Civil Term - I.A.S. Part 4, Courtroom 66

Commercial Division Part B

Supreme Court of the State of New York, Queens County

88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York 11435

Courtroom 66

Courtroom: 718-298-1214

Chambers: 718-298-1212

Fax: 718-298-1107

Commercial Division Part B Email: QNSCDPTB@nycourts.gov

Principal Law Clerk: Nicole McGregor Mundy, Esq.

Part Clerk: Eric Kang

Secretary: Joann Lopresto

Commercial Division Pre-Trial Conference: Mondays at 10:00 a.m.

Preliminary Conferences: Mondays at 11:30 a.m. (Room 314)

Compliance Conferences: Commercial Division - Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m.

Non-Commercial Division - as scheduled by the court (Room 3002)

Motion Calendar: Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. (First call) and 11:00 a.m. (Second Call)

All inquiries regarding motions must be made to either Motion Support (718-298-1009), the Ex Parte

Office (718-298-1018), or the Clerk of the Part (718-298-1214 ).

NO TELEPHONE INQUIRIES CONCERNING MOTIONS OR APPLICATIONS MAY BE MADE TO

CHAMBERS.

DO NOT MAKE ANY INQUIRES VIA E-MAIL TO THE COURT.

GENERAL

1. All parties or their counsel must familiarize themselves with these Part Rules and the Rules

of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court (22 NYCRR 202.70).1

2. Counsel and litigants (represented or self-represented) are advised that Justice Grays, her

Law Clerk, and the Part Clerk may not engage in any ex parte communications.

3. To create opportunities for attorneys knowledgeable with the subject matter of the action

before the Court, and who historically have been under-represented in the Commercial

Division and I.A.S. Part, courtroom participation by such attorneys is strongly encouraged.

1 The Commercial Division Rules are available at:

http://ww2.nycourts.gov/rules/trialcourts/202.shtml#70.

This can be achieved, for example, by having a less senior attorney, who prepared the brief

on a motion, argue the motion before Justice Grays.

4. The Part Clerk is unable to accept deliveries between 1:00p.m. and 2:00p.m., or after

4:30p.m.

5. Counsel MUST notify the Court as soon as practicable, by conference call or letter, of the

settlement or resolution of active cases or pending motions, so as to avoid the unnecessary

use of court resources on matters that are resolved or will imminently be resolved.

ELECTRONIC FILING AND COURTROOM TECHNOLOGY

1. All cases in IA Part 4/Commercial Division Part B are required to be electronically filed

through the New York State Courts E-Filing (NYSCEF) system. Attorneys are expected to

familiarize themselves with the NYSCEF procedures at

http://iappS.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/Login.

2. All e-filed documents must be text-searchable. All electronically-submitted memorandum of

law must contain bookmarks, pursuant to Commercial Division Rule 6. The submission of

documents containing hyperlinks is strongly encouraged.

3. Courtroom 66 is equipped with up-to-date Integrated Courtroom Technology (ICT). The Courtroom Modernization Initiative (CMI) Courtroom instructions, which attorneys and

litigants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with, are attached as Exhibit A to this Part

Rules. Any attorney who intends to utilize the ICT equipment during a trial or hearing, MUST

notify the Part Clerk at least fourteen (14) days prior to the trial or hearing, and should

contact the Part Clerk to schedule a date and time to come in to the courtroom prior to the

trial or hearing to test-run the equipment.

ADJOURNMENTS 1. All adjournments (motions, conferences, trials) require prior court approval. EX PARTE

APPLICATIONS FOR ADJOURNMENTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

2. Requests to adjourn a conference, in the first instance, shall be directed to the Part Clerk at

(718) 298-1214. The parties must first consult with the Part Clerk before selecting a new

date for the conference. Applications to adjourn a conference SHALL be made at least 24

hours in advance of the scheduled conference.

