All local rules for S.D.N.Y., integrated with this judge's published requirements.
(d) No ex parte order, or order to show cause to bring on a motion, will be granted, except upon a clear and specific showing by affidavit that contains good and sufficient reasons why a procedure other than by notice of motion is necessary and states whether a previous application for similar relief has been made. Local Civil Rule 6.1(d) ↗
2. Communications with Chambers a. Letters and Letter-Motions. i. Unless otherwise provided below, communications with Chambers shall be by letter filed on ECF. Letters seeking relief (consistent with S.D.N.Y. Local Rules and the S.D.N.Y. Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions) should be filed as letter-motions on ECF, not ordinary letters. ii. Letters may not exceed three pages in length (exclusive of exhibits or attachments) without prior permission from the Court. iii. Copies of correspondence between counsel shall not be sent to the Court or filed on ECF except as exhibits to an otherwise properly filed document. iv. Any request for relief shall be accompanied by a statement as to whether the opposing party consents to the requested relief and, if not, the reasons given by the adversary for refusing to consent. b. Telephone Calls. Chambers is not accepting telephone calls at this time. Technical questions pertaining to ECF filings should be directed to the ECF Help Desk at helpdesk@nysd.uscourts.gov or (212) 805-0800. c. Faxes. Faxes to Chambers are not permitted without express prior permission. d. Hand Deliveries. Hand-delivered mail should be left with the Court Security Officers at the Worth Street entrance (200 Worth Street, New York, NY 10007) of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States District Courthouse. If the hand- delivered letter is urgent and requires the Court’s immediate attention, ask the Court Security Officers to notify Chambers that an urgent package has arrived that needs to be retrieved by Chambers staff immediately. e. Requests for Adjournments or Extensions of Time. i. All requests for adjournments or extensions of time must be made in writing and filed on ECF as letter-motions per Section 2(a) of these Rules, not as ordinary letters. ii. Absent an emergency, any request for extension or adjournment shall be made as early as possible, and at least two business days before the deadline or scheduled appearance. Extension requests will ordinarily be denied if made after the expiration of the original deadline. The letter-motion must state: (1) the original date and the new date requested; (2) the number of previous requests for adjournment or extension; (3) whether these previous requests were granted or denied; (4) the reason for the extension or adjournment; (5) whether the adversary 3 consents and, if not, the reasons given by the adversary for refusal to consent; and (6) the date of the parties’ next scheduled appearance before the Court. iii. If the requested adjournment or extension affects any other scheduled dates, a proposed Revised Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order must be attached, specifying all of the proposed changes (e.g., with a redline showing the differences between the operative Scheduling Order—see Section 3(c) below—and the proposed Revised Scheduling Order). iv. A request for an adjournment of a conference must also include three alternative conference dates that are mutually ag
(c) Length of Memoranda of Law. If filed by an attorney or prepared with a computer, briefs in support of and in response to a motion (except for motions for reconsideration) may not exceed 8,750 words, and reply briefs may not exceed 3,500 words. Local Civil Rule 7.1(c) ↗
(c) Length of Memoranda of Law. If filed by an attorney or prepared with a computer, briefs in support of and in response to a motion (except for motions for reconsideration) may not exceed 8,750 words, and reply briefs may not exceed 3,500 words. Local Civil Rule 7.1(c) ↗
(c) Length of Memoranda of Law. If filed by an attorney or prepared with a computer, briefs in support of and in response to a motion (except for motions for reconsideration) may not exceed 8,750 words, and reply briefs may not exceed 3,500 words. Local Civil Rule 7.1(c) ↗
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence. Any party who uses generative artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT, Harvey, CoCounsel, or Google Bard) to generate any portion of a motion, brief, pleading, or other filing must attach to the filing a separate declaration disclosing the use of artificial intelligence and certifying that the filer has reviewed the source material and verified that the artificially generated content is accurate and complies with the filer's Rule 11 obligations. Ho -- ai_disclosure_requirement ↗
Except for letter-motions as permitted by Local Civil Rule 7.1(d), and unless provided otherwise by statute or rule, or by the court in a judge’s individual practices or in a direction in a particular case, motion papers must be served and filed as follows: (a) On all motions and applications under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 through 37 and 45(d)(3), (1) all motion papers must be served by the moving party on all other parties that have appeared in the action, (2) any opposing or response papers must be served within seven days after service of the moving papers, and (3) any reply papers must be served within two days after service of the answering papers. In computing periods of days, refer to Fed. R. Civ. P. 6. (b) On all civil motions, petitions, and applications, other than those described in Rule 6.1(a), and other than petitions for writs of habeas corpus, (1) the moving papers must be served by the moving party on all other parties that have appeared in the action, (2) any opposing or response papers must be served within 14 days after service of the moving papers, and (3) any reply papers must be served within seven days after service of the answering papers. Local Civil Rule 6.1 (introductory clause) and 6.1(a)-(b) ↗
