Hon. Leo T. Sorokin

Plaintiff shall file its motion, with a memorandum not to exceed twenty pages, on or before the date set forth in the Scheduling Order governing the case.

Within thirty days of Plaintiff's submission pursuant to paragraph 2(a), Defendant shall file a single memorandum as both its memorandum in opposition to Plaintiff's motion and its memorandum in support of its cross-motion, not to exceed thirty pages

Reply Briefs: The moving party may file a reply, within seven days of the filing of the opposition, not to exceed five pages. Leave of court is required for a longer reply, a longer period of time to file a reply, or a surreply.

Counsel shall provide one courtesy copy to the District Court Clerk's Office of any memorandum related to any motion, along with all affidavits, declarations, exhibits, and other documents accompanying the memorandum, if such filings in connection with a particular memorandum (excluding the memorandum itself) exceed one hundred pages in length. Counsel shall include exhibit tabs with such courtesy copies. Courtesy copies shall be delivered to the District Court Clerk's Office within three business days of the electronic filing.

Courtesy copies shall be stamped or otherwise prominently marked as follows: “COURTESY COPY – DO NOT SCAN”.

Do you typically hold a hearing on motions to dismiss? A27: Ordinarily yes, especially if the motion presents complicated questions, or if I am considering dismissing a case in its entirety. Q28: Do you typically hold a hearing on summary judgment motions? A28: Yes. Q29: ... A29: I have no general rule imposing time limits.

Yes, I typically hold Rule 16 conferences and status conferences via zoom. ... Yes, I typically hold status conferences via zoom. ... Though I prefer to hold all other proceedings in person, I would consider holding any non-evidentiary motion hearing or pretrial conference via Zoom upon request, if the request is made for a good reason.

Typically, do you resolve discovery motions or do you refer them to the magistrate judge? A16: I often do resolve them myself, but I sometimes refer such motions to a magistrate judge, and I also regularly refer some civil cases to a magistrate judge for all pretrial proceedings (including such motions).

I do encourage counsel to request a status conference with the court if they believe it might eliminate a dispute or expedite its resolution. I also often encourage counsel to submit a joint status report in lieu of discovery motion practice, with the report in repeating format stating: the discovery request and the response; the complaining party's explanation as to why more is required; and the other party's explanation as to why the response is adequate.

It depends on the facts of the case and the nature of the dispute. Q18: ... A18: If I have referred a case to a magistrate judge for all pretrial matters, they handle discovery motions. Otherwise, I review the pleadings, determine whether a hearing would be helpful, and resolve the motion as promptly as possible.