Hon. Patria Frias-Colón: Rules Municipal Parts 20 & 25, IAS Part 31

Municipal Parts 20 & 25, IAS Part 31 Rules

Supreme Court - Civil Term
Municipal Parts 20 & 25, IAS Part 31
360 Adams Street, Courtroom 461
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Updated: March 31, 2023

Unless otherwise indicated by the Court, all Motions must be heard in person, via Teams video/audio, or in Hybrid fashion (one party appears in person and another party appears virtually). All appearances will continue be heard every Wednesday.  FIRST Calendar Call is 9:30am, and SECOND Calendar Call will be at 10:30 am.

Access Microsoft Teams with the standing link.

All Motions that are Ready for Argument must be fully briefed, including Reply Papers (if any), seven (7) days prior to the return date.  Applications by Order to Show Cause are Exempt from this requirement.  Please also note that all discovery matters for Parts 20/25 are handled in the City Discovery Part (CDP), whose contact phone number is 347-401-9264.

PARTS 20 AND 25 MOTIONS AND ARGUMENT:

Parts 20 and 25 Motions are heard on alternating Wednesdays.

Filing of Papers: All Motions must be filed electronically through the New York State Court Electronic Filling system (NYSCEF) and if not E-filed, then must be converted to E-filing if possible.  Additional information regarding E-filing, including NYSCEF registration and tutorials, can be found on the Unified Court System (UCS) website.  The Court does not require courtesy copies for NYSCEF cases.

Non-E-filed Motions: In the rare instance where the action does not participate in NYSCEF, Motions must be mailed to the Motion Support Office at 360 Adams Street, Room 227, and NOT to Chambers.

Under all circumstances, unless otherwise stipulated or Ordered, Motion papers, Answering Affidavits and Reply Affidavits must be served on the parties in accordance with CPLR §2214 or the most recent Administrative Order.  Supplemental briefs will be accepted only with express prior permission of the Court.

Calendaring of Motions: Upon receipt of a motion, the motion will be placed on the Court’s motion calendar (the motion calendar date) but not necessarily on the return date specified in the Notice of Motion.

Adjournments on Consent: The parties may request an adjournment by written stipulation that must be filed with the Kings County Clerk’s office (or with the NYSCEF system if the case is E-filed) no less than five (5) business days before the Motion Calendar Date.  The Stipulation must account for all parties in the caption. If a named party in the caption is not being sent a copy for any reason (e.g., the party has not appeared in the action, the action has been discontinued against that party, etc.) the reason for the exclusion must be stated in the stipulation.  A courtesy copy of the stipulation must be emailed to the Court by emailing hlriley@nycourts.gov and kysmith@nycourts.gov and copying your adversaries and, aside from listing the calendar date and number currently scheduled, the Adjournment Stipulation date must not be more than six (6) weeks from the return date and may be modified further by the Court.

Contested Adjournments: An oral application to adjourn a motion may be made before the Court on the return date of the motion.

Motions to be Relieved as Counsel: All motions to be relieved as counsel, like all other Motions, are to be heard on the return date.  Counsel must notify their client(s) and opposing counsel of that appearance in writing at least seven (7) business days prior to said appearance and E-filed.

Default Motions: Unless otherwise indicated and until further notice, Default Motions are to be heard on the return date and are no longer taken on submission.  Motions may be decided on default if there is a failure to file papers and appear, a failure to submit a consent Order, or a failure to obtain an adjournment.

Orders: At the conclusion of oral argument, the Court will direct a party or the parties to submit a proposed Order in Microsoft Word document format.  These draft Orders are to include: the Index number, the NYSCEF document number, calendar date and number, motion sequence number, and where an Order is issued on consent or without opposition, indicate that as well. The proposed Order must be emailed to hlriley@nycourts.govv and kysmith@nycourts.gov and all parties must be copied on said email or indicate that no other party has appeared in the action.  If a named party in the caption is not being sent a copy for any reason (e.g., the party has not appeared in the action, the action has been discontinued against that party, etc.) the reason for the exclusion should also be stated in the Order.

WITHDRAWALS/RESOLUTIONS OF MOTIONS:

Any party wishing to withdraw a Motion must notify the Court by filing a notice of withdrawal in the NYSCEF system and emailing a courtesy copy to Court via email to hlriley@nycourts.gov and kysmith@nycourts.gov at least five (5) business days  before the Motion calendar date or as soon as such resolution is reached, whichever is sooner.

