure to appear by 10:00 a.m. may result in a default.

If you need to check-in with another part you must leave your contact information and return by

the second calendar call.

PRELIMINARY CONFERENCES

The court will schedule preliminary conferences after a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI)

has been filed. Preliminary conference orders may be uploaded to NYSCEF and if it is

satisfactory the court will sign it. The order will then be uploaded to NYSCEF with a compliance

conference date.

The parties are strongly encouraged to confer with one another, and jointly complete and submit

to the Court the preliminary conference and case scheduling order which can be accessed on the

Bronx County Supreme Court’s part rules webpage.

If the parties cannot agree, the parties can request an in-person preliminary conference.

All parties are required to fill out a preliminary conference form and submit it on the return date.

Failure to file within ten days will require parties to appear in person.

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DISCOVERY CONFERENCES

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

available technology (including paper discovery, depositions, IMEs, if possible), and must make

every effort to resolve discovery disputes without the need for Court intervention (see generally,

22 NYCRR § 202.7[c]).

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 alternate

dispute resolution to resolve all or some of the issues in the litigation; and (4) any voluntary

or informal exchange of information that the parties agree could assist with early

settlement of the case. Counsel shall make a good faith effort to reach agreement on these

matters prior to the conference.

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

On or before the Status/Compliance Conference date:

In order to hold a conference, parties must submit a request to be heard on discovery disputes to

BxSupCiv-IA26@nycourts.gov.

(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-IA26@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 the outstanding discovery issues despite good faith efforts

to resolve dispute without Court Intervention, the parties shall e-file and email a request for a

compliance conference to BxSupCiv-IA26@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 email sent to the Court.

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

to BxSupCiv-IA26@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 26.

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PRE-TRIAL AND SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES

Pre-Trial Conferences

After the Note of Issue has been filed, parties must submit a request to schedule a pre-trial

and/or settlement conference. The Court will not entertain pre-trial and settlement

conferences unless all discovery is complete. All conferences will generally be held on

Thursday mornings.

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

Settlement Conferences

Part 26 conducts its settlement conferences in person. Please adhere to the following guidelines

to request a settlement conference:

1. Parties shall confer with one another, and email a request to BxSupCiv-IA26@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.

MOTIONS

Summary Judgment

Summary Judgment motions must be filed within one hundred and twenty (120) 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.

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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Video Exhibits

Video exhibits cannot be uploaded to NYSCEF. They must be sent by mail to Part 26, on a

clearly labeled USB Drive which contains the Index number, motion sequence and exhibit

letter/number. In NYSCEF, a placeholder exhibit should be created indicating that a hard copy of

the video was sent along with an affidavit of service of the video to opposing counsel.

Discovery Motions

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.

All discovery motions shall require oral argument.

Motions to Reargue/Renew

All motions to reargue and renew must include all papers submitted with the original motion and

a copy of the court’s decision. Failure to comply with this may result in the denial of the motion

without prejudice.

Withdrawal of Submitted Motions

Movant’s attorney shall submit a letter or stipulation to NYSCEF or to chambers, indicating (a)

when the motion was marked submitted and (b) that the motion is withdrawn. Upon the

settlement or discontinuance of a matter after a motion has been submitted, the parties shall

advise the court in writing of the settlement/discontinuance, the date upon which the motion was

submitted, and whether the motion is being withdrawn.

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 at BxSupCiv-IA26@nycourts.gov and via NYSCEF. 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.

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

only adjourn motions for a period of 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.

If a party is unable to obtain an adjournment on consent then that party shall make a written

request for an adjournment explaining efforts made to obtain an adjournment on consent. The

request shall be served upon all parties. All adjournments are subject to the final approval of the

court.

Orders to Show Cause

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

shall be e-filed on NYSCEF.

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. Oral arguments are held on

Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. 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-IA26@nycourts.gov. If scheduled for oral argument, the parties should have a copy

of their filed papers readily available for the Court, if needed.

A proposed order or judgment shall be submitted with the motion pursuant to 22 NYCRR §

202.8-a.

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

permit oversized 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 email sent to the court.

Do not send courtesy copies to the part of motions filed.

Trials

On the first day of trial both parties shall provide the Part Clerk with the following:

(a) two business cards; (b) copies of the pleadings; (c) any relevant orders.

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If a Pattern Jury Instruction is being modified, then you must include the modified language as

part of the proposed jury charge.

Proposed Jury Instructions are to be submitted by the close of the plaintiff’s case.

The parties shall notify the Part Clerk of the need to use any special equipment such as a shadow

box or any media equipment.

Hearings and Inquest

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.

Interpreters

Requests for a court interpreter shall be made to the Part Clerk at least two weeks before the

appearance date.

Infant Compromise

Once the Infant Compromise Order and any 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. Chambers will schedule a virtual hearing and will send out a link.

Please discuss with your clients before the scheduled hearing which bank they would like to use

for the deposit of funds and include the name and address of the bank in the order.

Subpoenas

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

courtesy copy being emailed to BxSupCiv-IA26@nycourts.gov . The part does not accept any

subpoenas dropped off in 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 AD3d 534, 536 [ 1st Dept 2019].

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