Silent on fixed motion hearing days. Local Civil Rules 6.1, 7.1 (silent) ↗
Local Civil Rule 77.1. Submission of Orders, Judgments and Decrees Proposed orders, judgments, and decrees must be presented as directed by the ECF rules published on the website of each respective court. Local Civil Rule 77.1 ↗
6. Redactions and Filing Under Seal a. Privacy Policy. The parties are referred to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 and the S.D.N.Y. ECF Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”). b. Redactions Not Requiring Court Approval. There are two categories of information that may be redacted from public court filings without prior permission from the Court: “sensitive information” and information requiring “caution.” Parties should not include in their public filings, unless necessary, the five categories of “sensitive information,” i.e., • social security numbers (use the last four digits only), • names of minor children (use the initials only), • dates of birth (use the year only), • financial account numbers (use the last four digits only), and • home addresses (use only the City and State). Parties may also, without prior Court approval, redact from their public filings the six categories of information requiring “caution” described in the Privacy Policy, i.e., 12 • any personal identifying number, • medical records (including any information regarding medical treatment, including for substance abuse, and diagnosis), • employment history, • individual financial information, • proprietary or trade secret information, and • information regarding an individual’s cooperation with the government. c. Redactions and Sealed Filings Requiring Court Approval. Except for redactions permitted by the eleven categories of information identified in the Privacy Policy, all redactions or sealing of public court filings require Court approval. To be approved, any redaction or sealing of a court filing must be narrowly tailored to serve whatever purpose justifies the redaction or sealing and must otherwise be consistent with the presumption in favor of public access to judicial documents. In general, 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 to judicial documents. d. Procedures for Filing Sealed or Redacted Documents. Any party seeking leave to file a document under seal or in redacted form shall proceed as follows: i. Meet and Confer. The party 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 business days, a letter explaining the need to seal or redact the document. ii. Sealed Document(s). The party shall file a letter-motion seeking leave to file a document wholly 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 explai
Silent on oral argument default. Local Civil Rules 6.1, 7.1 (silent) ↗
soft Word and PDF formats. k. Discovery Disputes. Parties must follow Local Civil Rule 37.2 with the following modifications. i. Any party wishing to raise a discovery dispute with the Court must first confer in good faith with the opposing party—in person, by videoconference, or by telephone—to resolve the dispute. Where a party raises a discovery dispute with the opposing party, the opposing party must make itself available to confer in good faith to resolve the dispute within two business days of a request for a conference. ii. If the meet-and-confer process does not resolve the dispute, the party seeking discovery may file on ECF a letter-motion, no longer than three pages, explaining the nature of the dispute and, if applicable, why the party is entitled to relief and requesting a conference before the Court. iii. Any letter-motion seeking relief must state: (1) the date and time of each conference conducted pursuant to Section 4(k)(i) above; (2) the 8 adversary’s position as to each issue being raised; and (3) that the moving party informed the adversary during the last conference that the moving party believed the parties to be at an impasse and that the moving party would be requesting a conference with the Court. iv. Any opposition to a letter-motion seeking relief shall be filed as a letter, not to exceed three pages, within three business days. v. Counsel should seek relief in accordance with these procedures in a timely fashion. If a party waits until near the close of discovery to raise an issue that could have been raised earlier, the party is unlikely to be granted the relief that it seeks or more time for discovery. vi. Privilege Logs and Privilege Log Disputes. Privilege logs should be sufficiently detailed to enable the receiving party to evaluate a claim of privilege, including identification of attorneys involved in the relevant documents or communications. Privilege logs must be promptly produced and updated on a rolling basis as documents are produced. Each log and update must include a certification from counsel that counsel has reviewed the withheld or redacted documents, and that there is a good-faith basis to assert privilege over those documents. Disputes related to privilege logs are subject to the Rules governing discovery disputes specified in Section 4(k). On its own initiative, the Court may order in camera production to the Court of unredacted documents from the producing party’s log where a dispute is raised.
