Southern District of New York Filing Timing and Cure Windows

CRITICAL

Evidentiary hearings in civil matters are conducted according to the Judge’s rules for bench trials, Part VII.F, supra. Thus, no fewer than ten days before an evidentiary hearing, parties should submit (a) sworn witness statements, (b) memoranda of law, and (c) proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Evidentiary hearings in civil matters are conducted according to the Judge’s rules for bench trials, Part VII.F, supra. Thus, no fewer than ten days before an evidentiary hearing, parties should submit (a) sworn witness statements, (b) memoranda of law, and (c) proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

CRITICAL

Wait at least 30 days after service before applying for certificate of default to allow for appearance by mail.

Wait at least 30 days after service is effected to allow for the receipt of an appearance by mail; then

CRITICAL

Deadline

30 calendar days

Unless the Court orders otherwise, each party must file the specified materials 30 days before trial if a trial date is fixed, or within 30 days after filing the joint pretrial order if no trial date is fixed.

Unless otherwise ordered by this Court, each party shall file thirty (30) days prior to the commencement of trial if such a date has been fixed, or thirty (30) days after the filing of the joint pretrial order if no trial date has been fixed:

CRITICAL

Unless the Court orders otherwise, the joint pretrial order must be submitted within 30 days after the date for completion of discovery.

Unless otherwise ordered by this Court, within thirty (30) days after the date for completion of discovery in a civil case, the parties shall submit to this Court, for its approval, a joint pretrial order, which shall include the following:

CRITICALCivil cases

All fact discovery must be completed within a period not exceeding 120 days, unless the case presents unique complexities or exceptional circumstances.

All fact discovery shall be completed no later than ______________________. [A period not to exceed 120 days, unless the Court finds that the case presents unique complexities or other exceptional circumstances.]

CRITICALCivil cases

Contention interrogatories must be served no later than 30 days before the close of discovery; no other interrogatories are permitted without prior express permission of the Court.

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, contention interrogatories pursuant to Rule 33.3(c) of the Local Civil Rules of the Southern District of New York must be served no later than thirty (30) days before the close of discovery. No other interrogatories are permitted without prior express permission of the Court.

CRITICALCivil cases

Requests to admit must be served no less than 30 days prior to the close of fact discovery, absent exceptional circumstances.

Requests to admit pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 36 shall be served by ______________________. [Absent exceptional circumstances, a date not less than 30 days prior to the date set forth in paragraph 7(a).]

CRITICALCivil cases

Motions to amend pleadings or join additional parties must be filed within 30 days following the initial pretrial conference, absent exceptional circumstances.

Any motion to amend or to join additional parties shall be filed within ______ days from the date of this Order. [Absent exceptional circumstances, a date not more than 30 days following the initial pretrial conference.]

CRITICALCivil cases

Initial disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1) must be completed within 14 days of the parties' Rule 26(f) conference, absent exceptional circumstances.

Initial disclosures pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) shall be completed no later than __________ days from the date of this Order. [Absent exceptional circumstances, within 14 days of the parties' conference pursuant to Rule 26(f).]

CRITICALCriminal cases

Deadline

1 business days

When the Government provides a Pimentel letter, Chambers must receive a copy at least one business day before the scheduled plea.

Where the Government is providing a Pimentel letter, a copy of the Pimentel letter must be received by Chambers at least one business day before the scheduled plea.

CRITICALCriminal cases

Deadline

1 business days

A copy of a plea or cooperation agreement ordinarily must reach Chambers at least one business day before the scheduled plea.

When a defendant is pleading guilty pursuant to a plea agreement or a cooperation agreement, a copy of the agreement ordinarily must be received by Chambers at least one business day before the scheduled plea.

CRITICALCriminal cases

Deadline

48 hours

A written bail-modification request must be filed at least 48 hours before the pertinent event or date.

Any written request for a bail modification shall be filed at least 48 hours before the pertinent event or date.

