Hon. Cheree Buggs — Part 30 Rules

Supreme Court, Queens County, Civil Term - Part Rules, Part 30

Justice Chereé A. Buggs

88-11 Sutphin Boulevard

Jamaica, NY 11435

Chambers Phone

(718) 298-1117

Courtroom Phone

(718) 298-1042

Part 30 E-mail: QSCPart30@nycourts.gov

Facsimile

(212) 618-0512

Principal Law Clerk

Simone A. Grey, Esq.

Assistant Law Clerk

Jay S. Teng

Part Clerk

Robert McKibbin

RuleseffectiveasofMay27,2025

General Rules for Motions

All motions shall be made returnable on Monday at 10 a.m. at the Jamaica Courthouse located at 88-11

Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435, Part 30. All motion papers for matters subject to electronic filing

(“e-filing”) pursuant to the Rules of the Chief Administrator shall be electronically filed (“e-filed”).

Failure to notice a motion in compliance with the designated day, time, location and Part number above may

result in the motion being denied without prejudice. If a motion is filed contemporaneously with the Request for

Judicial Intervention (RJI), before movant has become aware of the assigned justice and part, movant must

either conform the Notice of Motion to include the aforestated information prior to the return date, and file and

serve an Amended Notice of Motion to nonmoving parties, OR send notice to the nonmoving parties of the

information and e-file proof of such notice. Failure to do one or the other in the instance of a contemporaneous

RJI/motion filing will result in the motion being denied without prejudice.

Matters Which Have Not Been Converted to E-Filing

On matters which have not been converted to e-filing, all responsive papers (opposition and reply) must be

submitted in person on the return date of the motion or application. The Part does not accept any responsive

papers by mail, by fax or scanned and sent via e-mail without express Court permission. Affidavits of service

and proposed orders on cases which are not e-filed must be submitted in hard copy form.

In-Person Appearances Required for Discovery Motions/Orders to Show Cause

The parties must appear IN PERSON for all discovery related motions or orders to show cause. If the parties

fail to appear, the motion or order to show cause will be marked off or defaulted.

Non-Discovery Related Motions/Orders to Show Cause

All substantive motions/orders to show cause (non-discovery related) will be decided on submission only,

unless the parties request a conference, or the court finds an oral argument necessary. Conferences and oral

arguments will be IN PERSON on the motion return date, unless otherwise directed by the Court.

Summary Judgment Motions

Summary judgment motions shall be filed within 120 days of the filing of the Note of Issue, unless otherwise

directed by the Court.

Administrative Rescheduling of Motions

The Court may administratively reschedule any application or motion noticed for a holiday or a day on which

the part is closed. Information will be available on e-courts. Should the Part administratively reschedule, the

movant will be responsible for notifying all parties of the administratively rescheduled date and providing proof

of same to the Part on the rescheduled adjournment date.

New Motion after Court Marks Original Motion Off the Calendar or Dismisses Without Prejudice

In any case where a motion is MARKED OFF or DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, a new motion for the

original relief sought may be filed in accordance with the Part Rules. A motion to restore, renew or reargue is

NOT required.

Withdrawal of Motion/Application and Settlement, Discontinuation, or other Disposition of Case

The parties shall notify the Court immediately upon withdrawing any pending motion or application, or when

a matter is settled, discontinued or otherwise disposed. Stipulations of settlement or discontinuance shall

immediately be e-mailed to QSCPart30@nycourts.gov and e-filed. Please include the motion return date and

sequence number in the e-mail.

Sur-ReplyPapers/ReplyPaperstoOrderstoShowCause

The New York State Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) does not provide for sur-reply papers; accordingly,

no such papers are permitted without the express permission of the Court. Likewise, as set forth in N.Y. Comp.

Codes R. & Regs. (NYCRR) Tit. 22 §202.8-d, reply papers to an Order to Show Cause shall be accepted

only with advance permission of the Court.

Motions to Renew and/or Reargue

Pursuantto CPLR Rule 2214(c),motions to renewand/orreargue “need notinclude copies ofpapers thatwere

filed previously electronically with the court, but may make reference to them, giving the docket numbers on

the e-filing system.” However, for cases in which the Court’s original decision and papers submitted in support

of the original motion were not electronically filed, such documents shall be submitted in support of the motion

to renew/reargue.

Discovery Motions

On any discovery-related motion or application, attorneys are encouraged to conference the issues among

themselves with the goal of resolving the matter by stipulation.

All stipulations must indicate that the motion, and any cross-motions, is/are being “withdrawn and

resolved” pursuant to the stipulation, and must be signed by the attorneys. All stipulations must be e-filed.

Requests for stipulations to be so-ordered shall be sent to the Part at QSCPart30@nycourts.gov. Said

stipulations shall be e-filed prior to submission to the Part. Any items of discovery not specifically identified as

outstanding at the time of the stipulation resolving the motion are deemed waived.

