Hon. Jennifer G. Schecter — Part 54 Rules

Rev. 6/21/2021

PART 54 RULES*

HON. JENNIFER G. SCHECTER, J.S.C.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Courtroom: 60 Centre Street, Room 228

(646) 386-3362

Part Clerk: Donna De Land ddeland@nycourts.gov

Law Clerks: Michael J. Rand, Esq. mrand@nycourts.gov

Karen Touaf, Esq. ktouaf@nycourts.gov

GENERAL RULES

Parties must familiarize themselves with the Commercial Division Rules, including

what constitutes a commercial case. A copy of the rules is available at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/rules/trialcourts/202.shtml#70

Information about New York County’s Commercial Division can be found at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/comdiv/ny/newyork.shtml

If a party believes that a case assigned to Part 54 does not belong in the Commercial

Division or should be assigned to another Justice (e.g., as a related case), it may,

without prior leave of court, e-file and email a short letter explaining its position.

Any responsive letter shall be e-filed and emailed to the court within two days.

A law clerk will be assigned to supervise your case. If the rules provide that you

should contact a law clerk and one has not yet been assigned, please email Mr. Rand.

All emails to the court must copy all appearing parties. The law clerks will not

communicate with an attorney or litigant ex parte.

Unopposed applications accompanied by an executed Word version of an e-filed

stipulation consenting to the relief sought (such as consolidation, admission pro hac

* Virtual proceedings are here to stay. Whether or not your case is newly filed, please

review Part 54’s substantially revised, searchable rules incorporating updated policies and

procedures to increase efficiency.

vice or an open commission) should be emailed to the assigned law clerk along with

the e-filing confirmation receipt.

Counsel must notify the court as soon as practicable by email to the assigned law

clerk if an action or a pending motion has been resolved.

Attorneys and pro se litigants must always keep their contact information, including

email addresses, current in the e-filing system. In cases that are NOT e-filed, pro

se litigants and counsel must provide contact information to the Part Clerk. If your

email address is not kept current, you may miss important communications.

A request for pro hac vice admission, whether made by motion or stipulation, shall

be accompanied by a proposed order and an affidavit in support from a member of

the Bar of the State of New York, an affidavit of the applicant and a recent certificate

of good standing from the applicant. The proposed order shall conform to the order

that appears after these rules.

ELECTRONIC FILING

All cases must be e-filed on NYSCEF except for cases involving pro se litigants

who are not licensed to practice law in New York. Unrepresented litigants who are

not licensed New York attorneys are highly encouraged to e-file (it is the best way

to obtain easy access to court filings, keep up to date and serve other parties) and

can find instructions at:

https://iappscontent.courts.state.ny.us/NYSCEF/live/unrepresented/Unrepresented

HomePage.html

For NYSCEF instructions, please contact the e-filing Resource Support Center at

(646) 386-3033 or see https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/HomePage.

All e-filed documents must be OCR Text Searchable PDFs.

In those limited cases that ARE NOT e-FILED, TWO copies of motion papers

must be properly submitted (in Room 130 if the motion is on notice and to the

courtroom if the motion was made by order to show cause): one for the court file

and an extra copy for the court’s use.

Hard copies SHALL NOT be submitted unless specifically directed by the court.

PDFs of documents requiring the court’s attention must be emailed to the assigned

law clerk after they are e-filed along with the e-filing confirmation.

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For stipulations to be so-ordered, the email must also include an EXECUTED

Microsoft Word version (electronic signatures are permitted). For proposed orders,

the email must include a Microsoft Word version. For the avoidance of doubt, there

is no need to attach a Word version of documents that do not need to be signed by

the court (i.e., PDFs of letters are sufficient).

COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE COURT

Scheduling

General questions about appearances may be addressed to the Part Clerk by email

or by phone at (646) 386-3362, or by email to Mr. Rand. The Part Clerk is NOT

authorized to grant adjournments.

To adjourn a scheduled appearance (e.g., a conference or oral argument), the court’s

permission must be obtained no later than two business days in advance, except in

the event of an emergency.

