Hon. Kathleen Waterman-Marshall — Part 31 Rules

HON. KATHLEEN WATERMAN-MARSHALL

SUPREME COURT, NEW YORK COUNTY

IAS PART 31

60 Centre Street, Courtroom 335

New York, New York 10007

Part 31 Virtual Courtroom

Part Clerk: Ann Lee

Part Clerk Email: SFC-Part31-Clerk@nycourts.gov

Courtroom Phone: (646) 386-4296

Principal Law Clerk: David B. Collins, Esq. Assistant Law Clerk: Mary Sharmaine Tan, Esq.

Email: DBCollin@nycourts.gov Email: MSTan@nycourts.gov

Phone: (646) 386-4289 Phone: (646) 386-4289

Virtual Conference Room A Virtual Conference Room B

1. CALENDARS

MOTIONS Tuesdays

All motions are on submission unless the Court directs oral argument, or the parties request oral argument.

Arguments/conferences are in-person unless otherwise directed by the Court.

DISCOVERY CONFERENCES Wednesday – Mornings In-Person

Preliminary, Compliance, and Status Conferences Wednesday – Afternoons Virtual

*** Defaults are taken at 11:00 a.m.

2. GENERAL

• To create opportunities for attorneys whose court participation enhances diversity in the bar or who are

admitted to practice fewer than five years, courtroom participation of such attorneys is strongly encouraged.

This could be achieved by giving a less senior, knowledgeable colleague speaking and leading roles in the

courtroom, such as the oral argument on a motion for which they prepared the papers, or taking the lead in a

discovery or settlement conference.

• Counsel are expected to be familiar, and strictly comply, with those parts of the Uniform Rules for the

Supreme Court that apply to a General IAS action or proceeding (i.e., excluding Rules for Guardianship and

Commercial Division cases). In the event this Court’s Rules are silent, the applicable Uniform Rules control.

• Every single appearance is an opportunity to settle some, if not all, of the issues. Counsel and self-

represented litigants who appear in Part 31 must be knowledgeable about the case and prepared to discuss open

matters and areas for resolution. Settlement Conferences are scheduled upon request (see Section 8, infra).

• Self-represented litigants may obtain free information about court procedures, and certain forms, and may

Receive legal referral information for bar associations or pro bono programs and the like, from the Help Center,

60 Centre Street, Room 119A, New York, NY 10007; Email: SFC-HelpCenterNY@nycourts.gov; Telephone: (646)

386-3120; or at CourtHelp (www.courthelp.gov), the New York State court systems website for unrepresented

litigants.

• The Standards of Civility shall be adhered to by counsel and litigants in all appearances before,

submissions to, and correspondence with the Court.

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3. COMMUNICATIONS

• Ex Parte Communications With The Court Are Strictly Prohibited. Counsel for all parties and all

self-represented parties must be included in correspondence with the Court.

• All Written Communications Should Be Directed To The Part Clerk. Appearance inquiries; status

inquiries; requests to schedule conferences; requests to adjourn conferences and motions; submission of proposed

conference orders; and submission of all stipulations (discontinuance, adjournment, withdrawal, etc.).

• Telephone Calls Should Be Directed To The Part Clerk. Contact the Part Clerk at the Courtroom

phone number. Telephone calls to chambers are prohibited absent an emergency.

• Letters. Letters to the Judge are strongly discouraged absent an emergency. Letters shall be filed to

NYSCEF with copies simultaneously emailed to all counsel and self-represented parties.

• Notifying Court Of Settlement Or Resolution. Counsel must notify the Court as soon as practicable of

any settlement or resolution of active cases or pending motions, by filing to NYSCEF a Stipulation or Notice

reflecting the settlement or resolution.

4. DISCOVERY CONFERENCES ORDERS & APPEARANCES

• Requirement for All Conferences: The parties shall bring hard copies of prior conference orders to each

conference and shall bring the Court’s attention any open motions at the time of the conference.

• Preliminary Conference Order (“PCO”): Parties shall meet and confer about all discovery matters and

submit an agreed upon, signed draft PCO (see 22 NYCRR 202.12), for the Judge’s review and signature by email

to the Part Clerk by 12:00 noon on the day prior to the Preliminary Conference. After the Judge reviews and

signs the PCO, the Part Clerk will upload the signed PCO to NYSCEF. Guidelines for PCO:

o EBT dates shall be no later than 4 months from the date of the PCO;

o Compliance Conference shall be 6 months from the date of the PCO; and

o Note of Issue date: 12 months from the date of the PCO for standard discovery track cases. 15 months

from the date of the PCO for complex discovery track cases.

• Compliance Conference Order (“CCO”) or Status Conference Order (“SCO”): Parties shall meet

and confer about outstanding discovery matters and submit an agreed upon, signed draft, CCO or SCO as

appropriate, for the Judge’s review and signature by email to the Part Clerk by 12:00 noon on the day prior to the

scheduled for the Conference. After the Judge reviews and signs the CCO / SCO, the Part Clerk will upload it to

NYSCEF. Guidelines for CCO/SCO: Status Conference shall be 6 months from the date of the CCO/last SCO.

• NO COURT APPEARANCE IS REQUIRED on any Preliminary Conference, Compliance Conference

or Status Conference IF the parties have submitted an agreed upon, signed conference order (PCO, CCO, SCO).