3. All Court-approved stipulations to adjourn a matter must be filed by the parties.

CONFERENCES AND DISCOVERY DISPUTES

1. Only attorneys thoroughly familiar with the case may appear for a conference. The attorneys

should bring signed copies of all prior decisions, orders and stipulations that are relevant to

the issue(s) to be discussed at the conference.

2. Counsel and litigants must follow the directions below when appearing for a Preliminary or

Compliance Conference:

a. Counsel for all parties must consult prior to a Preliminary or Compliance

Conference about: (i) the resolution of the case; (ii) discovery and any other

issues to be discussed at the conference; and (iii) the use of Alternative

Dispute Resolution to resolve all or some of the issues of the litigation

(Commercial Division Rule 8).

b. After filling out the appropriate form, counsel must check-in with the Court

Attorney-Referee (Preliminary Conference) or Part Clerk (Compliance

Conference) and submit the completed form to the Part Clerk. For

Compliance Conferences, the Park Clerk will then call the case when the

Court is ready to conference the matter.

MOTION PRACTICE 1. Except for discovery motions, no prior permission is required before making a motion.

Justice Grays does not accept Commercial Division Rule 24 letters unless expressly

requested. Prior to making a discovery motion, parties must call Chambers to arrange a

mutually convenient date and time for a conference call.

2 Commercial Division motions shall have the words “COMMERCIAL DIVISION” clearly

and conspicuously marked on the Notice of Motion or Order to Show Cause by the

moving party. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN THE

MOTION BEING DENIED.

3. IN NON-ELECTRONIC FILED CASES, the moving papers shall be filed in the Motion

Support Office at least five business days prior to the scheduled return date in order to be

placed on the I.A.S. Part 4/Commercial Division Part B motion calendar for the day noticed.

4. Answering papers, including cross-motions, affirmations in opposition and reply affirmations,

will be accepted only on the return date in the Part. THE COURT WILL NOT CONSIDER

PAPERS SENT TO CHAMBERS OR TO THE PART AFTER SUBMISSION OF THE

MOTION, NOR CROSS-MOTIONS THAT DO NOT HAVE PROOF OF PAYMENT OF THE

APPROPRIATE FEE (CPLR §8020(a)).

5. No motion relating to disclosure will be accepted without an affirmation of good faith as

required by 22 NYCRR §202.7.

6. Orders to Show Cause with requests for temporary restraining orders, including requests for

a temporary stay of an action, will generally not be heard ex parte (See 22 NYCRR

§202.70(f); 22 NYCRR §202.70, Rule 20).

7. Request for Commissions should be made by stipulation, if possible.

8. Word limits specified in Commercial Division Rule 17 will be strictly enforced, unless

permission to expand the word limits is granted in advance of the filing of the papers.

9. All Memorandum of Law must include a Table of Contents and a Table of Authorities.

10. Each exhibit to the motion papers must be e-filed under its own documents number and

include a short label identifying the nature of the exhibit (e.g., Complaint, Contract dated

1/1/19, etc.).

11. Appearance of counsel and pro se litigants is MANDATORY on all disclosure motions (i.e.

Motions to Vacate and Strike a Note of Issue, Motions to Strike Pleadings, Motions to

Preclude). The motions will be heard for all purposes in the Part on the return date. On that date, the motion will be conferenced by the Justice or her Law Clerk with the expectation that

the issues will be resolved by stipulation. Papers will not be accepted from calendar

service inasmuch as a personal appearance by counsel and pro se litigants is required.

12. Appearance of counsel and pro se litigants is also MANDATORY on all Orders To Show

Cause, and motions which seek to continue a temporary restraining order or to extend the time to file a Note of Issue. Papers will not be accepted from calendar service inasmuch

as a personal appearance by counsel and pro se litigants is required.

13. Appearances are not required on any other motions except as set forth above, or unless

otherwise directed by the Court.

14. Applications for adjournments, on consent or otherwise, will be entertained only at the call of

the calendar, and will not be entertained by mail, e-mail, e-filing, fax or telephone.