Requests to adjourn scheduled appearances must be addressed to the assigned law

clerk by email and must indicate whether the request is on consent of all parties. If

the request is opposed, a responsive email should be emailed to the assigned law

clerk either promptly or by a deadline that will be communicated by the court.

Requests to adjourn a motion returnable in the submissions part (i.e., Room 130) or

an OSC returnable “on papers only” shall be made by e-filed letter that shall also be

emailed to the assigned law clerk. If the request is opposed, a responsive letter

should be e-filed and emailed to the assigned law clerk either promptly or by a

deadline that will be communicated by the court. No party should assume the court

will necessarily grant an adjournment request made on the eve of or after a briefing

deadline has passed, regardless of whether a prior adjournment request has been

made, and if the court does grant such an adjournment, it will likely be much shorter

than if the request had been made expeditiously.

Unless the parties stipulate to an adjournment, the submissions part is NOT

authorized to grant adjournments. The submissions part checks with the court

before granting adjournments so parties should not request opposed adjournments

directly from the submissions part (either in person or electronically). Instead, the

parties should follow the procedure in Part Rule 18. Adjournments granted by the

submissions part without a stipulation or court approval ARE VOID, and if and

when they are brought to the court’s attention the court will issue an order ruling on

the adjournment request.

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Attorneys must sign up for eTrack and regularly check eCourts for scheduled

appearances. Defaults in appearing will not be excused for lack of notice from

eTrack or an omission by the New York Law Journal.

Telephone Calls

Unless in the case of an emergency, no one should call Chambers. Basic questions

or updates should be emailed to the assigned law clerk. If a party requires an urgent

call with the court--such as an unscheduled call to address a discovery dispute, to

resolve a dispute during a deposition, or any other urgent matter--a short email

should be sent to the assigned law clerk requesting a call along with a brief

explanation of the issues, and the court will notify the parties when there will be a

call on Microsoft Teams for which the court will send a Teams invite.

Unless otherwise directed, all calls and discovery conferences will be on Microsoft

Teams (audio only, cameras off). The Teams invite will always have a dial-in

number alternative for anyone who cannot use Teams. Unless the court has already

sent a Teams invite, at least two business days prior to a conference, the parties shall

either send an invite or request that the court do so. All parties must join the Teams

call at least five minutes before the conference is scheduled to begin.

Authorized Letters

Parties should not file Commercial Division Rule 14 letters without prior leave of

court. Leave may be requested by emailing the assigned law clerk.

All e-filed letters must be emailed to the assigned law clerk along with the e-filing

confirmation.

Unless otherwise directed, letters shall have a 3-page limit.

The court DOES NOT require Commercial Division Rule 24 letters, no such letters

are permitted unless otherwise directed by the court, and parties DO NOT need leave

prior to filing a dispositive motion (such as pre-NOI partial summary judgment

motions). The filing of a dispositive motion DOES NOT stay discovery. Discovery

motions, however, require prior leave of court pursuant to Part Rule 28.

DISCOVERY

After an action is assigned to this part, but before the preliminary conference (PC),

if the parties have a discovery dispute, they shall email Mr. Rand to request guidance

on how to resolve the dispute. However, if the dispute is only about whether

discovery should be stayed pending a motion to dismiss or motion for summary

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judgment, the party requesting the stay shall either move by OSC or letter motion

seeking a stay. If a letter motion is filed, the parties shall confer on an opposition

date and shall notify the court of that date or if they cannot agree on timing. Replies

are not permitted. The parties shall email Mr. Rand when both letters are filed and

indicate if they wish to discuss them in a conference.

After the PC, before making any discovery motion, the parties must meet and confer

about all disputes and either raise the issue at the next scheduled conference or email

the assigned law clerk to request an earlier conference or leave to file a motion.

Discovery motions MAY NOT be made without prior authorization and any

discovery motion must set forth who authorized the motion and when. Failure

to comply with this rule may result in the summary denial of the discovery motion.

This rule does not apply to non-parties, though they may email the assigned law

clerk to request a conference in lieu of making a motion. This rule also does not

apply to post-judgment discovery disputes, for which a motion may be filed without

prior leave of court.

