Hon. Michael L. Katz — Part 24 Rules

HON. MICHAEL L. KATZ

Part 24 - Matrimonial Division

60 Centre Street, Room 325, New York, NY 10007

Principal Court Attorney Part Clerk

Jessica Cygler Wagner, Esq. Shehre B. Yaseen

(646) 386-3103 (646) 386-3285

General Rules

Hearings and trials are generally scheduled on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Conferences

and motions are generally scheduled (on a staggered basis) on Thursdays and Fridays. All parties must be

present at every appearance, including conferences and motions, unless otherwise directed by the court.

All adjournments require the prior approval of the court. Applications for adjournments may be

made by counsel jointly contacting the Part Clerk at (646) 386-3285 at least two (2) days prior to the

scheduled court appearance.

Counsel may also jointly initiate a telephone conference with the court should an issue arise

between court dates which requires court intervention. Counsel and parties should not contact the court

by letter, email or fax, and should not forward to the court copies of correspondence between or among

counsel and/or parties, without prior permission from the court.

Any attorney seeking to withdraw from a case where a substitute attorney has not been retained

must move by order to show cause for an order to be relieved. The court will not accept a stipulation

where the litigant consents to proceeding pro se.

Motions

To reduce the need for motion practice, counsel are encouraged to contact the court by conference

call prior to filing a motion. All motions shall be made by order to show cause unless otherwise directed

by the court. All motion papers (including opposition and reply papers) shall state the motion sequence

number and return date of the motion on the first page. All exhibits should be identified by tabs.

All papers shall be filed with the Part Clerk at 60 Centre Street, Room 543. Sur-replies are not

accepted without prior court permission. Oral argument is required on all motions, unless otherwise

directed by the Court.

Temporary restraining orders

Any party bringing an order to show cause seeking a temporary restraining order or other interim

relief (other than an ex-parte application for an order of protection) must first contact the Part Clerk at

(646) 386-3285 to obtain a date and time to present the order to show cause to the court. The party must

then forward a copy of the unsigned order to show cause to all parties or their counsel, together with a

letter notifying them of the date, time and location that the parties will be heard on the request for interim

relief.

Orders of Protection

Ex-parte applications for orders of protection must be accompanied by the Family Protection

Registry Information Sheet and the litigant must be present. Motions to consolidate family offense

proceedings pending in the Family Court must contain a complete copy of the relevant pleadings and

orders (with relevant docket numbers).

Conferences

Preliminary, compliance and status conferences

The following documents shall be submitted at the preliminary conference: (i) each party’s sworn

statement of net worth; (ii) the most recently filed state and federal income tax returns; and (iii) each

party’s two most recent paycheck stubs. The date of the compliance conference shall be set at the time

of the preliminary conference. All discovery shall be completed before the final status conference.

Pre-trial conferences

Parties shall exchange and file with the court the following documents at the pre-trial conference,

if any, or at least two weeks prior to the first day of trial if there is no pre-trial conference: (i) statement

of proposed disposition; (ii) updated statement of net worth; (iii) most recently filed tax returns; (iv)

witness list; and (v) exhibit list (with pre-marked exhibits).

If the trial concerns the issue of custody only and involves no financial issues, the parties shall file

a proposed parenting plan instead of a statement of proposed disposition, and need not file an updated

statement of net worth. Attorneys for children, if any, may file a proposed parenting plan if they wish to

do so, and shall also exchange and file witness and exhibit lists.

Prior to the pre-trial conference, the parties shall attempt to execute a stipulation as to: (i) the

authenticity and admissibility of exhibits; and (ii) undisputed facts.

Any pre-trial motions, including motions in limine, shall be filed by order to show cause at least

three weeks prior to the pre-trial conference, so that they can be made returnable at the pre-trial

conference.

Trials and Hearings

Absent extraordinary circumstances, all trial dates are final and will not be adjourned.

As a general rule, no counsel or party will be permitted to offer a document into evidence during

a witness’ direct testimony unless the document was disclosed on the previously exchanged exhibit list,

and no witness will be permitted to testify unless the witness was disclosed on the previously exchanged

witness list.

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