Hon. Deanna D. Panico — Part 23 Rules

Honorable Deanna D. Panico

Supreme Court of the State of New York

County of Suffolk

1 Court Street - Room 148-A

Riverhead, NY 11901

(631) 852-2864 fax 631-740-3989

SufPanico@nycourts.gov

Principal Law Clerk:

Janeen M. Howarth

Secretary to Judge:

Effective 1/1/2025

IAS/TRIAL PART 23 - RULES AND PROCEDURES

MOTION PRACTICE

1. All motions assigned to Justice Panico shall be made returnable on Thursdays and will be

marked submitted on return date unless an adjournment has been granted in accordance with

the procedure outlined below. All motions are on submission unless the parties are otherwise

notified by the Court.

2. Motion papers shall comply with the form and length restrictions prescribed in 22 NYCRR

§202.8 et seq. All exhibits shall be identified by separately and consecutively numbered or

lettered tabs. Legal memoranda must not exceed 7,000 words, reply memoranda must not

exceed 4,200 words. Both official and unofficial citations to cases are required. Copies of orders

or decisions will not be furnished unless a self-addressed, stamped envelope is supplied with the

motion papers.

3. Consistent with 22 NYCRR §202.8(f), no motion related to disclosure or bills of particulars

may be made unless and until a pre-motion conference has been conducted by this court,

notwithstanding that a preliminary or other conference may have been conducted by Justice

Panico or another justice previously assigned the action. The purpose of the conference will be

to resolve the dispute between the parties, whether bystipulation or byorder of the court. Counsel

should be prepared to argue his or her position with regard to the disputed disclosure on the date

of the conference. In the event the dispute cannot be resolved, the court may grant permission

to make an appropriate motion addressed to the disputed disclosure. The pre-motion conference

may be conducted in conjunction with a regularly scheduled discovery conference or may be

requested by correspondence emailed to the Court with copy to opposing counsel or

unrepresented party. Such correspondence should briefly summarize the nature of the dispute

-1-

and must state that a good faith effort was made to resolve the dispute in-person or via telephone

before requesting the pre-motion conference.

4. Requests for adjournments of motions and cross-motions that are on consent may be

submitted via NYSCEF. The filed request may be made by stipulation or by correspondence

indicating that the request is made on consent of all appearing parties.

5. Requests for adjournments of motions where consent has been requested but not given,

shall be submitted via NYSCEF and emailed to chambers at sufpanico@nycourts.gov. The email

must indicate that consent was sought and not given and the reason for the request must be

stated, along with the amount of time being sought. All parties must be copied on the email.

6. Motion adjourn dates may be confirmed by checking ecourts at nycourts.gov, under the

relevant index number, at the “show appearances” option. Adjournments should be requested

at least one week prior to the return date.

7. The parties shall immediatelyefile written notice to the Court of the withdrawal or settlement

of any motion, or portion thereof, or settlement of any case for which a motion is pending. If the

case is not an efiled case, chambers shall be notified by email at sufpanico@nycourts.gov.

CONFERENCES

1. In all actions requiring same, there shall be an in-person preliminary conference at which

the parties shall enter into a PreliminaryConference Stipulation/Order, which will be “so-ordered”

by the Court, which schedules the disclosure necessary in a given case. The progress of the

parties in completing disclosure shall be reported to the court at any and all compliance

conferences which are scheduled thereafter.

When all disclosure is complete, the parties shall executea"ComplianceConference Order

(with Cert)" which certifies that all discovery is complete. The court will insert the Note of Issue

filing date and the Pre-Trial Conference date, if such conference isrequired. If there is a Pre-Trial

Conference date which has "no appearance required" written nextto it, such date is a control date

for internal purposes and no appearance is required on that date. Please check to see if your

Compliance Conference Order (With Cert) (aka “Certification Order”) contains the language "no

appearance required" before calling the court to inquire as to whether or not an appearance is

required. No order shall be entered certifying a case as ready “subject to” the completion of

disclosure at a future date without express permission of the Court. A copy of the Compliance

Conference Order with certification must be filed with the Note of Issue. If a Pre-Trial Conference

is required, the parties should be prepared to discuss settlement at such conference.

2. No partymayfile a Note of Issue and Certificate of Readiness without first having entered

into a Compliance Conference Order certifying that disclosure has been completed and that the

case is ready for trial.

-2-

3. Requests for adjournments of appearances may be made by email to

sufpanico@nycourts.gov, copying all parties, at least two business days prior to the conference

date. The email must indicate whether or not all parties consent. If the scheduled appearance

is a compliance conference, the request must indicate the current status of discoveryand the last

date the parties appeared in-person.

4. Parties shall follow ecourts at nycourts.gov for appearance dates and times. Conferences

will be held in-person. If the notation in ecourts indicates "REMOTE” or “CONTROL,” no

appearance will be required on that date. The parties shall followecourts for the next appearance

date without such a notation.

5. If at any time during the pendency of the case all parties believe that a settlement

conference might be productive, the parties may contact chambers via email at

sufpanico@nycourts.govto request one. The email should contain three dates when all counsel

AND party representatives with full authority to settle the matter are available. All settlement

conferenceswillbeheldin-person (absent extenuating circumstances) and a partyrepresentative

with full authority to settle must be present.