Calendar service or non-attorneys (except pro se litigants) will not be permitted to make

applications for adjournments. Applications for an adjournment will be granted as a matter of

right for the first time. No further applications will be granted without permission of the Court.

Counsel must make every effort to notify their adversaries of their intention to seek an

adjournment.

15. Any attorney appearing on a case for any purpose MUST be familiar with the case, and

ready and authorized to resolve any and all issues.

MOTION PAPERS

1. All motion papers submitted shall be in compliance with 22 NYCRR §202.5, concerning

papers filed with the court. In addition to the requirements of 22 NYCRR §202.5, all pages

are to be numbered and all paragraphs are to be numbered. All exhibits must be

proceeded by a numbered exhibit tab which protrudes from the stack of papers. All

submissions must be securely fastened so as to prevent the papers from separating

from each other and becoming lost. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE

REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OR DENIAL OF THE

OFFENDING SUBMISSION.

2. Any party annexing a deposition transcript in excess of one hundred (100) pages as an

exhibit to a motion not e-filed, shall submit such transcript on a disc or flash drive in lieu of

paper, with the motion.

3. Any party who files a motion and/or opposition and reply thereto pursuant to the NYS courts

electronic filing (“e-filing”) SHALL PROVIDE THIS COURT WITH WORKING COPIES OF

THE DOCUMENTS FILED ELECTRONICALLY, WHICH SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE

PART CLERK ON THE FIRST NOTICED RETURN DATE OF THE MOTION. EACH

WORKING COPY SHALL INCLUDE, FIRMLY AFFIXED THERETO, A COPY OF THE

CONFIRMATION NOTICE RECEIVED FROM THE NYSCEF SITE UPON THE

ELECTRONIC FILING OF SUCH DOCUMENT (22 NYCRR §202.5-B(d)(3)(II)).

4. If the Court directs that an order be settled or submitted on a motion in an E-filed case, the

proposed order and any proposed counter-order shall be filed with the court on-line with

proof of service. Working copies of all proposed orders MUST be submitted to the Motion Support Office before an Order can be reviewed by the Court. As appropriate,

the Clerk may make changes on the proposed Order/Counter-Order.

FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION MAY RESULT IN

REJECTION OR DENIAL OF THE OFFENDING SUBMISSION OR THE SUBSTANTIAL DELAY IN

PROCESSING THE SUBMITTED DOCUMENTS.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR)

1. If, at any point, the parties decide that they would benefit from the Commercial Division ADR

program, they should write a joint letter to the Court asking to be referred to ADR.

2. The Court may also order parties to the Commercial Division ADR program without the

parties’ request or consent.

3. For more information regarding the ADR program, please visit:

http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/comdiv/ny/ADR_overview.shtml .

CONFIDENTIALITY ORDERS/SEALING DOCUMENTS

1. For Commercial Division cases, any Order regarding the confidential exchange of information

must adhere to the proposed Stipulation and Order for the Production and Exchange of

Confidential Information that appears in Appendix B to the Rules of Practice for the

Commercial Division (22 NYCRR §202.70(g), Rule 11-g)1.

2. If the parties wish to deviate from the form set forth in Appendix B to the Rules of Practice for

the Commercial Division, they must do so in compliance with 22 NYCRR §202.70(g), Rule

11-g(b).

3. Applications to seal documents shall include the nature of the document, the reason for the

sealing request, and “good cause” therefore (22 NYCRR §216.1). The Court will consider

applications to seal documents only by Order to Show Cause or Notice of Motion, not by

stipulation.

