Hon. Joseph Pastoressa — Part 34 Rules

Supreme Court State of New York

Hon. Joseph C. Pastoressa

Chambers

1 Court Street

Riverhead, New York 11901

(631) 852-2163

sufpastoressa@nycourts.gov

Joseph C. Pastoressa Gregory J. Klubok

Supreme Court Justice Principal Law Clerk

Dana M. Dietrich

Secretary

IAS/TRIAL PART 34- RULES & PROCEDURES

Unless otherwise directed by the Court, the following rules shall govern practice in Part 34:

1. Email Communications: All email correspondence to the Court shall be sent to

SUFPASTORESSA@NYCOURTS.GOV

2. Adjournments: Adjournment requests shall be made by email to the Court. Motions and conferences

are heard on Wednesdays. Other matters, such as hearings or inquests, are heard on Thursdays. If an

adjournment request is not on the consent of all parties, then all parties must be CC’d on the email.

Requests for adjournments of ADR conferences shall be directed to the ADR Part, not to this Part.

3. Motion Practice

A. Return Dates/ Submissions: All motions made in cases assigned to Judge Pastoressa must be

calendared for submission on Wednesdays. Unless adjourned by the Court, all motions appearing on

the court’s Wednesday motion calendar shall be marked submitted. Appearances are not required on

any motion unless oral argument has been requested and granted. All requests for oral argument must

be made in writing by email to the Court.

B. Settled or Withdrawn Motions: The Court is to be advised immediately of (1) the settlement

or withdrawal of any motion or portion thereof sub judice, or (2) the settlement of any underlying case

with motions sub judice. The failure to do so will be sanctionable.

C. Statements of Material Fact: The Court neither requires nor desires statements of material

fact (22 NYCRR 202.8-g).

4. Conferences

A. Appearances: Appearances by persons with knowledge of the facts and vested with

authority to make binding dispositions are required. Non-appearances will not be countenanced by

the Court and may subject the non-appearing party to one or more of the sanctions attendant with

defaults (22 NYCRR 202.27; 22 NYCRR Part 130-2).

B. Preliminary Conferences: An in-person appearance is not required for preliminary confer-

ences. Counsel may confer and submit, via both email and e-filing, a proposed preliminary conference

stipulation and order. If a conference is needed, counsel shall notify the Court in writing and a confer-

ence will be scheduled.

5. Trials

A. Jury Trials: A trial conference with the Court shall be held immediately prior to the com-

mencement of all jury trials. Counsel shall further provide the Court with a list of proposed jury

charges and proposed jury verdict sheets. A list of all pre-marked exhibits shall also be provided to

the Court and to the stenographer. Counsel shall advise the Court of the number of witnesses to be

called, and if any be experts, shall provide the information required by CPLR 3101 (d) (1) (I). All hos-

pital records and other items in evidence over 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.

B. Non-Jury Trials: Non- jury trials shall be governed by the same procedures and requirements

set forth above for jury trials.

6. Compromise Applications: All applications for court approval of a proposed compromise of an

infant or other disabled party’s claim must comply with the provisions of CPLR 1207, 1208, and 22

NYCRR 202.67. A proposed distribution of net amounts to be recovered by the disabled plaintiff that

is consistent with the provisions of CPLR 1206 is required. The required affirmation from a medical

professional must indicate whether the injured plaintiff has fully recovered, and if not, the nature and

extent of the injuries and course of future treatment. Since the Court may direct that notice of the

application be given to all persons who possess claims against the proceeds recoverable under the com-

promise, including those with statutory liens, the names and addresses of all such persons and the

amount of their respective claims must be set forth in the petition. If no person has asserted such a

claim, the petition must so state. Once the submissions are complete, an appearance date shall be

scheduled by the Court.

7. Hearings/ Inquests: All hearings or inquests shall be scheduled by the Court.

8. Ex Parte Communications: Except to the limited extent permitted by these rules and by the rules set

forth at 22 NYCRR 100.3, ex parte communications with the Court or any member of its staff, by tele-

phone or otherwise, is strictly prohibited.