Hon. Devin P. Cohen: Labor Law 1, Labor Law Mediation Settlement Part, Part 91

Principal Law Clerk: Joseph M. Beery, Esq., [email protected]
Assistant Law Clerk: James P. Terpak, Esq., [email protected]
Part Clerk: Christine Salvador, [email protected]

Courtroom Phone: 347-296-1665
Chambers Phone: 347-296-1561
Courtroom Number: 538

Motion Day: Wednesday

Updated: May 31, 2024

LABOR LAW 1/PART 91

MOTIONS:

  1. Motions appearances are in-person in Room 538, at 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, New York. 
  2. Any motion scheduled for a day other than the Court's regular motion day will be administratively adjourned to the next available motion day.
  3. First call of the morning calendar will generally be at 10:15 and second call will be at 10:45.  First call of the afternoon calendar will generally be at 2:15 and second call will be at 2:45. The court will distribute assigned times by email.  Parties must appear at either first or second call.  Following the calendar call, you must be present in the courtroom when your case is called for application or argument. 
  4. All parties must appear unless the Court was notified in advance, in writing, that the matter or motion has been settled, discontinued, dismissed or otherwise disposed. 
  5. Stipulations and settlements will be given priority and heard out of order.
  6. Parties seeking an adjournment should contact the chambers for a briefing schedule form. Motions may be adjourned once upon consent of all parties. Any further adjournment requires leave of court upon good cause shown. A stipulation of adjournment will be accepted only if signed by all counsel, and provided it is filed before the return date of the motion or presented at the calendar call of the motion.  
  7. Replies in further support of cross-motions are not contemplated by the CPLR and will not be considered without prior leave of the court (CPLR 2214; 2215). 
  8. Sur-replies of any kind and replies in further support of Orders to Show Cause are not permitted by the local rules without prior leave of the court (NY Ct. Rules ยงยง 202.8-c; 202.8-d). 
  9. Courtesy copies are required only for cases that are not e-filed.  Papers must be provided to chambers on or before the earlier of the date proscribed in a briefing schedule or as directed by the CPLR.
  10. Pursuant to the Local Rules, summary judgment motions must be made within sixty (60) days of the filing of the note of issue. 

TRO/STAY REQUESTS: If a party is seeking a Temporary Restraining Order or stay by Order to Show Cause, the party must appear in person on the date and at the time for which the TRO/Stay was noticed. If the party is not present in court, the TRO/Stay will be denied. Parties opposing the TRO/Stay must also appear.

TRIALS:

  1. Prior to trial, counsel shall furnish to the court the following: 
    1. marked pleadings pursuant to CPLR Section 4012.
    2. a list of pre-marked exhibits.  
    3. a list of potential witnesses, including expert witnesses, their expertise, summary of expected trial testimony, and proposed order of presentation.
    4. a copy of depositions intended to be used at trial.
    5. proposed jury charges and proposed verdict sheets (to be submitted, in writing, no later than the close of plaintiff's case). 
  2. Whenever possible, motions in limine must be brought in a timely way before trial.  A motion in limine may only be made in writing if served early enough that opposing counsel has sufficient time to respond in writing.  Motions submitted in writing that do not afford opposing counsel adequate time to respond may not be considered. 
  3. Pre- or post-trial memoranda of law are only permitted with leave of court, and then only if served early enough that opposing counsel has time to respond in writing. 
  4. At any pre-trial conference, at trial, or at any settlement conference parties are directed to attend, all sides must appear with authority to discuss and negotiate the case in full.  If trial counsel is not authorized to discuss settlement, another individual with full authority to negotiate must be present (22 NYCRR 202.26).

LABOR LAW MEDIATION SETTLMENT PART (LLMSP)

SETTLEMENT MEDIATIONS:

  1. All parties shall appear with their clients, claims representatives, and any other necessary principals available in real time to participate in negotiations, as required by 22 NYCRR 202.26. All participants: attorneys, clients, claims representatives, and principals must be fully knowledgeable about each case and equipped with full authority to negotiate. The court may direct clients and claims representatives to appear in person for any appearance.  As a general rule, partners or handling attorneys should appear for these conferences; if another attorney intends to appear, the court must be notified prior to the appearance and the appearing attorney must be fully knowledgeable about the case and fully authorized to discuss settlement.
  2. At least two weeks prior to any settlement conference, the plaintiff must provide to both the court and opposing counsel a formal demand in writing, even if a demand was previously conveyed. 
  3. Any Labor Law (personal injury) action pending in Supreme Court, Kings County may request a settlement mediation in the Labor Law Settlement Mediation Part upon the consent of all parties.  Contact chambers by email, CC'ing all parties, in order to request a conference.  Other judges may refer Labor Law actions to the part for mediation.  Periodically, the court will call cases assigned to Justice Cohen's inventory (LL1) to appear for mediation.
  4. If any firm or insurance carrier has multiple cases that they believe would benefit from long form mediation, and opposing counsel agrees, contact the court so a designated non-Wednesday mediation day can be established. Parties/carrier representatives will be encouraged, and may be required, to appear in person on these days.
  5. Generally, mediations will be assigned a 60-minute time-slot.  However, some cases may be assigned a 30- or 45-minute appointment at the court's discretion.
  6. Parties may request a defendants-only (caucus) session on consent of all sides where needed to discuss coverage issues, indemnity, priority of payment, or joint offer. 

STIPULATIONS OF DISCONTINUANCE AND SETTLEMENT:

  1. Upon settling an action, notify the court of both the amount of the settlement and where the case was settled (before a mediator, between the parties, before Judge Cohen, etc.). 
  2. If there are any outstanding motions, please withdraw the motion or include language that the motions are denied as moot in the stipulation of discontinuance.
  3. Electronic and facsimile signatures are acceptable, provided the stipulation contains language permitting such signatures.
  4. ALL PARTIES and related actions must be accounted for in the language of stipulations, including those that have not appeared, irrespective of whether or not a default has been entered.
  5. Stipulations submitted for judicial signature will be rejected if the judicial signature line appears on a page with no other writing or with only the signatures of the parties.

INFANT COMPROMISES:

  1. Counsel shall be diligent in submitting timely Infant Compromise Petitions after an action is settled.
  2. Counsel should submit revised papers to the court within thirty (30) days after receiving feedback or a deficiency letter from the court. 
  3. If counsel fails to submit revised papers in a timely way, or if the revised submission does not address the prior deficiencies, the petition may be denied.
  4. All compromise hearings are in-person appearances; infants and guardians must appear in person.

MISCELLANEOUS

  1. The Kings County Supreme Court Uniform Civil Term Rules can be located at: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/courts/2jd/kings/civil/KingsCivilSupremeRules.shtml.
  2. For routine matters, please consult the above rules.  Most calendaring questions can be resolved by visiting E-courts (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcivil/FCASMain) or contacting the appropriate Motion Support staff.  After exhausting those options, the LL1/Part 91 Clerk may be contacted.  If your case is assigned to Justice Cohen but calendared in one of the Discovery Parts (i.e. Compliance Conference Part, Final Conference Part), please check the Rules specific to that Part.
  3. Ex parte communications are not permitted except upon the consent of all sides.

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