TRIALS 1. Each counsel or pro se litigant must submit to the court, prior to the commencement

of trial, the following:

(a) marked pleadings

(b) all prior Decisions/Orders in the case

(c) a witness list

(d) an exhibit list

(e) any Notice to Admit, with response(s)

(f) any Bill of Particulars

(g) in the case if a jury trial, a proposes verdict sheet, and a jury instruction request listing all

requested Pattern Jury Instruction (PJI) sections from the most current volume and proposed

verdict sheet. You may list the section by number only if it does not call for any characterization of

the evidence or the contentions of the parties. Otherwise, if the section does call for such

information, you must supply such description of evidence or contention in writing. While this Court

prefers jury instruction requests contained in either the Pattern Jury Instruction or the Jury

Instructions in Commercial Litigation, if any party requests other language not based on the PJI or

the Jury Instructions in Commercial Litigation, that party MUST provide the proposed language in

writing, along with the appropriate citation(s) and copies of any cases upon which they rely for the

requested language.

2. Each party must notify the Clerk of the Part, at least one month prior to the

commencement of the trial, if any proposed witness needs an interpreter, and if so,

the language and any dialect.

3. It is the duty of counsel, not court personnel, to make sure all subpoenaed

documents have arrived in the subpoenaed records room.

4. Motions in Limine (non-Commercial Division cases) – On the first appearance in

the Part for trial, any party intending to make a Motion in Limine shall submit a brief

written affirmation setting forth the nature of the application and any supporting

statutory or case law. The party shall furnish the court with the original motion papers

and provide counsel for all parties each with a copy.

5. The trial will be conducted on a continual daily basis until conclusion, unless otherwise instructed by the Court.

6. No adjournments or delays of the trial will be allowed unless exigent

circumstances exist.

COMMERCIAL DIVISION CASES 1. The call of the Pre-Trial Conference calendar and the Trial calendar will be held on

Mondays, at 10:00 a.m., unless otherwise directed.

2. The parties shall comply with the relevant pre-trial conference and trial rules as required by

22 NYCRR §202.70, and must supply the Court, at the time of the Pre-Trial Conference,

with a copy of the marked pleadings.

3. Motions in Limine - Any party intending to make a motion in limine shall fully comply with

Rule 27 of 22 NYCRR §202.70. Motions in Limine which are not timely made will not be

considered by the Court.

4. Where a party is represented by counsel, an attorney fully familiar with the case shall appear

at the Pre-Trial Conference.

5. A firm trial date will be set at the Pre-Trial Conference. Any application for an adjournment of

the trial must be made in person on the date set for trial,and will only be granted upon a

showing of good cause.

SETTLEMENTS AND DISCONTINUANCES

1. If an action is settled, discontinued or otherwise disposed of, counsel shall immediately

inform the court by submission of a copy of the stipulation or a letter directed to the Clerk of the Part.

All Stipulations of discontinuances must be accompanied by proof of payment of the appropriate fee

(CPLR §8020(d)(1)).

1. Any attorney or pro se litigant desiring a copy of the Court’s decision must submit a stamped,

self-addressed envelope with the motion papers or at the conclusion of trial.

PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE 1. A Preliminary Conference shall be scheduled (1) automatically by the Court within 45 days

after filing a Request for Judicial Intervention, pursuant to 22 NYCRR §202.12(b); or (2) upon

filing a written Request for a Preliminary Conference with the Clerk’s Office, Room 140, in

compliance with 22 NYCRR §202.12(a); or (3) when an appropriate notice is filed in

malpractice or certiorari cases pursuant to 22 NYCRR §202.56 and §202.60; or (4) in

compliance with 22 NYCRR §202.70 - Rule 7 for Commercial Division cases.

2. All preliminary conferences will be held on Monday at 11:30 a.m. at the Preliminary

Conference Part, Room Number 314, of the courthouse, and they are presided over by the

court attorney-referee, unless otherwise directed by the Court. Failure to appear at the

scheduled preliminary conference may result in discovery being ordered ex-parte or any

other appropriate sanction including preclusion or dismissal.

3. Any inquiry pertaining to preliminary conferences shall be made to the Preliminary

Conference Part at (718) 298-1046.

COMPLIANCE CONFERENCES 1. For all Non-Commercial Division cases, compliance conferences shall be held on the date

scheduled in the Preliminary Conference Stipulation and Order. Conferences shall be held

before Justice Maureen Healy in Room 313.