CRITICALCivil cases

A response or opposition to a pretrial memorandum of law is due two weeks after the opening memorandum is filed.

Any response or opposition to a pretrial memorandum of law shall be due two weeks after the filing of the opening memorandum.

CRITICALCivil cases

The parties must jointly file the specified jury-case pretrial documents on ECF and email Microsoft Word versions to Chambers no later than two weeks before trial.

No later than two weeks before trial, the parties shall jointly file on ECF and submit by email to VargasNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov a Microsoft Word version of the following documents:

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

10 calendar days

Within 10 days after a motion to dismiss is filed, the non-moving party must tell the Court whether it will amend its pleading or rely on the challenged pleading.

Upon the filing of a motion to dismiss, the non-moving party is required, within 10 days, to notify the Court whether it intends to file an amended pleading or rely on the pleading being attacked.

CRITICALCivil cases

Unless the Court orders otherwise, expert-exclusion motions under F.R.E. 702–705 and Daubert must be made by the dispositive-motion deadline and should not be treated as motions in limine.

Unless the Court orders otherwise, motions to exclude the testimony of experts, pursuant to F.R.E. 702– 705 and the Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), line of cases must be made by the deadline for dispositive motions and should not be treated as motions in limine.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

3 business days

An opposition to a letter must be filed within three business days after the letter motion is filed.

Any opposition to letters must be filed within three (3) business days of the filing party’s letter motion.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

3 calendar days

Counsel for the removing party must file the state-court docket sheet within three calendar days after filing the notice of removal.

Counsel for the party or parties that removed the case must follow 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a) and file a copy of the state court docket sheet within three calendar days of filing the notice of removal.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

21 calendar days

Within 21 days after the non-moving party amends its pleading, the moving party may answer, file a new motion to dismiss, or notify the Court it will rely on its original motion.

If the non-moving party amends its pleading, within 21 days of such amendment, the moving party may file an answer, file a new motion to dismiss, or notify the Court that it will rely on the initially-filed motion to dismiss.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

10 calendar days

The recusal letter must be filed before any appearance before or application made to Judge Vargas, and in any event no later than 10 calendar days from assignment of the matter.

Prior to any appearance before, or application made to, Judge Vargas in any civil matter in which the United States Attorney or an attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice represents a party—or in any event, no later than ten (10) calendar days from the assignment of any such matter to Judge Vargas—the Government attorney handling the matter shall file a letter on the docket indicating whether, based on the records of the U.S. Attorney's Office, the matter falls within the recusal parameters set forth above.

CRITICALCivil cases

If applicable, the parties must submit a post-discovery joint status letter one week after expert discovery closes.

[If applicable] By _____________ [one week after the close of expert discovery], the parties shall submit a post-discovery joint status letter, as outlined in Section 8(e) of the Court’s Individual Rules and Practices in Civil Cases.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

30 calendar days

A proposed order or stipulation regarding electronically stored information must be filed within 30 days of the order’s date.

Any proposed order or stipulation regarding electronically stored information shall be filed within 30 days of the date of this Order.

CRITICALCivil cases

Any proposed order or stipulation regarding electronically stored information must be filed within 30 days of the Order.

Any proposed order or stipulation regarding electronically stored information shall be filed within 30 days of the date of this Order.

CRITICALCivil cases

The parties must submit a post-fact-discovery joint status letter two weeks after fact discovery closes.

By _____________ [two weeks after the close of fact discovery], the parties shall submit a post-fact discovery joint status letter, as outlined in Section 8(d) of the Court’s Individual Rules and Practices in Civil Cases.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

30 calendar days

Unless the Court orders otherwise, the joint pretrial order and Rule 8(F)–(I) submissions are due 30 days after all discovery closes, or 30 days after a decision on a filed dispositive motion.