quests for Adjournments or Extensions of Time. i. All requests for adjournments or extensions of time must be made in writing and filed on ECF as letter-motions per Section 2(a) of these Rules, not as ordinary letters. ii. Absent an emergency, any request for extension or adjournment shall be made as early as possible, and at least two business days before the deadline or scheduled appearance. Extension requests will ordinarily be denied if made after the expiration of the original deadline. The letter-motion must state: (1) the original date and the new date requested; (2) the number of previous requests for adjournment or extension; (3) whether these previous requests were granted or denied; (4) the reason for the extension or adjournment; (5) whether the adversary 3 consents and, if not, the reasons given by the adversary for refusal to consent; and (6) the date of the parties’ next scheduled appearance before the Court. iii. If the requested adjournment or extension affects any other scheduled dates, a proposed Revised Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order must be attached, specifying all of the proposed changes (e.g., with a redline showing the differences between the operative Scheduling Order—see Section 3(c) below—and the proposed Revised Scheduling Order). iv. A request for an adjournment of a conference must also include three alternative conference dates that are mutually agreeable to the parties. v. A request to extend the deadline to complete all discovery is unlikely to be granted. But any such request shall include a statement as to what discovery requests have been propounded, who propounded each request, and on what date; what responses were made, who made each response, and on what date; and the volume of documents produced, who produced the documents, and on what date. The letter shall further include a statement as to any depositions that have been taken and on what date. f. Related and Consolidated Cases. i. After an action has been accepted as related to a prior filing, all future court papers and correspondence must contain the docket number of the new filing as well as the docket number of the case to which it is related (e.g., 22-CV-1234 [rel. 21-CV-4321]). ii. After two or more actions have been consolidated for all purposes under a single docket number pursuant to Rule 42(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, all future court papers and correspondence should be filed only in the docket under which the cases have been consolidated. Source ↗
Government may use USAfx. d. No Courtesy Copies. Unless the Court orders otherwise, parties should not submit courtesy copies of any submissions. e. Amended or Corrected Filings. Any amended or corrected filing shall be filed with a redline showing all differences between the original and revised filing. f. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence. Any party who uses generative artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT, Harvey, CoCounsel, or Google Bard) to generate any portion of a motion, brief, pleading, or other filing must attach to the filing a separate declaration disclosing the use of artificial intelligence and certifying that the filer has 2 reviewed the source material and verified that the artificially generated content is accurate and complies with the filer’s Rule 11 obligations. Source ↗
another. 4 c. Initial Case Management Conference. In most cases, the Court will schedule a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(c) conference, by Order, to occur no more than three months after the filing of the complaint or notice of removal. Plaintiff’s counsel (or, in a matter removed from state court, defense counsel) is directed to promptly notify all counsel of the Notice of Initial Pretrial Conference. In most cases, the Notice will direct the parties, among other things, to submit on ECF a joint letter and a proposed Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order attached as an exhibit to the joint letter no later than Thursday of the week prior to the conference date. The parties shall use the Proposed Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order form available at the Court’s website (https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-dale-e-ho). d. Authority Consistent with Proceeding. All attorneys appearing before the Court must have the authority to bind the party they represent consistent with the proceedings (e.g., by agreeing to a discovery resolution or briefing schedule). e. Participation of Attorneys. The Court invites the participation of less experienced attorneys (i.e., those with six or fewer years of experience), including attorneys from all backgrounds, where the attorney(s) played a substantial role in drafting the underlying filing or preparing the relevant witness. Notwithstanding Section 3(b)(i), the Court may permit more than one attorney to argue for one party. The ultimate decision of who speaks on behalf of the client is for the lawyer in charge of the case, not for the Court. f. Pronouns and Honorifics. The parties and counsel are invited to advise the Court of their honorifics and/or pronouns—such as Ms., Mx., or Mr.—so that the Court may address them respectfully. People appearing before this Court may do so in writing and/or when appearing for conferences, hearings, or trials, by speaking to the Courtroom Deputy. Source ↗
