Hon. Ronnie Abrams

All requests for adjournments or extensions of time must be made in writing and filed on ECF as letter-motions. (If such request contains sensitive or confidential information, it may be submitted by email and served on opposing counsel.) The letter-motion must state: (1) the original due date, (2) the number of previous requests for adjournments or extensions of time, (3) whether these previous requests were granted or denied, and (4) whether the adversary consents, and, if not, the reasons given by the adversary for refusing to consent. If the requested adjournment or extension affects any other scheduled dates, a proposed Revised Scheduling Order must be included. If the request is for an adjournment of a court appearance, absent an emergency, the request shall be made at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled appearance. Source ↗

1. Communications with Chambers A. Letters. Except as otherwise provided below, communications with the Court shall be by letter, filed electronically on ECF. Parties should not submit courtesy copies of letters filed on ECF. Letters containing sensitive or confidential information that cannot be filed on ECF in accordance with the procedures set forth in Paragraph 5 below may be emailed to the Court (Abrams_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov) as a text-searchable .pdf attachment with a copy simultaneously delivered to all counsel. Any such email shall state clearly in the subject line: (1) the caption of the case, including the lead party names and docket number, and (2) a brief description of the contents of the letter. Parties shall not include substantive communications in the body of the email; such communications shall be included only in the body of the attached letter. Unless the Court orders otherwise, letters may not exceed five (5) pages in length. Letters solely between parties or their counsel or otherwise not addressed to the Court may not be filed on ECF or otherwise sent to the Court (except as exhibits to an otherwise properly filed document). Source ↗

Silent on discovery_letter_page_limit. Source ↗

The Court will generally schedule a Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(c) conference within two (2) months of the filing of the Complaint. The Notice of Initial Pretrial Conference will be made available on ECF and the plaintiff's counsel will be responsible for distributing copies to all parties. This Notice will direct the parties to submit on ECF a proposed Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order and letter to the Court one week prior to the conference date. Source ↗

or in redacted form shall proceed as follows: a. Meet and Confer. The party seeking leave to file sealed or redacted materials should meet and confer with any opposing party (or any third party seeking confidential treatment of the information) in advance to narrow the scope of the request. When a party seeks leave to file a document under seal or in redacted form on the ground that an opposing party or third party has requested it, the filing party shall notify the opposing party or third party that it must file, within three (3) days, a letter explaining the need to seal or redact the document. b. Sealed Document(s). The party shall electronically file a letter-motion seeking leave to file a document under seal on ECF in accordance with Standing Order 19-MC-583 and Section 6 of the S.D.N.Y. Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions. The letter-motion itself shall be filed in public view, should explain the reasons for seeking to file the document under seal, including why the request to seal is consistent with the test set forth in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110 (2d Cir. 2006), and should not include confidential information. The proposed sealed document shall be separately and contemporaneously filed under seal on ECF (with the appropriate level of restriction) and electronically related to the motion (or to the relevant Court order if the Court previously granted leave to file the document under seal). Note that the summary docket text, but not the document itself, will be open to public inspection and, thus, the summary docket text should not include confidential information sought to be filed under seal. 5 c. Redacted Document(s). Where a party seeks leave to file a document in redacted form, the party shall electronically file a letter-motion seeking leave to file a document in redacted form on ECF in accordance with Standing Order 19-MC-583 and Section 6 of the S.D.N.Y. Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions. The letter-motion itself shall be filed in public view, should explain the reasons for seeking to file the document in redacted form, including why the request for redaction is consistent with the test set forth in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110 (2d Cir. 2006), and should not include confidential information. At the same time, the party shall (1) publicly file on ECF and electronically relate to the letter-motion a copy of the document with the proposed redactions; and (2) file under seal on ECF (with the appropriate level of restriction) and electronically relate to the motion an unredacted copy of the document with the proposed redactions highlighted. d. Submission by E-Mail. Any party unable to comply with the requirement for electronic filing under seal through the ECF system, or who believes that a particular document should not be electronically filed at all, shall file a letter-motion by e-mail, in accordance with Paragraph 1(A) above, seeking leave of the Court to file in a diff Source ↗

4. Motions A. Memoranda of Law. The formatting and length of motion papers must conform to Local Civil Rule 7.1 (or, in the case of a motion for reconsideration, Local Civil Rule 6.3). Per Local Civil Rule 7.1, memoranda of law in support of and in opposition to motions (except for motions for reconsideration) may not exceed 8,750 words, and reply briefs may not exceed 3,500 words. These limits do not include the caption, any index, table of contents, table of authorities, signature blocks, or any required certificates, but do include material contained in footnotes or endnotes. The party must also provide a certificate of compliance as required by Local Civil Rule 7.1(c). Memoranda of 3,500 words or more shall contain a table of contents and a table of authorities, and shall conform to Local Civil Rule 11.1. Sur-reply memoranda will not be accepted without prior permission of the Court. 3 Source ↗

