Part Rules
Resolution Part Rules Trial Part Rules
Resolution Part Rules
Hon. Frances Ortiz
1. All parties and attorneys upon arrival into the courtroom must check in with court personnel. Any party may request a conference with the court by notifying court personnel. No party is required to leave the courtroom to discuss their case with the opposing party.
2. Default calendars will be called as follows:
9:30 a.m. calendar at 11:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m. calendar at 12:00 p.m.
2:15 p.m. calendar at 3:00 p.m.
3. A status call will be conducted as follows:
9:30 a.m. cases where parties have checked in by 11:00 a.m. but fail to address the case by 11:30 a.m. may be defaulted, dismissed or adjourned at the Court’s discretion
11:00 a.m. cases where parties have checked in by 12:00 p.m. but fail to address the case by 12:30 p.m. may be defaulted, dismissed or adjourned at the Court’s discretion
2:15 p.m. cases where parties have checked in by 3:00 p.m. but fail to address the case by 3:30 p.m. may be defaulted, dismissed or adjourned at the Court’s discretion
Parties or attorneys that return to the Part after 12:30 p.m. should not expect to have their matter heard before 1:00 p.m. and may have to return after 2:15 p.m. to be heard.
4. Arguments/Applications shall be submitted to the Court by 11:30 a.m. Any unresolved arguments by 12:15 p.m. may have to return after 2:15 p.m.
5. Inquests will be conducted after 3:00 p.m. Before a default judgment will be entered, after inquest, petitioner must submit proof of nonmilitary status in the form of testimony or affidavit of investigation performed within thirty days (30) of the inquest testimony or submission of the affidavit.
6. Attorneys must file a written legible Notice of Appearance with the Court. The Court will not accept a stipulation, unless a Notice of Appearance has been submitted in the court file.
7. Adjournments must be approved by the Court before they are finalized and can only be adjourned to available dates on the Court’s calendar; otherwise the proposed adjourned date will be rejected by the Court. The reason for the adjournment must be provided to the Court.
8. Discontinuances must be in writing. A discontinuance in a non-payment must indicate the period through which all rent has been paid. If repairs were raised in the non-payment answer, then the repairs should be addressed in a stipulation with access and completion dates.
9. Stipulations must be submitted in legible form to court personnel for review by the Court Attorney and Judge. The parties must remain available to the Court in case the Court requires further discussion or explanation on the proposed stipulation, any proposed changes and other relevant documentation. A zero balance rent breakdown in all non-payment cases must be provided to the opposing party and the Court; otherwise the matter will be adjourned for the proper rent breakdown. Other documentation that may be required where appropriate is an assignment of rent, deed, major capital improvement orders, or lease, if requesting attorney’s fees. If the stipulation includes repairs, it must address an access and completion date.
10. When a case is call by the Court for oral argument, all parties shall take a seat at the counsel table. Parties may approach the bench on matters submitted for allocution of a stipulation.
11. Motions will not be heard solely upon submission. All motions must be orally argued before the Court, once all papers are before the Court.
12. All cases must be conferenced by the Court before being sent out to Part X for trial.
13. The Court will make every effort to promptly address the concerns of any disabled, elderly, ill litigants or parties with young children in the court room and would greatly appreciate such courtesy from the opposing party to prioritize the matter on their calendar.
14. All cell phones must be turned off or placed on silent mode while in the courtroom. There is no talking in the courtroom except while talking to court personnel. If parties need to talk or answer their phones, they may do so outside the courtroom.
15. Court room civility by all parties, attorneys, witnesses and spectators is strongly urged by the Court. Parties should treat each other and court personnel in a respectful and dignified manner which is essential to the administration of justice.
*These rules are subject to modification by the Court.
Trial Part Rules
Hon. Frances Ortiz
PRETRIAL CONFERENCE: Once the matter is assigned to Part N from Part X, the parties are presumed to be trial ready. Trial ready includes having parties and/or counsel present with authority to conference and settle the matter. This also means that the file contains a written answer or general denial and that all motion practice and personal jurisdiction/traverse issues have been completed in the Resolution Part. Then, the court attorney will contact the parties via email with a pre-trial conference date. The conference will be conducted virtually by the court attorney who will assist the parties with the preparation of the Pre-Trial Conference form and discuss procedure for trial evidence. Any request for interpreting services needed at the trial should be made in advance at the pre-trial conference.
PRETRIAL IDENTIFICATION OF EXHIBITS: The parties at the pre-trial conference shall try to attempt in good faith to agree upon exhibits that will be offered into evidence without objection. One week before the trial, unless the Court directs otherwise, the parties are to submit to the Court a list of Witnesses, a list of proposed Exhibits, a list of documents which counsel may stipulate to in evidence, any expert reports, and notices to admit. The parties are encouraged to upload their exhibits onto NYSCEF as soon as possible. Exhibits that may contain protected health information, or other privileged matters, or privacy protected information should not be uploaded to NYSCEF.
DEFAULTS: Defaults and dismissals for 10:00 a.m. trials will be taken at 10:30 a.m. and defaults for 2:30 p.m. trials will be taken at 3:00 p.m.
EVIDENCE: At the trial, the parties must have all their exhibits pre-marked and have copies for the witness, the Court, and the opposing party. Any photographs, texts or emails must be printed out because images on a phone are inadmissible. If parties intend to offer evidence that requires technical equipment or software, they must notify the court attorney at least one week in advance of the trial date. The Court will make every effort to assist the parties subject to the Court’s ability to provide such assistance and resources.
WITNESSES: During the trial, all non-party witnesses must wait outside the courtroom, until they are called in by the court officer for their testimony.
EXHIBITS: Within 30 days of the date of the post-trial decision, parties must pick up their exhibits from the court attorney during courtroom hours and be prepared to sign for the exhibits. Otherwise, the Court will dispose of the exhibits pursuant to Court Directives.
EMAIL COMMUNICATION WITH THE PART: Any email communication with the part shall be sent to the Part N email address which is [email protected] and carbon copied to the court attorney at [email protected] and to all other parties on the matter.
VIRTUAL APPEARANCES: Pre-trial conferences and oral arguments on motions may be conducted virtually. To attend virtually by Microsoft Teams meeting use link https://notify.nycourts.gov/meet/0v9v6b, Conference ID: 475 923 168# or Conference call # (347) 378 – 4143 or toll free # (833) 262 – 7886. Trials are presumptively held in-person. A party may ask the Court to permit part of the trial to proceed virtually based on the specific circumstances of the cases, including an ADA reasonable accommodation request.
*These rules are subject to modification by the Court.