2. For all Commercial Division cases, compliance conferences shall be held before Justice

Grays in Courtroom 66. The call of the calendar will be held on Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m.

DECISIONS

Queens Supreme Court

CMI Courtroom Presenting Evidence Using the Smartboard

Contents Presenting Evidence using the Smart Board .................................................................................................... 10

Presenting with USB or CD-ROM ................................................................................................................. 10

Presenting Evidence with the Document Camera ........................................................................................... 11

Annotate the Document in Microsoft Edge ..................................................................................................... 16

How to use the PDF Toolbar ........................................................................................................................ 16

1. Fit to Page ................................................................................................................................... 16

2. Layout .......................................................................................................................................... 17

3. Zoom ........................................................................................................................................... 18

4. Rotate .......................................................................................................................................... 18

How to use the Annotation Toolbar ............................................................................................................ 19

How to Save the Annotated Document ....................................................................................................... 20

Presenting with the Whiteboard ..................................................................................................................... 21

How to Copy and Paste to Whiteboard ....................................................................................................... 21

Using the Whiteboard Toolbar .................................................................................................................... 22

5. Marker ......................................................................................................................................... 22

6. Highlighter ................................................................................................................................... 22

7. Erase ............................................................................................................................................ 22

8. Undo\Redo .................................................................................................................................. 23

How to Resize the Image ............................................................................................................................. 23

How to Save in the Whiteboard ................................................................................................................... 24

How to Clear the Whiteboard ...................................................................................................................... 25

Queens Supreme Civil CMI Courtroom Presenting Evidence using the Smart Board

Presenting with USB or CD-ROM How to open using USB

1. Insert the memory stick into the USB port located on the back-left side of the monitor.

2. From the Launcher menu, single tap the USB option (Figure 1).

3. Double-tap to open the desired file (Figure 2).

How to open using CD-ROM Drive

1. Insert the disk in CD/DVD ROM Drive located on the back-left side of the monitor.

2. From the Launcher menu, tap on CD Drive to open Windows Explorer (Figure 1).

3. Double-tap to open the desired file (Figure 2).

Figure 1-Launcher in Quick Launch Menu

Figure 2- Files in Windows Explorer

Presenting Evidence with the Document Camera 1. Turn on the Epson document camera by pressing the Power button on the Control Panel.

2. From the QuickLaunch menu, tap the Doc Camera app.

3. The screen will then display the document camera feed. To switch to the document camera, tap the Camera icon.

4. At the document camera, align the center of the document to the Arrow Mark located in the front

lower left corner of the Document Camera.

If needed, slide the Lamp Switch to Illuminate the document. This changes the LED lamp status to

bright, dim, or off.

5. To zoom in or out on part of the image, press the Zoom or button on the document camera or

remote control.

6. Press the Focus button on the document camera or the Auto Focus button on the remote control.

Your document is automatically focused.

7. To adjust the brightness of the image while projecting from the document camera, press to

increase brightness and to decrease it.

8. To turn off the document camera, press the Power button located in the Control Panel.

The screen will then display the following message. Press the Power button a second time to confirm

Yes, you want to turn off the camera.

Annotate the Document in Microsoft Edge The PDF file will open in the Microsoft Edge browser where evidence can be presented using the

PDF and Annotation tools. To open the tools, tap on Add Note.

This will open the Toolbars:

How to use the PDF Toolbar

Fit to Page Use this tool to display the document in full length (A) or to expand the document to the edge of the

web page (B).

(

A

)

(

B

)

Layout

Use the Layout tool to change whether a multi-page document displays as two pages or a single page.

1. Select Double Page Layout, to display two pages at a time. By default, the pages will scroll left to

right.

2. Select Single Page Layout, to display a single page. To change the scrolling default, turn on

Continuous Scrolling to scroll up and down.