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the joint pretrial order and additional submissions required by Rule 8(F)-(I) of the Court’s Individual Rules and Practices in Civil Cases shall be ===== PAGE 4 ===== due 30 days from the close of all discovery, or, if a dispositive motion has been filed, within 30 days of a decision on such motion.

CRITICALCivil cases

Oppositions to summary judgment or expert-exclusion motions must be filed within two weeks after service.

Oppositions shall be filed within two weeks of service of any such motions,

CRITICALCivil cases

If all parties consent to magistrate-judge proceedings, they must submit a fully executed consent and reference notice within three days after submitting the proposed case management plan.

If all parties consent, the remaining Paragraphs should not be completed. Instead, within three days of submitting this Proposed Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order, the parties shall submit to the Court a fully executed Notice, Consent, and Reference of a Civil Action to a Magistrate Judge, available at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/AO-3.pdf.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

1 calendar days

Any reply must be filed within one week after service of the opposition.

and replies, if any, shall be filed within one week of service of any oppositions.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

30 calendar days

Summary judgment and expert-exclusion motions must be filed within 30 days after discovery closes.

The parties shall file any summary judgment motions, and any motions to exclude the testimony of experts pursuant to Rules 702-705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), and its progeny, within 30 days of the close of all discovery.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

30 calendar days

Unless the Court orders otherwise, the parties must submit the Joint Pretrial Order within 30 days after discovery closes or, if a dispositive motion is filed, within 30 days after the decision on that motion.

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, within 30 days of the close of all discovery, or, if a dispositive motion has been filed, within 30 days of a decision on such motion, the parties shall submit to the Court for its approval a Joint Pretrial Order prepared in accordance with the Court’s Individual Rules and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3).

CRITICALCivil cases

Parties must file a proposed Joint Pretrial Order on ECF within 30 days of the Court's decision on a summary judgment motion.

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, within 30 days from the Court's decision on a summary judgment motion, the parties must file on ECF a proposed Joint Pretrial Order.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

3 calendar days

Removing party must file a copy of the state court docket sheet within three calendar days of filing the notice of removal.

Counsel for the party or parties that removed the case must follow 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a) and file a copy of the state court docket sheet within three calendar days of filing the notice of removal.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

3 business days

The letter and completed Electronic Devices General Purposes Form must be filed at least three business days before the appearance.

Counsel seeking to bring a device into the Courthouse for an appearance must, at least three business days before the appearance, file a letter (not letter motion) and completed Electronic Devices General Purposes Form, available at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms/fillable-form-electronic-devices-general-purpose.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

1 business days

Opposing party must inform the Court within one business day of intent to respond and file the response within three business days; reply letters are not permitted.

If the opposing party wishes to respond to the letter, it must inform the Court within one business day that a responsive letter is forthcoming and file the letter within three business days. The same page limits and filing instructions apply. Reply letters are not permitted.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

30 calendar days

Contention interrogatories must be served at least 30 days before discovery closes unless the Court orders otherwise.

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, contention interrogatories pursuant to Rule 33.3(c) of the Local Civil Rules of the Southern District of New York must be served no later than 30 days before the close of discovery.

CRITICALCivil cases

In jury cases, joint requests to charge, joint proposed verdict forms, and joint proposed voir dire questions must be filed simultaneously with the Joint Pretrial Order on the date set by the Court.

If this action is to be tried before a jury, joint requests to charge, joint proposed verdict forms, and joint proposed voir dire questions shall be filed simultaneously with the Joint Pretrial Order on the date set by the Court

CRITICALCivil cases

Daubert motions to exclude expert testimony must be filed at the same time as any dispositive motions in which such testimony is implicated, or on another schedule set by the Court.

Similarly, any motion to exclude the testimony of experts pursuant to Rules 702-705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), line of cases, is to be filed at the same time as any dispositive motions in which such testimony is implicated, or on any other schedule established by the Court.