ivil Rule 11.1 of the S.D.N.Y. Local Rules. 5 ii. Memoranda of law in support of and in opposition to motions are limited to 25 pages and reply memoranda are limited to 10 pages. iii. All memoranda of law shall be in twelve-point font or larger and double- spaced. All footnotes shall be in twelve-point font or larger and may be single-spaced. iv. Memoranda of 10 pages or more shall contain a table of contents and a table of authorities, neither of which shall count against the page limit. v. Sur-reply memoranda are not allowed (unless specifically permitted in extraordinary situations for good cause). vi. All appendices to memoranda of law must be indexed. d. Unpublished Cases. The parties need not provide copies of unpublished cases if the case is available on Westlaw or LexisNexis. For cases only available on Westlaw or Lexis, the Westlaw citation should be used whenever possible. e. Oral Arguments on Motions. i. Rarely Held. The Court rarely holds oral argument. But a party may request oral argument on a motion by indicating “ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED” on the cover page of its memorandum of law. If a party believes that the Court would benefit from oral argument for a particular reason not obvious from the parties’ briefing, the party may file a letter explaining the reason—not a letter-motion—on ECF. The Court will determine whether argument will be heard and, if so, advise counsel of the argument date. ii. Participation by Less Experienced Attorneys Encouraged. If oral argument would be handled in whole or in part by a less-experienced attorney, a party may so advise the Court consistent with Section 3(e) above. f. Motions for Leave to Amend a Pleading. When moving to amend any pleading, the moving party shall file as an attachment to the motion a redline showing all differences between the operative pleading and the proposed amended pleading. g. Summary Judgment Procedures. i. Discouraged in Non-Jury Cases. Summary judgment motions are strongly discouraged in non-jury cases. Notwithstanding Section 4(a) of these Rules, a party seeking to file a motion for summary judgment in a non-jury case shall file a letter on ECF seeking leave to move for summary judgment prior to filing any motion. ii. Successive Motions Prohibited. Parties may not file more than one motion for summary judgment absent prior Court approval. 6 iii. Rule 56.1 Statements. Any party moving for summary judgment shall provide all other parties with an electronic copy, in Microsoft Word format, of the moving party’s Statement of Material Facts Pursuant to Local Rule 56.1 (“Rule 56.1 Statement”), limited to 20 pages. Opposing parties must reproduce each entry in the moving party’s Rule 56.1 Statement and set out the opposing party’s response directly beneath it. If the opposing party wishes to file their own, additional statements of material fact, it shall begin numbering each entry where the moving party left off. Such additional statements are limited to 20 pages. A Rule 56.1 Source ↗
le. e. Oral Arguments on Motions. i. Rarely Held. The Court rarely holds oral argument. But a party may request oral argument on a motion by indicating “ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED” on the cover page of its memorandum of law. If a party believes that the Court would benefit from oral argument for a particular reason not obvious from the parties’ briefing, the party may file a letter explaining the reason—not a letter-motion—on ECF. The Court will determine whether argument will be heard and, if so, advise counsel of the argument date. ii. Participation by Less Experienced Attorneys Encouraged. If oral argument would be handled in whole or in part by a less-experienced attorney, a party may so advise the Court consistent with Section 3(e) above. f. Motions for Leave to Amend a Pleading. When moving to amend any pleading, the moving party shall file as an attachment to the motion a redline showing all differences between the operative pleading and the proposed amended pleading. g. Summary Judgment Procedures. i. Discouraged in Non-Jury Cases. Summary judgment motions are strongly discouraged in non-jury cases. Notwithstanding Section 4(a) of these Rules, a party seeking to file a motion for summary judgment in a non-jury case shall file a letter on ECF seeking leave to move for summary judgment prior to filing any motion. ii. Successive Motions Prohibited. Parties may not file more than one motion for summary judgment absent prior Court approval. 