If the parties have resolved a Motion pursuant to a Stipulation, a copy of the Stipulation must be filed in NYSCEF and emailed to the Court at hlriley@nycourts.gov and kysmith@nycourts.gov immediately upon said resolution, prior to the return date. The Stipulation must account for all parties in the caption. If a named party in the caption is not being sent a copy for any reason (e.g., the party has not appeared in the action, the action has been discontinued against that party, etc.) the reason for the exclusion is to be stated in the Stipulation.  You will receive an email notification from the Court by if your stipulation is accepted. If you do not receive notification from the Court, the parties must appear on the scheduled return date.

If after full submission of a Motion, the parties resolve said Motion by written Stipulation of Settlement, the parties must promptly file said Stipulation with the Kings County Clerk’s office (or with the NYSCEF system if the case is E-filed) within five (5) business days of its execution and also email a courtesy copy to hlriley@nycourts.gov and kysmith@nycourts.gov.

If a case has been settled in full or in part, the parties shall E-file in the NYSCEF system and email a copy of said Stipulation to the Court at hlriley@nycourts.gov and kysmith@nycourts.gov no more than three business (3) days after the settlement, or prior to the next court date, whichever occurs first.

SUBPOENAS:

All subpoenas shall be approved by the subpoenaed records room located on the 6th floor. Only after said approval shall subpoenas be E-filed via NYSCEF.

INFANT COMPROMISE AND WRONGFUL DEATH PROCEEDINGS:

Petitions, as well as related supplemental submissions, for Infant Compromise Orders must be E-filed via NYSCEF, together with a Stipulation of Discontinuance.  Hearings will be scheduled after submission of all required documents.

Infant Compromise Petitions must comply with CPLR §1208 and 22 NYCRR §202.67.  The Attorney Affirmation must account for all Defendants named in the caption and indicate Dismissals, Discontinuances or Defaults in appearances.  The Affirmation must include a detailed description of the incident and all liability issues.  Further, the submission shall include the infant’s medical reports, a Physician Affirmation, a Settlement Letter, an Incident Report (i.e., police report, school accident report, etc.) and an Affirmation of no liens.

If any portion of the settlement is structured, the cost of the annuity must be stated in the papers.  An Affidavit of Consent Form from an infant fourteen (14) years or older must be included in the Petition and filed with the Court.

If a Compromise Order was previously signed in the action, such Order must be attached as an exhibit.  Amendments to Compromise Orders must include a copy of the original Compromise Order and an Attorney Affirmation detailing the proposed amendment and the reason for it, in addition to any other necessary papers.

TRIALS AND EBT RULES:

Upon assignment of a trial before Judge Frias-Colón, attorneys must provide the following documents via email:

• Exhibits: Attorneys must pre-mark all exhibits in the order they are to be introduced at trial.  All parties shall provide the Court and all counsel a list of their respective exhibits in numerical order from Plaintiff(s), and in alphabetical order from Defendant(s).
• Witness list: Attorneys shall exchange and provide the Court with their witness lists, with the names in order of their anticipated appearances.
• Requests to Charge and Verdict Sheets:  Attorneys shall submit to the Court at hlriley@nycourts.gov and kysmith@nycourts.gov their respective requests to charge and verdict sheets as soon as the case is assigned to Hon. Patria Frias-Colón.
• Scheduling:  Assigned trials will be scheduled directly through Chambers.  Generally, trials will not be conducted on Wednesdays when the Court is hearing the Part 20 or 25 calendar.
• EBT Rulings:  Requests on EBT rulings shall be made to Chambers via email with opposing counsel copied on said email.

QUESTIONS AND/OR INQUIRIES:

All inquiries must be emailed to Principal Law Clerk Holly Riley at hlriley@nycourts.gov and Assistant Law Clerk Kyle Smith at kysmith@nycourts.gov.  In the subject line of the email, please write in capital letters the word “INQUIRY” followed by the “INDEX NUMBER” of the case and then the last name of the Plaintiff/Petitioner followed by the name of the first Defendant/Respondent that appears in the action, i.e., “INQUIRY: INDEX xxxx/yyyy PLAINTIFF v. DEFENDANT”.  Except for cases that are on trial before Justice Frias-Colón, the court part, calendar number and date the case was last on or is next on should be included in the body of the email. This email must be copied to all parties in the action or indicate that no other party has appeared in the action.  If a named party in the caption is not being sent a copy for any reason (e.g., the party has not appeared in the action, the action has been discontinued against that party, etc.) the reason for the exclusion should be stated in the email.  In the body of your email please include the full caption with the names and contact information for all parties.  Chambers will do its best to respond to all emails within three (3) business days.