Southern District of New York Electronic Filing Rules

All attorneys appearing before the Court must file a notice of appearance on ECF.

Source text: Any attorney appearing before the Court must enter a notice of appearance on ECF.

Letters to the Court must be filed electronically on ECF unless otherwise provided.

Source text: Except as otherwise provided below, communications with the Court should be by letter, filed electronically on ECF.

Adjournment/extension requests must be filed on ECF as letter-motions.

Source text: All requests for adjournments or extensions of time must be made in writing and filed on ECF as letter-motions, not as ordinary letters, proposed stipulations, or proposed orders.

Counsel must register promptly as ECF filers and enter an appearance in the case.

Source text: In accordance with the Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions, counsel are required to register promptly as ECF filers and to enter an appearance in the case.

Counsel must update ECF contact information when changed and check docket regularly even without ECF notifications.

Source text: Counsel are responsible for updating their contact information on ECF, should it change, and they are responsible for checking the docket sheet regularly, regardless of whether they receive an ECF notification of case activity.

Discovery dispute letter-motions must be filed on ECF.

Source text: 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 an informal conference.

Parties must file joint letter with proposed Case Management Plan as exhibit on ECF as letter motion, using court form, by Thursday prior week to conference.

Source text: In most cases, the Notice will direct the parties to submit on ECF a joint letter as well as 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. This must be filed on ECF as a letter motion- not a standard letter. The parties shall use the form Proposed Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order available at the Court’s website.

Default judgment motions must be filed on ECF and not via order to show cause.

Source text: 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.

Parties must file all proposed stipulations and orders on ECF using appropriate ECF filing event per SDNY rules.

Source text: In accordance with the S.D.N.Y. Local Rules and the S.D.N.Y. Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions, parties should file on ECF all proposed stipulations and orders that they wish the Court to sign, using the appropriate ECF filing event. See SDNY ECF Rules & Instructions §§ 13.17–19 & App’x A.

Ex parte TRO applications may be emailed to Chambers if ECF is not viable.

Source text: If the party seeking relief believes that Rule 65(b)(1)’s requirements can be met and a temporary restraining order should issue without notice to the adverse party, the party should file its papers on ECF under seal (or, if ECF is not a viable option, by email to Chambers) and then email Chambers providing notice.

Noticed TRO applications must be filed on ECF and Chambers emailed after filing.

Source text: If the party is prepared to seek relief on notice to the adverse party, the party seeking relief should simultaneously file its papers on ECF, serve them on all other parties, and then email Chambers.

Joint pretrial order must be filed on ECF as 'Joint Pretrial Statement' at least 14 days before final pretrial conference, emailed to Court, and include specified sections.

Source text: Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, at least 14 days prior to the scheduled final pretrial conference, the parties shall both file on ECF, as a “Joint Pretrial Statement,” and submit by email to the Court a proposed joint pretrial order, which shall include the following: i. the full caption of the action; ii. the names, law firms, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of trial counsel if not already listed on the docket; iii. a brief statement by plaintiff (or, in a removed case, by defendant) as to the basis of subject matter jurisdiction, and a brief statement by each other party as to the presence or absence of subject matter jurisdiction. Such statements shall include citations to all statutes relied on and relevant facts as to citizenship and jurisdictional amount; iv. a brief summary by each party of the claims and defenses that the party asserts remain to be tried, including citations to any statutes on which the party relies. Such summaries shall also identify all claims and defenses previously asserted that are not to be tried. The summaries should not recite any evidentiary matter; v. a statement as to the number of trial days needed and whether the case is to be tried with or without a jury; vi. a joint statement summarizing the nature of the case, to be read to potential jurors during jury selection; vii. a list of people, places, and institutions that are likely to be mentioned during the trial, to be read to potential jurors during jury selection; viii. a statement as to whether all parties have consented to trial by a Magistrate Judge, without identifying which parties do or do not consent; ix. any stipulations or agreed statements of fact or law to which all parties consent. In a jury case, the parties should memorialize any such stipulations or agreed statements of fact or law in a standalone document that can be marked and admitted at trial;

Electronic copies of exhibits must be submitted with the joint pretrial order but not filed on ECF, with filenames matching exhibit numbers.

