FOR CITY CASES
COURT NOTE
SUMMARY OF AUTOMATED DIFFERENTIATED CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Effective February 20, 2001, the Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County will begin operation of an automated Differentiated Case Management Program for cases in the City inventory, i.e., those in which the City of New York is a party. Not included in this group of cases are special proceedings and City contract cases. The aims of the Program are to expedite cases, minimize litigation expense, conserve the time of counsel, promote the processing of cases in a manner that is efficient but also just, and permit the City Justices to concentrate the bulk of their time on the resolution of substantive issues and trial of City cases. Under this Program, an initial discovery schedule can be issued without the need for appearance in court by counsel. Fax and e-mail technology will be utilized. In place of costly and time-consuming motion practice, conferences will be conducted to resolve discovery disputes. Case Management Coordinators, who are senior, highly experienced court clerks specially selected for this task, will be available to assist attorneys to resolve discovery disputes quickly.
This approach to case management will be applied in City cases in which the RJI was filed from December 14, 2000 on.
Upon the filing of a request for judicial intervention and a request for a preliminary conference, the following procedures will be utilized to schedule discovery in the case. If the RJI is filed with a non-discovery motion, this process will be followed after disposition of the motion assuming that the decision does not dispose of the case. If the RJI is filed with a discovery motion, the motion will be referred to the Case Management Office for the scheduling of a conference or the issuance of a Case Scheduling Order.
Instead of requiring that attorneys appear in court for a preliminary conference, the court will issue and transmit to the parties a Case Scheduling Order. City cases are presumed to be standard cases under the Differentiated Case Management ("DCM") regime (Uniform Rule 202.19), meaning that discovery is to be completed within 12 months from filing of the RJI. However, where the RJI is accompanied by a motion, 12 months will be allowed for discovery commencing from the time the motion is resolved, if the case remains active after the decision. The Order will contain deadlines that have been determined to be appropriate to these cases. This form of Order was the product of extensive consultations between representatives of the City of New York and plaintiffs' counsel on this court's Tort Advisory Committee. This Order will be transmitted by the Case Management Office to counsel by fax, e-mail or regular mail. Counsel will be afforded a reasonable period of time within which to challenge the designation of the case as a standard matter and any aspect of the discovery schedule set out in the Order. All such challenges shall be brought to the attention of the Case Management Coordinators in the first instance. A conference will promptly be arranged by the Coordinator to resolve the difficulty. If good reason is presented for doing so, modifications will be made to the order. However, failure to raise objections within the period fixed will result in waiver of those objections. If no objections are raised, the parties need not appear in court and the Order as framed will govern future disclosure in the case.
Counsel are advised that the deadlines set forth in the Order must be taken seriously. Failure to comply with the Order may well result in the imposition of a penalty, such as waiver of the discovery, a financial sanction, preclusion, and the like.
In the event any disclosure dispute arises, the parties are required to consult one another in a good faith effort to resolve it without the need for court intervention. Should such consultation fail to produce a resolution, the party aggrieved shall promptly, prior to the deadline in question, and before making a motion, inform the Case Manager of the existence of the dispute. The Case Manager will promptly schedule a conference at a convenient date and time.
Conferences about discovery problems and compliance conferences will take place before Judicial Hearing Officers or Court Attorneys specially designated for this purpose. In the event that the problems raised cannot be resolved in this fashion, the matter will be referred to the assigned Justice.
The court will transmit reminder notices to the parties during the course of discovery. The purpose of these notices is to provide reminders of critical upcoming discovery deadlines so that busy counsel do not inadvertently fall into non-compliance with the court's Order.
Upon the filing of the note of issue, City cases will be assigned to the City Trial Assignment Part. These cases will be conferenced by the City TAP Justice, who will explore settlement with the parties. If settlement is not reached, the cases will be scheduled for a Last Clear Chance conference. Cases in which settlement is not reached at the Last Clear Chance conference will be set down for, and will be sent out for, trial two weeks later. Counsel should understand that that trial date is a firm date and counsel must be ready to proceed on that date. For further information on the Last Clear Chance program and the firm trial date procedure, see the separate Court Note on that subject.
Attorneys who have questions about this Program may obtain additional information from a Coordinator by calling (212) 748-0909.
Dated: February 14, 2001
HON. STEPHEN G. CRANE
ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE
[ Home ] [ General Information ] [ Representing Yourself ] [ Courthouse Operations ] [ County Clerk Operations ] [ Justices ] [ Courtroom 2000 ] [ Appellate Term ] [ Phone Listing ] [ Directions ] [ News & Announcements ] [ Decisions On Line ]