The parties must strictly comply with all court-ordered discovery deadlines. If an

extension of time is needed, it must be requested by emailing the assigned law clerk

BEFORE expiration of the deadline. The court may grant extensions for good cause

but will not indefinitely grant extensions if the parties are not diligently attempting

to meet deadlines. Absent compelling cause, an agreement among the parties, or an

order entered prior to the deadline, the failure to serve discovery demands by the

deadline set in the PC order will result in the waiver of the right to serve discovery

demands, and the failure to serve responses and objections by the deadline set in the

PC order will result in a waiver of all objections, other than privilege, to all demands

that are not palpably improper.

Discovery IS NOT stayed by the filing of a dispositive motion or mediation unless

otherwise ordered by the court. After the PC, motions to stay discovery must be

made by order to show cause. However, parties may email the assigned law clerk

to request a conference to address a stay request in lieu of a motion. Parties will not

be relieved from the consequences of violating discovery orders unless the court

issues a stay order prior to the deadline. Parties should not expect that stay or

extension requests on the eve of a deadline will necessarily be granted, particularly

if such request could have been made more expeditiously. Parties who have made

multiple prior extension requests or have previously failed to comply with discovery

deadlines should not expect their extension requests to be granted absent compelling

cause.

Unless otherwise indicated, when a discovery deadline is set forth in a court order,

that deadline is 5:00 p.m., New York time (for the avoidance of doubt, unless

otherwise ordered by the court or dictated by the rules of the submissions part, this

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rule does not affect the presumptive midnight deadline for motion papers). Details

related to the manner of document production will be discussed at the PC. However,

all production must be electronic, searchable and bates-stamped. A party that

produces hard copy documents, non-searchable PDFs or documents without bates

stamps will be ordered to re-produce its materials. Moreover, if the parties agree to

additional technical specifications for production in an ESI protocol, such

specifications will be strictly enforced. If parties intend to produce documents with

their discovery responses prior to entering into an ESI protocol, the parties should

meet and confer about their preferred manner of production prior to making the

production. Documents that are not produced prior to close of fact discovery WILL

NOT be admissible on summary judgment, at trial as part of direct testimony, or on

cross-examination if they were requested during discovery.

Objections to document requests and interrogatories must be made with specificity

in accordance with Commercial Division Rule 11-e(a) and CPLR 3133(a),

respectively; general objections will be summarily overruled.

If a party objects to a document demand on the ground of privilege, with its

production, the party must serve on all other parties a privilege log of the responsive

documents that are not being disclosed and, if applicable, bates-stamped redacted

documents along with a redactions log. The privilege log shall identify all redacted

and completely withheld documents by bates-stamp numbers, dates, authors and

recipients, the general subject matter of the document if it will not waive the

privilege and the privileges being asserted. Failure to serve a privilege log with the

party’s production will, absent good cause, be deemed a waiver of the party’s

privilege objections. Following service of a privilege log, the parties shall confer in

an attempt to reach agreement on whether the asserted privileges apply. If

agreement cannot be reached, the parties shall email the assigned law clerk to

schedule a conference.

Interrogatories are limited to 25, including subparts, in accordance with Commercial

Division Rule 11-a(a), unless another limit is specified in the PC order. This rule is

strictly enforced and applies to consolidated actions. Interrogatories are limited to

the subjects set forth in Commercial Division Rule 11-a(b). Contention

interrogatories, however, are not permitted.

Conferences

Prior to the PC, the parties must e-file and email the assigned law clerk a joint letter,

not to exceed two pages, that includes a summary of the relevant factual

background, the causes of action, affirmative defenses and counterclaims, the status

of discovery, and the status of any motions. The letter should also indicate if the

parties want to mediate before setting a discovery schedule and if the parties want

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to take limited discovery in aid of mediation. The deadline to submit this letter will

either be communicated by email or set by court order (e.g., in the court’s decision

on a motion to dismiss). There is no need to prepare a proposed PC order in

advance. The court will explain how discovery (including ESI issues) will proceed

during the PC.

