Judge Katharine H. Parker

Letters. Communications with the Court should be by letter filed on ECF except for settlement conference submissions and in camera submissions. Letters may not exceed 3 single-space pages in length (exclusive of exhibits).

Letter motions shall be filed on ECF in accordance with the S.D.N.Y. Local Rules and the S.D.N.Y. Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions. Requests that may be made by letter motion include requests for a discovery conference to address a discovery dispute before formal motion practice, adjournments, extensions, pre-motion conferences, sealing, and requests for a settlement conference. Letter motions are limited to 3 single-space pages (not including exhibits).

Faxes. No faxed communications shall be permitted without prior permission from Judge Parker's Chambers. Faxes must not exceed three pages.

Pro Se Parties. By Standing Order, a pro se party must mail all communications with the Court to the Pro Se Intake Unit located at 500 Pearl St., Room 230, New York, NY 10007. A pro se party may not call Chambers or send any document or filing directly to Chambers. Submissions requiring immediate attention should be hand-delivered to the Pro Se Intake Unit. Unless the Court orders otherwise, all communications with the Court will be docketed upon receipt; such docketing shall constitute service on any user of the ECF system. If any other party is not a user of the ECF system (e.g., if there is another pro se party in the case), a pro se party must send copies of any filing to the party and include proof of service affirming that he or she has done so. Copies of correspondence between a pro se party and opposing parties shall not be sent to the Court.

In some cases, the Court may require a joint pre-conference agenda letter. Joint pre-conference agenda letters shall be limited to 6 pages and filed a week in advance of a conference unless otherwise specified or permitted by the Court.

Any party wishing to raise a discovery dispute with the Court must first confer in good faith with the opposing party, in person or by telephone, in an effort to resolve the dispute. If this meet-and-confer process does not resolve the dispute, the party may submit an ECF letter-motion to the Court, not to exceed 3 pages, explaining the nature of the dispute and requesting a conference. Such letter must include a representation that the meet-and-confer process occurred and state when it occurred. Any responsive letter should be submitted within 3 business days after submission of the letter-motion.

Letters requesting a pre-motion conference should summarize the basis of the motion and follow the procedures for communicating with the Court set forth in Section I. Letters may not exceed 3 pages. Within 3 business days of receipt of the letter, each opposing party may submit a written response of no more than 3 pages.

All moving papers, letter-motions, and letters filed on ECF or emailed to chambers must be in searchable PDF form.

Unless otherwise directed by the Court, no later than 7 days before the Settlement Conference, found at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-katharine-h-parker. Each party also must provide the Court with a letter, not to exceed three pages, summarizing the issues in the case, the settlement value of the case and rationale for it, case law authority relevant to settlement discussions, and any other facts that would be helpful to the Court in preparation for the conference.

A courtesy copy of Ex Parte Settlement Conference Summary Forms and Letters shall be submitted to the Court if the exhibits to the Letter exceed 10 pages. Courtesy copies must be provided no later than one business day after submission of the Form and Letter.

If a party is submitting a video, the clip shall be provided on a thumb drive delivered to Chambers and labeled with a case name and docket number. Alternatively, the clip may be emailed to the Chambers email address noted above.