Principal Law Clerk: Nicole Grieco, Esq.
Assistant Law Clerk: Eugenia Padilla, Esq.
Part Clerk: Charmane Jacob (cjacob@nycourts.gov)
360 Adams Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Chambers Room 1130
Courtroom 561
Courtroom Telephone No.: (347) 401-9405
Chambers Telephone No.: (347) 296-1043
Updated: March 12, 2024
THE COURT WILL NOT ENTERTAIN EX-PARTE COMMUNICATION. ALL PARTIES MUST BE COPIED ON ANY EMAILS TO THE COURT.
The Court will not respond to emails not copied to all parties except where there are personal or exceptional circumstances, for example, security or medical issues.
INQUIRIES
In the first instance, ALL inquiries on a pending case or calendar status shall be made to the PART CLERK, Room 561, Telephone (347) 401-9405. Chambers staff cannot provide guidance or advice to attorneys or litigants.
Telephone calls to Chambers are permitted only in emergencies.
E-FILING
All cases shall be converted to e-filing. Motions will be adjourned if a case is not e-filed.
WORKING COPIES OF E-FILED MOTIONS ARE NOT REQUIRED.
MOTIONS ARE HEARD IN PERSON
Motions are heard IN PERSON every Wednesday in Courtroom 561, at 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, New York. The first call of the calendar is at 9:30A.M. The second call of the calendar is at 10:00A.M. All motions require appearances and oral argument. Attorneys MUST be present at the call of the calendar.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS
STIPULATIONS SIGNED BY ALL PARTIES EXTENDING THE FILING OF A SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION WILL BE ACCEPTED BUT WILL NOT BE SO-ORDERED.
A motion for summary judgment shall be made no later than sixty (60) days after filing the Note of Issue, except with leave of Court on good cause shown pursuant to Brill or by Stipulation of all parties.
ONLY ONE (1) ADJOURNMENT WILL BE ALLOWED ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS. REPLY PAPERS MUST BE SERVED AND FILED ON NYSCEF BY THE FRIDAY BEFORE THE RETURN DATE OF THE MOTION.
MOTIONS – GENERALLY
ALL MOTIONS REQUIRE AN APPEARANCE ON THE RETURN DATE OF THE MOTION.
All adjournments or withdrawals of motions must be emailed to Chambers to ngrieco@nycourts.gov and epadilla@nycourts.gov by noon of the Friday before the return date, otherwise an appearance in person is required. If a party cannot consent, the party must state the reason in a letter to Chambers.
As noted above, only one adjournment will be allowed on Summary Judgment motions.
Supplemental Briefs
Supplemental briefs will neither be requested nor considered, including those previously filed. No sur-reply, affidavits, affirmations, or letters will be accepted or considered.
Discovery Motions
Only MMESP-7 Disclosure motions will be entertained. Disclosure motions for Part 15 cases are to be referred to the Central Compliance Part (CCP).
Parties are encouraged to resolve motions and to present proposed orders for signature.
ORDERS
Proposed orders SHALL be emailed to Chambers on a word document (not pdf) by the Friday after the motion is argued. The Court’s signature line must not appear on a page with no other writing. Failure to comply with the requirements of this section may result in the rejection of the offending submission.
APPEARANCES
Attorneys must make appearances with knowledge of the case and the pending motion.
DEFAULTS
Pursuant to Uniform Rule 202.27, the Court has discretion in addressing a calendar default. Thus, an action may be dismissed, or judgment entered for the failure of a party to appear for an oral argument on a motion, a conference, or a hearing.
Alternatively, a motion may be granted on default upon the failure of the non-moving party to appear or marked off if the movant fails to appear on the return date.
Counsel is advised that if a motion has been marked ready and no one appears to argue the motion when it is called to be heard, a default may be taken against the party who answered "ready" and then failed to appear.
VACATUR OF THE COURT'S ORDER WITHIN 48 HOURS, WITH A SIGNED STIPULATION BY ALL PARTIES, AND EMAILED TO CHAMBERS - Please contact chambers to ensure the stipulation was received and accepted.
CONFERENCES
Parties may request a settlement conference at any time. To request a conference, parties should email Nicole Grieco at ngrieco@nycourts.gov and Eugenia Padilla at epadilla@nycourts.gov. Emails must be on notice to all counsel and include the caption, index number, brief summary of the status of the action, and reason for the requested conference.
MMESP-7 Preliminary and Compliance Conference Calendars
Click here to view the MMESP-7 Preliminary Conference Order template.
Click here to view the MMESP-7 Compliance Conference Order template.
Click here to view the MMESP-7 Status Conference Order and Final Conference No Appearance Calendar template.
PRELIMINARY, COMPLIANCE, STATUS, AND FINAL CONFERENCES DO NOT REQUIRE APPEARANCES. All parties shall complete the appropriate conference template. Discovery issues shall be resolved on consent.
Counsel may stipulate to extend a Note of Issue date on a MMESP-7 case.
The proposed conference orders shall be completed and emailed to Chambers at epadilla@nycourts.gov by noon on the Wednesday following the scheduled conference except for Final Conference No Appearance Calendar matters - see below.
FINAL CONFERENCE NO APPEARANCE CALENDAR
If a proposed PC or CC order is not submitted by noon on the Wednesday following the scheduled conference, the matter will be placed on a Final Conference No Appearance Calendar.
The Final Compliance No Appearance Calendar orders are required on the same day the case appears on that calendar.
Any case on the Final Conference No Appearance Calendar shall be marked Disposed by the Part Clerk if a further discovery order is not submitted to the Part Clerk, Charmane Jacob, at cjacob@nycourts.gov by the end of the day the case appears on such calendar.