Attorneys appearing for conferences must be fully familiar with the case in

accordance with Commercial Division Rule 1(a). They must have thorough

knowledge of all facts and claims in the pleadings, all relevant contracts, all prior

court orders and all discovery proceedings. Counsel should be prepared to discuss

the merits of their case at all conferences. Repeated failure to comply with this rule

may result in a default.

In lieu of a conference, the court may direct the parties to provide a discovery update

by letter or email. Such updates may be submitted at any time on or before the date

they are due, but parties must always timely provide an update or request an

extension by the deadline.

Confidentiality Agreements

Parties shall use the confidentiality agreement and order available at:

https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/courts/comdiv/NY/PDFs/Confidentiality_

Stip_Part_54.pdf

If the parties make any changes to this form order they shall e-file and email the

court an executed version and a redline. The confidentiality agreement shall not

create any presumption that there is good cause to seal a document.

Any party who wants to file a redacted version of a document or file a document

under seal must make a motion to seal by OSC. If provisional sealing status was

employed the OSC should include a TRO maintaining such status pending a

decision on the motion. Since sealing of entire documents is rarely permitted, the

moving papers shall include narrowly tailored proposed redactions and the movant

shall email the court and opposing counsel a version of the documents with

highlighted proposed redactions.

MOTIONS

When a motion is fully briefed, the movant shall notify Mr. Rand by email. The

parties will be notified that the motion will either be decided on the papers or

scheduled for an oral argument on Microsoft Teams, and if the latter the court will

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propose an argument date, and once confirmed the parties will be sent a Teams

invite and further logistical information.

Parties may request oral argument by single-page letter or on the face of their motion

papers in accordance with Commercial Division Rule 22. A representation by

letter that argument will be made by an attorney whose participation enhances

diversity in the bar or an attorney admitted to practice fewer than five years

will weigh in favor of the court deciding to hold oral argument. The letter should

identify the attorney and the portion of the motion that such attorney will argue.

Such a letter may also be submitted with the opposition papers.

Briefs and memoranda of law must comply with the requirements set forth in

Commercial Division Rule 17, including word limits (7,000 for opening and

opposition briefs, 4,200 for reply briefs, and 7,000 for affidavits and affirmations)

and certifications of compliance by counsel.

If there are multiple motions (e.g., if a plaintiff must respond to multiple motions to

dismiss), parties are highly encouraged to request leave to file omnibus briefs for

which reasonable word limit extensions will be granted.

Attorney affirmations may only be used as an index of exhibits and, where

appropriate, a brief procedural history may be provided. Argument must be

confined to the brief. A memorandum of law with a table of contents and table of

authorities must accompany every motion (except for relatively minor motions such

as pro hac vice motions). Bookmarking and hyperlinking are not required.

Witness affidavits must comply with the CPLR and Commercial Division Rules.

Legal argument should not be contained in witness affidavits.

Motions for a default judgment must indicate the causes of action on which the

default judgment is sought and must always be accompanied by a memorandum of

law and an affidavit of merit. The brief should make clear whether the movant seeks

a default judgment on liability only and whether the court should determine

damages on the papers (in which case they must include clear calculations and

appropriate proof) or at an inquest.

As noted earlier, briefs, exhibits and all other motion papers that are e-filed must be

OCR Text Searchable. Spreadsheets that have been e-filed must be emailed to the

assigned law clerk along with the e-filing confirmation receipts.

Motion sequence numbers shall appear in bold on the front page of ALL papers

related to any motion or cross-motion, except exhibits. Each exhibit to an e-filed

pleading, affidavit or affirmation must be e-filed as a separate document and must

be described in reasonable detail in the “Description” field, in addition to a number

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or letter in the “Document” field. The first page of the e-filed PDF should NOT be

a blank page that states “Exhibit __.” For instance, if Exhibit A is a contract, the

first page of the contract should be the first page of the e-filed PDF. If the court

requires hard copies, each hard-copy volume of exhibits MUST be separated by

exhibit tabs and include a cover page containing the motion sequence number.