• Discovery Disputes. Parties who are unable to agree on the terms of any Conference Order despite their

good faith efforts to do so, shall appear in-person before the Court on the scheduled conference date with their

proposed Conference Order, completed except for the disputed matter, prepared to discuss the issue for the

Court’s ruling.

• Discovery Motions are Prohibited. Discovery motions may only be made with Court permission after a

discovery conference is held to resolve open discovery issues (see Section 6, infra).

• Adjournment Requests. Requests must be made at least one (1) week prior to the conference date,

absent an emergency. The Court does not accept Attorney “Consent Adjournments” filed on the conference day.

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• FAILURE TO APPEAR ON THE CONFERENCE DATE, WITHOUT TIMELY UPLOADING

AN AGREED UPON CONFERENCE ORDER, MAY RESULT IN DISMISSAL OR DEFAULT

PURSUANT TO 22 NYCRR § 202.27.

5. GENERAL DISCOVERY DIRECTIVES

• Discovery Demands and Responses: All discovery demands (i.e., Notices to Produce, Notices to Admit,

and Interrogatories) and written responses thereto (not including the documents produced in response to the

demands) must be filed to NYSCEF.

• ESI: If the production of ESI is an issue, the parties shall exchange an ESI protocol (see 22 NYCRR

202.12[e][3]).

• FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ANY PROVISION OF A PCO, CCO, OR SCO, MAY RESULT

IN DISCOVERY SANCTIONS, INCLUDING PRECLUSION, STRIKING OF A PLEADING, AND THE

AWARD OF FEES, AS APPROPRIATE.

6. MOTIONS

• Form of Motions. The Notice of Motion shall state the motion sequence number. Supporting and

opposing affirmations, affidavits and memoranda of law, in chief, shall be limited to 7,000 words each; reply

affirmations, affidavits and memoranda of law shall be no more than 4,200 words each and shall not contain any

arguments that do not respond or relate to those made in the memoranda in chief (see 22 NYCRR 202.8-b).

• Adjournment of Motion Return Date in Motion Submissions Part: The return date of a motion in the

Motion Submissions Part must be addressed in accordance with that Part’s Rules.

• Motions Taken On Submission, Oral Argument Only On Request. Once motions are fully submitted

in the Motion Submissions Part, they will be taken on submission unless the Court directs oral argument, or the

parties request oral argument. A request for oral argument shall be stated clearly and in bold on the notice of

motion. Oral argument is generally held on Tuesday mornings.

Settlement Authority: All counsel appearing for oral argument are expected to have knowledge of the

facts, procedural history, and substantive issues of the case and the authority to engage in settlement

discussions.

• No Discovery Motions Without Permission After Conference. All discovery issues and disputes will

be resolved at the discovery conference. Counsel must be prepared to address each dispute and bring to the

conference the discovery demand, response, and/or order at issue. Counsel may request, by email to the Part

Clerk, to advance a discovery conference to resolve a discovery dispute.

• Default Judgment Motions: Counsel are strongly encouraged to submit a proposed Order setting forth

the basis for the Court to grant a default judgment (noting the type and timing of service, referencing dispositive

documents, etc.) and/or the basis to deny such relief where the motion is opposed.

• Summary Judgment Motions: Must be e-filed no later than sixty (60) days after filing of Note of Issue.

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• Ex Parte Orders to Show Cause: Requests for emergency provisional relief or a temporary stay,

contained in a proposed order to show cause, will be heard by the Judge on-the-record at a time scheduled by the

Court. After deciding the emergency provisional relief or request for a stay, the Court will set the return date for

the Order to Show Cause. Any questions regarding the procedure for e-filing proposed orders to show cause

should be directed to the Ex Parte Office at (646) 386-3125.

7. USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (“AI”) IN FILINGS

• Court users who utilize an artificial intelligence tool/program in preparing any paper submitted to this

Court, as defined in 22 NYCRR § 161.2, are required to carefully review the paper and independently ensure that

it contains no fictitious citations to authority or fabricated information – including citations, quotations, and legal

analysis. By submitting any paper to this Court, a court user certifies that they have carefully reviewed the paper

and that it contains no fabricated or fictitious content. Court users are expected to understand the limitations of

any artificial intelligence tool/program they utilize, remain responsible for the content of their submissions, and

may be sanctioned for the submission of fabricated or fictitious citations or quotations, false material statements,

or frivolous legal arguments.

8. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES

• Request for Settlement Conference. The Court will schedule a settlement conference where the parties

are seriously ready, willing and able to settle, upon request to the Law Clerk at any conference or by letter

addressed to the Judge with copies to all counsel and self-represented parties.

• Procedure. Two days prior to the settlement conference, each side shall e-mail directly to the Judge a

letter, no longer than three (3) pages, outlining the substantive issues and their client’s settlement position.

9. TRIALS

• When a trial is assigned to Justice Waterman-Marshall, the Court will schedule a Pre-Trial Conference,

during which counsel, who must have authority to discuss settlement, SHALL BRING TO THE CONFERENCE

AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING:

a. General facts, claims and substantive issues of the case, and estimated length of trial;

b. Demands and offers;

c. A Joint Statement summarizing the nature of the case, and a list of people, places, and institutions

that are likely to be mentioned during the course of the trial, to be read to potential jurors during jury

selection;

d. Witness Lists;

e. Exhibit Lists, each indicating any exhibits that will be admitted into evidence on consent;

f. In limine motions and evidentiary issues;

g. Proposed Jury Charges and Verdict Sheet; and

h. Requests for interpreters and/or audio/visual technology.

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