, and shall conform to Local Civil Rule 11.1. Sur-reply memoranda will not be accepted without prior permission of the Court. 3 B. Courtesy Copies. Courtesy copies are not required unless the motion includes numerous exhibits and/or a voluminous record. Under such circumstances, one courtesy copy of all motion papers, marked as such, should be submitted to the Court by the movant at the time the reply is served, in accordance with the SDNY policies regarding mail deliveries. Source ↗

The formatting and length of motion papers must conform to Local Civil Rule 7.1 (or, in the case of a motion for reconsideration, Local Civil Rule 6.3). Per Local Civil Rule 7.1, memoranda of law in support of and in opposition to motions (except for motions for reconsideration) may not exceed 8,750 words, and reply briefs may not exceed 3,500 words. These limits do not include the caption, any index, table of contents, table of authorities, signature blocks, or any required certificates, but do include material contained in footnotes or endnotes. The party must also provide a certificate of compliance as required by Local Civil Rule 7.1(c). Memoranda of 3,500 words or more shall contain a table of contents and a table of authorities, and shall conform to Local Civil Rule 11.1. Sur-reply memoranda will not be accepted without prior permission of the Court. Source ↗

C. Motions to Dismiss. When a motion to dismiss is filed, the non-moving party must, within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the motion, notify the Court and its adversary in writing whether (i) it intends to file an amended pleading and when it shall do so, or (ii) it will rely on the pleading being attacked. This Rule does not alter the time to file a response provided by the Federal and Local Rules. If the plaintiff amends its pleading, any pending motion to dismiss is rendered moot, but the moving party may renew and refile its motion to dismiss based on the amended pleading. Source ↗

Parties may request oral argument at the time they file their moving, opposing, or reply papers. They may do so by filing on ECF a letter specifically requesting oral argument. The Court will determine whether argument will be heard and, if so, will advise counsel of the argument date. Source ↗

F. Default Judgments. A plaintiff seeking a default judgment must proceed by way of a motion pursuant to the procedure set forth in Attachment A. G. Oral Argument on Motions. Parties may request oral argument at the time they file their moving, opposing, or reply papers. They may do so by filing on ECF a letter specifically requesting oral argument. The Court will determine whether argument will be heard and, if so, will advise counsel of the argument date. Source ↗

ve of the Court to file in a different manner. B. Settlement Agreements. The Court will not retain jurisdiction to enforce confidential settlement agreements. If the parties wish that the Court retain jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement, the parties must place the terms of their agreement on the public record. The parties may either provide a copy of the settlement agreement for the Court to endorse or include the terms of their settlement agreement in their stipulation of settlement and dismissal. Source ↗

D. Motions for Summary Judgment. Except in pro se cases, the moving party shall provide all other parties with an electronic copy, in Word format, of the moving party’s Statement of Material Facts Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1. The opposing party must reproduce each entry in the moving party’s Rule 56.1 Statement, admit or deny each entry, and set out its response directly beneath it. If the opposing party wishes to file its own, additional statement of material facts, it shall begin numbering each entry where the moving party left off. Source ↗

• 1. Discovery response must call Chambers FIRST: '§3: If the opposing party wishes to respond, it must call Chambers within one (1) business day to advise that a responsive letter will be forthcoming.' Practitioners who file a response without calling first are non-compliant.
• 2. Courtesy copies triggered only by volume: '§4.B: Courtesy copies are not required unless the motion includes numerous exhibits and/or a voluminous record.' Filing them by default signals unfamiliarity with the rules.
• 3. Motion to dismiss triggers 14-day notification obligation: '§4.C: When a motion to dismiss is filed, the non-moving party must, within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the motion, notify the Court and its adversary in writing whether (i) it intends to file an amended pleading and when it shall do so, or (ii) it will rely on the pleading being attacked.' This is separate from the response deadline.
• 4. Settlement agreements not confidentially enforceable: '§5.B: The Court will not retain jurisdiction to enforce confidential settlement agreements. If the parties wish that the Court retain jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement, the parties must place the terms of their agreement on the public record.'
• 5. Sealing requires Lugosch showing -- consent is not enough: '§5.A.ii: the parties' consent or the fact that information is subject to a confidentiality agreement between litigants is not, by itself, a valid basis to overcome the presumption in favor of public access.'