The moving papers on a motion must contain complete and legible copies of (a) the

pleadings, (b) all applicable contracts, and (c) entire transcripts of depositions and

court proceedings if reference is made to the deposition or proceedings in the

motion. Excerpts of contracts and transcripts may not be filed without prior leave

of court.

In an emergency or if a case or motion is resolved, please email the assigned law

clerk immediately. Do not merely e-file a letter or stipulation. If the assigned law

clerk does not respond or if you receive an out-of-office message, you may email

the other law clerk and the part clerk.

Unless otherwise ordered, summary judgment motions must be filed no later than

60 days after the note of issue is filed.

Orders to Show Cause

The movant on an order to show cause (OSC), regardless of whether a temporary

restraining order (TRO) is sought, shall email the papers to Mr. Rand

IMMEDIATELY after the OSC is e-filed and await instructions on how to proceed.

The email shall include a Microsoft Word version of the OSC. The parties SHALL

NOT appear in court to present their OSC.

The court will indicate in the OSC if, when and where oral argument will be held

on the return date or if the motion is returnable “ON PAPERS ONLY.” Unless

otherwise ordered, the parties SHALL NOT provide hard copies or appear in court

on the return date.

In the absence of significant prejudice, a movant seeking a TRO must email their

motion papers to opposing counsel and Mr. Rand at least 24 hours in advance of

when the movant wants to be heard on its TRO application. Absent an emergency,

if notice is provided on a Friday, the court may not hear the TRO application until

the following Tuesday. The failure to e-file proof of such notice that includes the

other’s side’s email address may result in delayed consideration of the TRO. A

party who wishes to be heard on a more expeditious or ex parte basis shall e-file an

affidavit justifying the request. If ex parte relief is legally authorized, you must still

email the papers to Mr. Rand as soon as practicable.

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After receiving the email required by Part Rule 54, the court will notify parties when

a letter in opposition to the TRO request should be e-filed and emailed to the court

and when there will be call on Microsoft Teams to address the TRO request. The

ability to file a TRO letter will be without prejudice to submitting formal opposition.

In most cases, a party filing an OSC before the action has been assigned to this part

cannot give advance notice consistent with Part Rules 52-55. Upon assignment to

this part, movant shall carefully review and, as quickly as possible, comply with

those advance-notice rules. Delay may result in delayed consideration of the OSC.

Additionally, if the Commercial Division Support Office notifies movant of a

procedural error (such as omission of a CPLR 2217 certification), any failure to

promptly correct the problem may also result in delayed consideration of the OSC.

The court may deny or limit the scope of the TRO sought, even if the TRO is

unopposed. The court will not issue a TRO if the moving papers do not contain

complete copies of the pleadings and complete legible copies of the applicable

contracts.

Summary-Judgment Motions

Before filing a summary-judgment motion, the parties shall meet and confer to

discuss the matters at issue on the motion and shall prepare and file one joint

statement of material facts. The joint statement may cite and be filed with joint

exhibits that will be considered part of the summary-judgment record without the

need to separately file them with the parties’ motion papers. If the parties cannot

agree on a joint statement, competing Rule 19-a statements of facts are strictly

prohibited. If a party violates this rule, opposing counsel SHALL NOT file a

responsive statement of facts, but rather should e-file and email the court a letter

noting the rule violation and requesting that the statement be stricken from the

record. No party shall argue that a summary-judgment motion should be denied for

the failure to negotiate and file a joint statement of facts. Nor is any party precluded

from filing a pre-note-of-issue partial summary judgment motion if they in good

faith believe that negotiating a joint statement would be futile or that doing so will

cause a prejudicial delay in filing their motion. CPLR 3213 motions do not require

a joint statement and competing Rule 19-a statements are not to be submitted.

