Hon. Francois A. Rivera: IAS Part 52 Rules

Updated: February 22, 2024

Part 52 Rules

Appearances: ALL APPEARANCES IN PART 52 SHALL BE IN PERSON. ALL MOTIONS ARE ORALLY ARGUED ON THE RECORD.

Motions are currently heard on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. The first call of the calendar will be at 10:15 a.m. and the second call of the calendar is at 11:15 a.m.

Filing of Papers: All motion papers must be filed electronically through New York State Court Electronic Filling system, hereinafter NYSCEF, or where the action does not participate in NYSCEF, by mail to the Motion Support Office, 360 Adams Street, Room 227, and NOT to the Court’s chambers. Motion papers, answering affidavits, and reply affidavits must be served on the parties in accordance with CPLR § 2214 or the most recent Administrative Order, unless otherwise stipulated or ordered.

Summary Judgement Motions; Statement of Material Facts: The Court requires that any motion for summary judgment, other than a motion made pursuant to CPLR 3213, be in full compliance with the provisions of 22 NYCRR 202.8-g (a-e).

Calendaring of Motions: Upon receipt of a motion, the motion will be placed on the Court’s motion calendar (“the motion calendar date”) but not necessarily on the return date specified in the Notice of Motion/Petition. Part 52 motions shall be calendared for the next available Thursday at 10:00 a.m.

Adjournments on Consent: The parties may request an adjournment by written stipulation that must be filed with the Kings County Clerk’s office (or with the NYSCEF system if the case is e-filed) no less than two (2) business days before the motion calendar date. The stipulation must account for all parties in the caption. If a named party in the caption is not being sent a copy for any reason (e.g., the party has not appeared in the action, the action has been discontinued against that party, etc.) the reason for the exclusion should be stated in the stipulation. A courtesy copy of the stipulation must be sent to the Court by emailing mflawton@nycourts.gov, mleszczy@nycourts.gov, & mcardenas@nycourts.gov as well as copying your adversaries.

Contested Adjournments: An oral application to adjourn a motion may be made before the Court in person on the return date of the motion.

Orders: If at the conclusion of oral argument, the Court directs a party or the parties to submit a proposed order, such order shall be submitted to the Court in Microsoft Word document format. The proposed order must be emailed to KSCCVPART52@nycourts.gov. This email must be copied to all parties who have appeared in the action or indicate that no other party has appeared in the action. If a named party in the caption is not being sent a copy for any reason (e.g., the party has not appeared in the action, the action has been discontinued against that party, etc.) the reason for the exclusion should be stated in the order.

WITHDRAWALS / RESOLUTIONS OF MOTIONS 

Any party wishing to withdraw a motion must notify the Court by filing a notice of withdrawal in the NYSCEF system and emailing a courtesy copy to Court via email to mleszczy@nycourts.gov, mcardenas@nycourts.gov, and mflawton@nycourts.gov at least three (3) business days before the motion calendar date.

If the parties have resolved a motion pursuant to a stipulation, a copy of the stipulation must be filed in the NYSCEF system and a copy must be sent to the Court via email to mleszczy@nycourts.gov, mcardenas@nycourts.gov, and mflawton@nycourts.gov at least two (2) days prior to the return date of the motion. The stipulation must account for all parties in the caption. If a named party in the caption is not being sent a copy for any reason (e.g., the party has not appeared in the action, the action has been discontinued against that party, etc.) the reason for the exclusion should be stated in the stipulation. You will receive an email notification from the Court by if your stipulation is accepted. If you do not receive notification from the Court the parties must appear on the scheduled return date.

If after full submission of a motion, if the parties later resolve the motion by a written stipulation of settlement, the parties must promptly file a written stipulation with the Kings County Clerk’s office (or with the NYSCEF system if the case is e-filed) within five (5) business days of its execution and also email a courtesy copy to mleszczy@nycourts.gov, mcardenas@nycourts.gov, and mflawton@nycourts.gov.

INFANT COMPROMISE / WRONGFUL DEATH PROCEEDINGS

Infant compromise and Wrongful Death Compromise hearings shall be held in person on Fridays. The parties in such matters may request that the proceeding be held virtually. This request must be by email to mcardenas@nycourts.gov & mleszczy@nycourts.gov at least seven (7) business days prior to the scheduled return date. The subject of the email: “ICO Virtual Request, Index No., Plaintiff Name v. Defendant Name” or “WDC Virtual Request, Index No., Plaintiff Name v. Defendant Name”.  Chambers will respond to such requests within (2) business days. Please note that any requests for a virtual proceeding may result in the matter having to be adjourned to accommodate the request.

PRE-TRIAL DEPOSITION OF AN INFANT

A child, age ten (10) years old or under may not be deposed without being found swearable pursuant to a swearability hearing before this Court.

Requests for a Hearing: In order to schedule a swearability hearing, please email the Court by emailing (Maureen Lawton, Part Clerk at mflawton@nycourts.gov, Maya Leszczynski, Principal Law Clerk at mleszczy@nycourts.gov, and Melissa Canteño, Administrative Assistant to Justice Rivera at mcardenas@nycourts.gov). The subject line of the email, please write in capital letters the word “SWEARABILITY” after the word swearability, write the “INDEX NUMBER” of the case and the abbreviated caption. This email must be copied to all parties who have appeared in the action or indicate that no other party has appeared in the action. If a named party in the caption is not being sent a copy for any reason (e.g., the party has not appeared in the action, the action has been discontinued against that party, etc.) the reason for the exclusion should be stated in the email. In the body of your email please include the full caption with the names and contact information for all parties.

QUESTIONS / INQUIRIES 

All inquiries must be emailed to Chambers (Melissa Canteño, Administrative Assistant to Justice Rivera at mcardenas@nycourts.gov and Maya Leszczynski, Principal Law Clerk at mleszczy@nycourts.gov).  In subject line of the email, please write in capital letters the word “INQUIRY” after the word inquiry, write the “INDEX NUMBER” of the case and then write the last name of the plaintiff/petitioner and write the name of the first defendant/respondent that appears in the action, i.e., “PLAINTIFF v. DEFENDANT”. This email must be copied to all parties who have appeared in the action or indicate that no other party has appeared in the action. If a named party in the caption is not being sent a copy for any reason (e.g., the party has not appeared in the action, the action has been discontinued against that party, etc.) the reason for the exclusion should be stated in the email. In the body of your email please include the full caption with the names and contact information for all parties. Chambers will respond to all emails within three (3) business days.