Source text: an electronic copy of each exhibit sought to be admitted (with each filename corresponding to the relevant exhibit number—e.g., “PX-1,” “DX-1,” etc.).

Non-jury parties must submit affidavits of direct trial witness testimony to the court by email, serve on opposing counsel, not file on ECF, with exceptions for certain witnesses.

Source text: Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, at the time the joint pretrial order is filed, each party in a non-jury trial shall submit to the Court by email and serve on opposing counsel, but not file on ECF, the following: i. copies of affidavits constituting the direct testimony of each trial witness, except for the direct testimony of an adverse party, a person whose attendance is compelled by subpoena, or a person for whom the Court has agreed to hear direct testimony live at the trial.

Parties unable to e-file sealed documents via ECF may submit letter-motions by email as text-searchable PDF with required subject line and no substantive email body.

Source text: iv. Submission by Email. Any party unable to comply with the requirements for electronic filing under seal through the ECF system, or who believes that a particular document should not be electronically filed at all, shall file a letter-motion seeking leave of the Court to file in a different manner. If the party is unable to file such a letter-motion on ECF or believes there is good cause not to file such a letter-motion on ECF, the party may submit it by email as a text-searchable PDF attachment with a copy simultaneously delivered to all counsel. Any such email shall state clearly in the subject line: (1) the caption of the case, including the lead party names and docket number; and (2) a brief description of the contents of the letter. Parties may not include substantive communications in the body of the email; such communications may be included only in the body of the letter.

Letters to the Court must be filed electronically via the ECF system.

Source text: Letters must be filed electronically on ECF.

Counsel must update ECF contact info and monitor docket activity regardless of ECF notifications.

Source text: Counsel are responsible for updating their contact information on ECF, should it change, and they are responsible for ensuring that they are aware of all docket activity in their cases, regardless of whether they receive ECF notifications.

Letter-motions must be filed via ECF if compliant with local rules; all adjournment, extension, and pre-motion conference requests must be filed as letter-motions.

Source text: M. Letter-Motions. Letter-motions must be filed via ECF if they comply with the S.D.N.Y. Local Rules and the S.D.N.Y. “Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions.” In particular, all requests for adjournments, extensions, and pre-motion conferences (including pre-motion conferences with respect to discovery disputes) must be filed as letter-motions.

TRO motions, supporting documents, and proposed orders must be filed on ECF per ECF Rule 18.2.

Source text: The moving party should then file a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, supporting documents, and a proposed order on ECF in accordance with the procedures found in ECF Rule 18.2.

Default judgments must be filed as motions on ECF per FRCP 55(b)(2) and Local Rule 55.2(b); order to show cause is prohibited.

Source text: Q. Default Judgments. A plaintiff 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 plaintiff seeking a default judgment should not proceed by order to show cause.

Motions for sealed or redacted filings must be electronically filed via the court’s ECF system per applicable rules and orders.

Source text: Motions or Letter Motions for approval of sealed or redacted filings in civil and miscellaneous cases and the subject documents, including the proposed sealed document(s), must be filed electronically through the court’s ECF system in conformity with the court’s standing order, 19-MC-00583, and ECF Rules & Instructions, section 6.

Letters seeking relief should be filed on ECF as letter-motions (not ordinary letters) when permitted by local e-filing rules.

Source text: When permitted by the S.D.N.Y. Local Rules and the S.D.N.Y. Electronic Case Filing Rules and Instructions, letters seeking relief should be filed on ECF as letter-motions, not as ordinary letters.

Letters between parties/counsel not addressed to the Court cannot be filed on ECF or sent to the Court, except as exhibits to proper filings.

Source text: Letters solely between parties or their counsel or otherwise not addressed to the Court may not be filed on ECF or otherwise sent to the Court (except as exhibits to an otherwise properly filed document).