6 iii. Rule 56.1 Statements. Any party moving for summary judgment shall provide all other parties with an electronic copy, in Microsoft Word format, of the moving party’s Statement of Material Facts Pursuant to Local Rule 56.1 (“Rule 56.1 Statement”), limited to 20 pages. Opposing parties must reproduce each entry in the moving party’s Rule 56.1 Statement and set out the opposing party’s response directly beneath it. If the opposing party wishes to file their own, additional statements of material fact, it shall begin numbering each entry where the moving party left off. Such additional statements are limited to 20 pages. A Rule 56.1 Statement may contain only factual statements – any non-factual statements (e.g., legal argument) will not be considered by the Court. iv. Deposition Transcripts. Deposition transcripts that are supplied in connection with a summary judgment motion, whether in whole or in part, should be text-searchable and include an index. h. Default Judgment. A party seeking a default judgment must proceed by filing a motion for default judgment on ECF pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b)(2) and Local Civil Rule 55.2(b). A party seeking a default judgment should not proceed by order to show cause. The motion must be supported by the following papers: i. If failure to answer is the basis for the default, a Certificate from the Clerk of Court stating that no answer has been filed; ii. an attorney’s affidavit or declaration setting forth: 1. the basis for entering a default judgment, Source ↗
4. Motions a. Pre-Motion Letters and Conferences in Civil Cases. Pre-motion letters and conferences are not required, except for: (i) discovery disputes under Section 4(k) of these Rules; and (ii) summary judgment motions in non-jury cases under Section 4(g) of these Rules. b. Timeline for Filing of Motion Papers. Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties and ordered by the Court, the parties shall assume that the submission deadlines outlined by Local Civil Rule 6.1 shall apply. c. Memoranda of Law. i. Motion papers must conform to Local Civil Rule 11.1 of the S.D.N.Y. Local Rules. 5 ii. Memoranda of law in support of and in opposition to motions are limited to 25 pages and reply memoranda are limited to 10 pages. iii. All memoranda of law shall be in twelve-point font or larger and double- spaced. All footnotes shall be in twelve-point font or larger and may be single-spaced. iv. Memoranda of 10 pages or more shall contain a table of contents and a table of authorities, neither of which shall count against the page limit. v. Sur-reply memoranda are not allowed (unless specifically permitted in extraordinary situations for good cause). vi. All appendices to memoranda of law must be indexed. d. Unpublished Cases. The parties need not provide copies of unpublished cases if the case is available on Westlaw or LexisNexis. For cases only available on Westlaw or Lexis, the Westlaw citation should be used whenever possible. e. Oral Arguments on Motions. i. Rarely Held. The Court rarely holds oral argument. But a party may request oral argument on a motion by indicating “ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED” on the cover page of its memorandum of law. If a party believes that the Court would benefit from oral argument for a particular reason not obvious from the parties’ briefing, the party may file a letter explaining the reason—not a letter-motion—on ECF. The Court will determine whether argument will be heard and, if so, advise counsel of the argument date. ii. Participation by Less Experienced Attorneys Encouraged. If oral argument would be handled in whole or in part by a less-experienced attorney, a party may so advise the Court consistent with Section 3(e) above. f. Motions for Leave to Amend a Pleading. When moving to amend any pleading, the moving party shall file as an attachment to the motion a redline showing all differences between the operative pleading and the proposed amended pleading. g. Summary Judgment Procedures. i. Discouraged in Non-Jury Cases. Summary judgment motions are strongly discouraged in non-jury cases. Notwithstanding Section 4(a) of these Rules, a party seeking to file a motion for summary judgment in a non-jury case shall file a letter on ECF seeking leave to move for summary judgment prior to filing any motion. ii. Successive Motions Prohibited. Parties may not file more than one motion for summary judgment absent prior Court approval. 6 iii. Rule 56.1 Statements. Any party moving for summary judgment shall provide all other part Source ↗