If a proposed PC or CC order cannot be submitted on consent, the parties shall request a conference via email and wait to be notified.
PART 15 DISCOVERY
DISCOVERY MATTERS FOR PART 15 CASES ARE CONDUCTED IN CCP.
Chambers will not extend the note of issue on a Part 15 case. Those requests must be made to the Note of Issue-Final Conference Part (NIFCP). Chambers will not adjourn appearances in the Preliminary Conference Part (PC), Central Compliance Part (CCP), or the Note of Issue-Final Conference Part (NI-FCP) on Part 15 cases. Please contact those parts directly.
TRIALS
All counsel shall be present by 9:30A.M. in the courtroom and ready for trial unless otherwise scheduled with the Court.
The Court will conference every case when it is assigned for Trial.
Proposed Jury Charges and Verdict Sheets
All proposed jury charges and proposed verdict sheets shall be emailed to the law clerks: ngrieco@nycourts.gov and epadilla@nycourts.gov as a Microsoft Word document at the conclusion of Plaintiff’s expert’s testimony.
Motions in Limine
At the Pre-Trial Conference, counsel must submit any motions in limine two weeks before the commencement of a trial to the law clerks: ngrieco@nycourts.gov and epadilla@nycourts.gov. Any potential evidentiary question or procedural or substantive law matter not previously adjudicated shall be brought to the Court's attention and addressed prior to trial by way of a written motion in limine. A written memorandum of law with citations to the Official Reports is required. Citations and copies of relevant Court decisions and statutes should be furnished to the Court prior to commencement of plaintiff's case and when otherwise requested by the Court.
Bill of Particulars/Marked Pleadings
Before trial, counsel shall furnish to the Court the Bill of Particulars and the marked pleadings, pursuant to CPLR § 4012.
Exhibits
Counsel shall pre-mark all exhibits in the order they intend to introduce them at trial. A list of the exhibits shall also be provided to the Court before trial. Plaintiffs will number their exhibits and defendants will letter their exhibits. On the day of trial, the exhibits and the list will be given to the Part Clerk, who will officially mark them before trial. It is the responsibility of the attorneys to ensure that subpoenaed records have arrived in the Subpoenaed Record Room.
Objections
Counsel shall RISE when making objections or addressing the Court. In making objections, counsel should initially state the broad ground for the objection, e.g., leading, relevance. If the objection’s basis is unclear, the Court will request further elaboration or argument, which will be conducted at a sidebar conference. Arguments before the jury, either as to objections or the Court rulings, will not be permitted.
Witnesses
Before trial, Counsel shall provide to the Court a list of potential witnesses and addresses (professional witnesses must provide business addresses) in order in which they intend to call them at trial, including expert witnesses, their expertise, and a summary of expected trial testimony.
Interpreters
Counsel shall apprise the Court of the need for an interpreter before the commencement of the trial, especially for a language other than Spanish.
Depositions
A copy of depositions intended to be used at trial shall be furnished to the Court at the commencement of the trial. If any part of a deposition is to be read into evidence (as distinguished from mere use on cross-examination), counsel must, well in advance, provide the Court and all adversaries with the page and line number of all such testimony so that all objections can be addressed prior to use before the jury.
DEATH COMPROMISE and INFANT COMPROMISE ORDERS
THE COURT WILL NOT ACCEPT DEATH COMPROMISE PETITIONS OR INFANT COMPROMISE PETITIONS BY ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE OR NOTICE OF MOTION. THESE PETITIONS MUST BE FILED ON NYSCEF AND A COPY EMAILED TO CHAMBERS.
Where the action does not participate in NYSCEF, petitions shall be filed in the Motion Support Office, at 360 Adams Street, Room 227.
Petitioner MUST email Nicole Grieco at ngrieco@nycourts.gov and Eugenia Padilla at epadilla@nycourts.gov to confirm receipt of the petition/motion and to provide a courtesy copy on non-e-filed actions.
Chambers will schedule infant compromise hearings.
Upon submission of all required documents, a hearing may be scheduled and conducted virtually by way of Microsoft Teams, based on the Court’s discretion. If necessary, chambers will send an email/letter of instruction to request revisions and/or missing documents. Counsel for plaintiff(s) must appear at the hearings with their clients.
The applicant must comply with the requirements of CPLR §§1207 & 1208, Uniform Rule §202.67 and/or EPTL§ 5-4.6.
Pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.5(e)(2), the Court requires that the infant-petitioner’s full name and date of birth appear in the order. Questions or concerns on this matter may be addressed to chambers.
Additionally, all submissions shall include either a letter offering the proposed settlement amount or a stipulation of the parties reflecting same.
Infant Compromise petitions must comply with CPLR §1208. If any portion of the settlement is structured, the cost of the annuity must be stated in the order. The attorney affirmation must account for all defendants named in the caption and indicate dismissals, discontinuances, or defaults in appearances. The infant’s medical reports, a physician affirmation, parent affidavit, any structural settlement documents, and an affirmation of no liens are required with the submissions.
If a Compromise Order was signed as to a previously settling defendant, such order must be attached as an exhibit and the partial settlement so stated in the attorney affirmation in support of the final Compromise Order.
Petitions to Withdraw Funds and petitions to amend Compromise Orders must include a copy of the original Compromise Order and an attorney affirmation detailing the proposed amendment and the reason for it, in addition to any other necessary papers.
Death Compromise petitions shall include the death certificate, retainer agreement, letters of administration, and any lien letters.