CRITICALCivil cases

Opposition to a Daubert motion is due two weeks after the motion is served on the opposing party, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, opposition to any such motion is to be filed two weeks after the motion is served on the opposing party

CRITICALCivil cases

The case management plan sets a court-specified deadline for filing a motion, with opposition and reply deadlines also to be specified (dates left blank in this form).

shall file a motion for no later than . Any opposition shall be filed by and any reply shall be filed by .

CRITICALCivil cases

In bench trials, proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law must be filed on or before the Joint Pretrial Order due date.

If this action is to be tried to the Court, proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law shall be filed on or before the Joint Pretrial Order due date in accordance with the Court’s Individual Rules.

CRITICALCivil cases

The joint status letter regarding the status of the case must be filed by Thursday of the week prior to the pretrial conference.

By Thursday of the week prior to that conference, the parties shall file on ECF, and provide a courtesy copy, clearly marked as such, via e-mail (Failla_NYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov) a joint letter, not to exceed three pages, regarding the status of the case.

CRITICALCivil cases

All expert discovery, including reports, production of underlying documents, and depositions, must be completed no later than 45 days after completion of fact discovery, absent exceptional circumstances.

All expert discovery, including reports, production of underlying documents, and depositions, shall be completed no later than ____________________. [Absent exceptional circumstances, a date not more than 45 days from the date in paragraph 6(e) (i.e., the completion of all fact discovery).]

CRITICALCivil cases

Any confidentiality agreement between the parties is to be filed within 30 days from the date of this Order.

Any confidentiality agreement between the parties is to be filed within 30 days from the date of this Order.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

30 calendar days

Any confidentiality agreement between the parties must be filed within 30 days of the order.

Any confidentiality agreement between the parties is to be filed within 30 days from the date of this Order.

CRITICALCivil cases

Any agreement between the parties concerning ESI must be filed within 30 days from the date of the Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order.

Any agreement reached between the parties concerning ESI is to be filed within 30 days from the date of this Order.

CRITICALCivil cases

If all parties consent to proceed before a magistrate judge, they must submit a fully executed SDNY consent form to the Court within three (3) days of submitting the Proposed Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order.

If all parties consent, the remaining paragraphs need not be completed. Instead, the parties shall submit to the Court a fully executed SDNY Form Consenting to Proceed for All Purposes Before a Magistrate Judge, available at the Court’s website, https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-katherine-polk-failla, within three (3) days of submitting this Proposed Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

3 calendar days

If all parties consent to proceeding before a magistrate judge, they must submit the fully executed consent form within three days after submitting the proposed plan and scheduling order.

If all parties consent, the remaining paragraphs need not be completed. Instead, the parties shall submit to the Court a fully executed SDNY Form Consenting to Proceed for All Purposes Before a Magistrate Judge, available at the Court’s website, https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-katherine-polk-failla, within three (3) days of submitting this Proposed Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order.

CRITICALCivil cases

Deadline

3 business days

A responsive letter to a discovery dispute conference request must be submitted within three business days after the request is received.

If the opposing party wishes to respond to the letter, it must submit a responsive letter, not to exceed three pages, within three business days after the request is received.

CRITICALCivil cases

Motions to amend pleadings or join additional parties (which require leave of court) must be filed no later than 30 days after the initial pretrial conference absent exceptional circumstances, and motions filed after that deadline are subject to the Rule 16(b)(4) good cause standard.

Any motion to amend or to join additional parties shall be filed no later than ________________ [Absent exceptional circumstances, a date not more than thirty (30) days following the initial pretrial conference. Any motion to amend or to join additional parties filed after this deadline will be subject to the “good cause” standard in Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4) rather than the more lenient standards of Fed. R. Civ. P. 15 and 21.]

CRITICALCivil cases

All fact discovery must be completed no later than 120 days following the initial pretrial conference, unless the Court finds unique complexities or other exceptional circumstances.

All fact discovery shall be completed no later than __________________. [A date not more than 120 days following the initial pretrial conference, unless the Court finds that the case presents unique complexities or other exceptional circumstances.]