Oral Arguments & Transcripts

If oral argument is held on Microsoft Teams, the parties will be provided with a

Teams invite and logistical information. Clients are permitted to observe and do

not need to request permission to do so. Counsel may forward the invite to their

clients. All invites will include a dial-in number which may be used by observers,

but arguing attorneys should, expect as otherwise directed (such as during a TRO

call), appear on camera on Teams. Any member of the public who wants to observe

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proceedings on Teams should email Mr. Rand within one week of the scheduled

proceedings and they will either be added to the Teams invite or provided with a

link to a livestream. Similar access may also be requested and will be provided for

discovery conferences. Clients and members of the public must always keep their

cameras off and microphones on mute.

All oral argument transcripts must be e-filed within 45 days of oral argument, even

if the court decides a motion from the bench after oral argument. Unless otherwise

directed, the moving party shall order and pay for the transcript. If there is a cross-

motion or motions are filed by both parties, the costs shall be shared. If the court

reserves on a motion, it will not be marked fully submitted and the court will not

issue a written decision until the transcript is e-filed.

If a party requests that a transcript be “So Ordered” then:

• Transcripts shall be e-filed and emailed to the court with an errata sheet

correcting all errors in the record, including any agreed-upon errors in

transcription of the court’s statements.

• If all parties consent to the proposed corrections or agree that no corrections

are required, a stipulation to that effect shall be e-filed and emailed to the

court with the errata sheet or transcript.

CONSOLIDATION OR AMENDMENT OF CAPTIONS

All orders on motions or stipulations to consolidate, to sever claims or to amend

captions shall be served with notice of entry on the County Clerk and the General

Clerk’s Office in accordance with Section J of the Protocol on Courthouse and

County Clerk Procedures for Electronically Filed Cases (available at

https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/1jd/supctmanh/Efil-protocol.pdf).

TRIALS & PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCES

Generally, a trial date will not be set until after a pre-trial conference is held. After

summary judgment motions are decided (or if there are no such motions after the

note of issue is filed) the court will schedule a conference to discuss exactly what

will be expected of each case at their pre-trial conference. All pre-trial submissions,

including all in limine motions, must be e-filed and fully submitted at least three

weeks before the pre-trial conference. The court will notify the parties if hard copies

will be required. Generally, the pre-trial submissions must include:

(a) marked pleadings

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(b) pretrial memoranda

(c) witness lists setting forth whether the witness is a fact witness or an

expert and the expected length of direct examination

(d) expert reports

(e) cross-designations of deposition testimony including the pages and

lines

(f) pre-marked exhibits containing their bates stamps, together with a

spreadsheet containing the exhibit numbers or letters, a very brief

description of the exhibit and blank spaces for a) the opposing parties

to object or agree to admission, b) a change of position after the parties

meet and confer regarding any objections and c) a court ruling at the

pre-trial hearing on the exhibits not agreed upon

(g) requests to charge including the applicable Pattern Jury Instruction

(PJI) number and contentions. If any modification of the PJI is

requested, the entire charge shall be typed with the proposed

modification clearly indicated in BOLD

(h) a proposed verdict sheet

(i) a stipulation as to all agreed-upon facts for non-jury trials

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Form Order for Admission Pro Hac Vice

ORDERED that the motion for leave to appear pro hac vice is granted and

_____________________________, Esq. is permitted to appear and to participate in this action

on behalf of ___________________________________________; and it is further

ORDERED that he/she shall at all times during this action be associated with counsel who

is a member in good standing of the Bar of the State of New York and is attorney of record for the

aforesaid party; and it is further

ORDERED that all pleadings, briefs, and other papers filed with the court shall be signed

by the attorney of record, who shall be responsible for such papers and for the conduct of this

action; and it is further

ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 520.11 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals and

Section 602.2 of the Rules of the Appellate Division, First Department, the attorney hereby

admitted pro hac vice shall be familiar with and abide by the standards of professional conduct

imposed upon members of the New York Bar, including the rules of the courts governing the

conduct of attorneys and the Rules of Professional Conduct; and it is further

ORDERED that he/she shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New

York with respect to any acts occurring during the course of his/her participation in this matter;

and it is further

ORDERED that said counsel shall notify the court immediately of any matter or event in

this or any other jurisdiction that affects his/her standing as a member of the bar.

Dated: _________________ ENTER:

___________________________

J.S.C.