-3-

MISCELLANEOUS

1. Trials

For all trials, Justice Panico requires a Pre-Trial Conference regarding the issues to be

determined. At such conference, counsel shall supply the court with the following: marked

pleadings, amended pleadings, and all bills of particulars served. For jurytrials, alist of proposed

jury charges (including PJI number and the descriptive name of the PJI section) and proposed

jury verdict sheets shall be provided in hard copy as well as word processing format or other

editable format. Pre-trial memoranda of law may also be required in which both official and

unofficial caselaw citations are to be provided.

All trial exhibits must be pre-marked. A list of all pre-marked exhibits shall be provided to

the court and to the stenographer. Counsel shall advise the court as to the number and type of

witnesses to be called. If expert witnesses are to be called, Counsel shall provide the Court with

the information required byCPLR 3101(d)(1)(i). All hospital records and other items in evidence

over fifteen (15) pages must be paginated before use in the trial. In all malpractice cases each

attorney in anticipation of charge conference and verdict sheet preparation must have the

departure and causation testimony located in the trial transcript available for the court’s review.

Counsel for all parties shall be prepared to discuss settlement at the Pre-Trial Conference.

2. Infant Compromises.

Infant compromise applications in pending litigation should be submitted to the court via

NYSCEF. Whether applications are filed in pending actions or are brought before the court by

special proceeding, counsel shall make sure that their application complies with all requirements

of CPLR §1208, prior to submission. After the application is reviewed by the court, counsel will

be notified of the hearing date, at which the parent or natural guardian, as well as the infant will

be required to attend. No infant’s compromise order will be signed unless accompanied by an

appropriate medical report dated no earlier than six months prior to the date the order is

submitted to the court. The medical report must state whether or not the infant has made a full

recovery. If further medical treatment is required, a detailed statement as to nature and extent of

that treatment must be included. Please provide information to the court with your submission

indicating whether or not the Defendant or Defendants have waived their appearance for all

purposes. If they have waived their appearance, Plaintiff’s counsel shall obtain a waiver letter

from the Defendant’s attorney, or from the insurance carrier if there is no attorney of record.

Please remember that if the infant is fourteen years old or older, written consent to the settlement

must be provided by the infant.

-4-

In some cases, apre-hearing conference maybe required. If a conference is required, the

appearing attorney shall bring the full case file and shall be fully familiar with and prepared to

discuss all aspects of the case.

Additionally, in advance of submission of a proposed order, counsel should confirm with

any bank which is the proposed recipient of funds that such bank does, in fact, accept infant

compromise settlement funds.

3. Appearances

Except in the case of unrepresented litigants, all appearances before the court shall be by

an attorneyadmitted to practice in the State of NewYork, who must be fullyauthorized to act on

behalf of his/her client.

Persons appearing before the court, whether they are attorneys or litigants, are expected

to treat others in the courthouse with respect. This includes court personnel and staff, as well as

other attorneys and litigants. Disrespectful, uncivil and unprofessional conduct in the courthouse

will not be countenanced.

4. Correspondence with the court

Correspondence to the Court shall be on notice to all parties (except as set forth in the

Court’s settlement conference rules, below) and shall not exceed three pages without express

permission of the Court.

5. Correspondence in efiled Cases

All correspondence that is faxed, emailed or mailed to the Court should also be efiled.

6. All emails to the court must copy all parties.

7. Settlement Conferences

See separate Settlement Conference Requirements.

-5-

Honorable Deanna D. Panico

Supreme Court of the State of New York

County of Suffolk

1 Court Street - Room 148-A

Riverhead, NY 11901

(631) 852-2864 fax 631-740-3989

Sufpanico@nycourts.gov

Principal Law Clerk:

Janeen M. Howarth

Secretary to Judge:

SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE REQUIREMENTS

At least seven (7) days prior to the scheduled settlement conference, the parties shall submit

confidential exparte position statements no longer than 2,500 words, including footnotes. The position

statement must address the following six areas:

1. A brief statement of the facts;

2. An analysis of the party’s legal position with authority cited;

3. The history of settlement efforts, if any;

4. Any perceived impediments to settling;

5. The party’s realistic settlement position; and

6. The identity of the client or client representative with full authority who will appear at the

settlement conference.

To the extent anykeydocuments are relied upon, the documents should be provided to the Court

with the position statement. In tort cases, keydocuments shall include (1) the Bill of Particulars, (2) any

relevant photographs of the accident scene, property damage (including amount) and/or any relevant

photographs of scarring and other injuries, and (3) any and all accident reports. In breach of contract

actions, key documents shall include the relevant contract.

Position statements and supporting documents shall be emailed to the Court at

Sufpanico@nycourts.gov. Position statements and supportingdocuments shall NOTbe shared with the

adversary and shall NOT be filed on NYSCEF.

All settlement conferences will be held in-person (absent extenuatingcircumstances) and a party

representative with full authority to settle must be present.

-6-