A third option is to tap the Fit to Screen tool, which will enlarge the document to the full size of the

monitor. To exit full screen, press the Fit to Screen option a second time.

Zoom There are 2 ways to resize a document:

• Pinch two fingers to zoom in or out to decrease or enlarge the size of the document.

• Use the - and + Zoom tools.

Rotate This tool enables you to rotate a document clockwise or counter-clockwise.

How to use the Annotation Toolbar 1. Select the Pen to annotate the document while presenting.

2. To change the pen color, click on the Pen to open the color palette. Tap to select the desired Color.

3. Within the color palette, you can change the thickness of the pen’s line. To do this, drag the Bar to

increase or decrease the line thickness.

4. To highlight text, select

the Highlighter tool. Then

tap on the first word and

drag to the end of the

paragraph or sentence to

highlight.

5. To change the highlighter color, tap on the Highlighter and select the Color.

6. To erase an annotation, select the Eraser and tap on the written or annotated section to erase.

(

A

)

(

B

)

How to Save the Annotated Document 1. Tap anywhere on the document for the PDF toolbar to appear.

2. Click on the Save As tool.

3. This will open Windows Explorer, where you can choose the location to Save from the navigation

bar.

Presenting with the Whiteboard To open the whiteboard, tap the Whiteboard Icon in the Launcher menu. Use the pen to write on

the whiteboard.

How to Copy and Paste to Whiteboard 1. In the Launcher menu, tap Snip Screen.

2. The entire screen will turn gray.

3. Drag the pen around the text or image to draw a dotted square, selecting the area you want to copy

or snip.

4. Next, press and hold anywhere on the whiteboard to select where you want the text or image to be

placed.

5. The following Options Menu will appear. Tap the icon to Paste.

Using the Whiteboard Toolbar

Marker Tap a colored Marker to begin writing.

Highlighter Tap the Highlighter to highlight items on the whiteboard.

Erase To erase, tap the Eraser icon and move the pen or your hand over the text you want to remove.

Undo\Redo Select the Undo\ Redo to undo or redo your last action on the whiteboard.

How to Resize the Image Select the Lasso tool when you want to resize an image.

1. Use the Pen to draw a circle around the text or image (A). Then lift the pen.

2. Once the pen is lifted, an Options Menu and a White Dot (B) will appear at the lower right.

3. Tap and drag the White Dot to enlarge or minimize the text or image.

4. To move text or an image, tap the text/image until it appears as if it’s “lifted off the whiteboard”, showing

a shadow around the text/image. Keeping the pen on text/image, drag to the new location on the

whiteboard.

(A)

D

ra

w

C

i

r

c

l

e

(B) Options Menu and a

White Dot

How to Save in the Whiteboard To save the whiteboard changes, tap on the Options Gear and select Export Image.

This will open Windows Explorer, where you can choose the location to Save from the Navigation Bar.

How to Clear the Whiteboard To clear the whiteboard, tap on the Options Gear and select Clear Canvas.

NEW YORK STATE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM

Courtroom Modernization INITIATIVE SIGN

What is a CMI Sign?

It is a sign that indicates the courtroom is among the first courtrooms in New York State to meet the

minimum CMI standard by including a high-speed Wi-Fi internet connection, a functional

audio system, electrical outlets and charging stations for the counsel tables. Additionally, a

mobile evidence presentation system with video conferencing capability is available in the

courtroom.

Where is the Sign located?

The CMI sign will be located outside of each CMI compliant courtroom. Both the public and litigants

will be able to use their personal smartphone to scan the QR code on the sign and access

the Judge’s Part Rules or the Judge’s biography. The information will instantly load on the

smartphone screen without the need to search the web.

How to scan the QR code using a mobile camera?

Simply open your camera app on your mobile device and point at the QR code.

What will I see on my device (iOS, Android)?

You will see a small highlighted frame surrounding the QR code and a prompt for you to select the

code.

Tapping the prompt will deliver you directly to the Judge’s Part Rules or the Judge’s biography.

IOS Android