Pursuant to NYCRR §202.20-f(b), “[a]bsent exigent circumstances, prior to contacting the court regarding a

disclosure dispute, counsel must first consult with one another in good faith effort to resolve all disputes about

disclosure. Such consultation must take place by an in-person or telephonic conference. In the event that a

discovery dispute cannot be resolved other than through motion practice, each such discovery motion shall

be supported by an affidavit or affirmation from counsel attesting to counsel having conducted an in-

person or telephonic conference, setting forth the date and time of such conference, persons

participating, and the length of time of the conference. The unreasonable failure or refusal of counsel to

participate in a conference requested by another party may relieve the requesting party of the obligation to

comply with this paragraph and may be addressed by the imposition of sanctions pursuant to Part 130...[T]he

moving party...shall, in an affidavit or affirmation, detail the efforts made by the moving party to obtain

such a conference and set forth the responses received.” Failure to include the required supporting

affidavit regarding conferencing or efforts to conference to resolve the disclosure dispute prior to making a

motion shall result in the discovery motion being marked off.

-2-

Settlement Conferences/Discovery Conferences

Requests for a virtual settlement or discovery conference can be e-mailed to QSCPart30@nycourts.gov. All

parties must consent to the conference prior to e-mailing the Court. Unless the Court advises otherwise, all

conferences will take place via Microsoft TEAMS. The Court will send a link to the parties for the virtual

conference.

Certification/Compliance Conferences

AllcertificationandcompliancecasesforCityofNewYorkPartcaseswillbeconductedbyPart17(Hon.

Joseph J. Esposito).

Appearances and Adjournments

A notice of appearance shall be e-filed prior to the scheduled appearance.

At least one (1) day prior to the scheduled motion or proceeding date, Counsel/parties must notify any and all

other counsel/parties of any intention to seek an adjournment, and if possible, obtain consent of all parties.

Adjournments maybe sought bye-mailto QSCPart30@nycourts.gov atleastone (1)daypriorto the scheduled

motion or proceeding, stating the reason for seeking the adjournment, and if not on consent, the efforts made

to seek such consent from the other parties. All stipulations of adjournment shall also be sent to the above e-

mail address. All adjournments are subject to the final approval by the Judge in advance of a court date.

Requests for an adjournment beyond ONE will be granted sparingly, in the Court’s discretion.

All adjournments on the grounds of engagement of counsel shall be granted only upon submission of an

Affirmation of Actual Engagement with specific details. Such affirmation must e-mailed to

QSCPart30@nycourts.gov at least one (1) day prior to the Court appearance, and e-filed.

Briefing Schedules

When the Court gives a briefing schedule upon an adjournment, such schedule shall be conveyed verbally or

in writing to the attorneys. Failure to comply or serve responsive papers in accordance with the briefing

schedule shall result in the rejection of those papers on the adjournment date.

Communication with the Court

Partiesrepresentedbycounselmustcommunicatewiththechambersstaffthroughtheircounselonly.Thereshall

be no ex parte communication with the Court.

Order To Show Cause and Emergency/ Injunctive Relief

All emergency applications must be accompanied by a separate”Emergency Affidavit” which does not pray for

the underlying relief requested but rather addresses: i) why the application must be entertained forthwith; and

ii) why the application could not have been brought to the court’s attention earlier.

Oral arguments must be requested by the parties, the court shall decide whether to conference the case prior

to the oral argument.

Requests to So-Order Stipulations

Requests to so-order stipulations should be e-mailed, with a PDF format of the stipulation signed by the

necessary parties attached, to QSCPart30@nycourts.gov. The stipulation must not contain typewritten

“signatures,” but must contain a copy of actual or electronic signatures. The stipulation must be e-filed prior to

being e-mailed.

-3-

Status of Decisions

Copies of motion or application decisions or orders WILL NOT be sent to counsel unless deemed necessary

by the Part. Decisions or orders can be retrieved online or at the County Clerk’s office located in the Jamaica

courthouse, Room 106. Calls regarding the status of a motion or application decision are properly made to the

Part Clerk, at (718) 298-1042. Further inquiries should be directed to the Motion Support Office at (718) 298-

1009 or, if an ex parte matter, to Ex Parte Support Office at (718) 298-1018.

Uncontested Matrimonial Matters

The court will expeditiously review and determine all uncontested matrimonial application it receives. If the

uncontested matrimonial application is incomplete or needs corrections, theCourtwill notifythe parties bymail.

The parties will be given 45 days to correct the deficiencies and resubmit by mail to: Chambers of Justice

Buggs, New York State Supreme Court, 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11435. Failure to timely do so will

result in dismissal of the action without prejudice.

Any questions about uncontested matrimonial applications assigned to Justice Buggs should be submitted to

QSCPart30@nycourts.gov.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

If at anypoint,theparties decideto utilize ADR to resolvetheirmatter, theyshould write a joint letter to the Part

advising of the same. In that letter, they should state whether they prefer discovery to be stayed or continued

during the mediation process.

If theparties would like tobe referred to theNew York State Unified Court System’s ADR Program, they should

jointly advise the court in their letter, asking to be referred to ADR. Please note that the Court may also order

parties to the ADR program without the parties’ request or consent.

For more information regarding the court system’s ADR program, please visit:

Queens Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) | New York Courts.

Trials

Prior to the commencement of trial, all counsel must submit to the court marked pleadings, a copy of the Bill

of Particulars, a witness list, proposed jury instructions, and a proposed verdict sheet. Additionally, upon

assignment to Part 30 for trial, the court must be advised of any intent to make a motion in limine.

Rules and procedures for Summary Jury Trials can be found here:

Queens Supreme Summary Trial | New York Courts.

Request for Interpreters

Requests forcourtinterpreters mustbemadeatleasttwo (2) business days inadvanceofthedatetheservices

are required.

Effective:July10th,2025

-4-