Principal Law Clerk: Gavrielle Kube (gkube@nycourts.gov)
Part Clerk: Karen Harper (kharper@nycourts.gov)
Courtroom: Room 365
360 Adams Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Courtroom Telephone No.: (347) 296-1102
Chambers Telephone No.: (347) 296-1242
Updated: February 7, 2024
ALL motion calendar calls and trials require an in-person appearance.
All discovery matters, including discovery-related motions, are handled in the Discovery Part. They can be reached at: PC/Intake (347) 296-1592; CCP (347) 296-1626; FCP (347) 401-9054.
This Court will not engage in ex-parte communications. All communications with the Court must be on notice to all parties.
MOTIONS
All motions, including Orders to Show Cause, are returnable on Thursdays.
All motions require personal appearances and oral argument. All attorneys and pro-se litigants appearing for oral argument must be prepared, knowledgeable, and familiar with both the pending motion(s) and the underlying case.
Opposition papers must be e-filed no later than two (2) weeks prior to the return date set by the Court. Reply papers (if any) must be e-filed at least one (1) week prior the return date set by the Court. As the CPLR makes no allowance for sur-replies, the Court will not consider them.
Summary judgment motions must be made within sixty (60) days of the filing of the note of issue, pursuant to Kings County Supreme Court Uniform Civil Term Rule, Part C (6).
COURTROOM PROCEDURE
There will be two (2) calls of the calendar. The first call will be at 10:00am. The second call, which is also the default calendar, will be at 11:00am unless the judge is in the middle of hearing an argument, in which case the calendar will be called when the argument has concluded.
If you leave to appear in another part, you must inform the Courtroom Clerk prior to leaving the Courtroom. If all parties are present and ready to argue after either calendar call, and no one is at the bench arguing before the judge, please inform the clerk and your motion will be called soon thereafter.
Motions will be marked off or denied if the moving party fails to appear. If the non-moving party fails to appear, the motion may be granted on default. If there is a failure to timely file papers or a failure to obtain an adjournment in accordance with these rules, the motion(s) may be decided on default.
ADJOURNMENTS
Adjournments of motions must be made by written stipulation, on consent of all parties, e-filed no later than three business days prior to the return date of the motion(s). Do not call or email chambers with stipulations/requests for adjournments. There will be no adjournments by stipulation, without court approval, of motions that have been adjourned two (2) previous times. A party requesting a further adjournment beyond the limit previously stated, must appear in person and make an oral application for the adjournment. Please note that, based on availability of space in the calendar, the court may assign a return date to adjourned motion(s) that is different from the date selected by the parties in their stipulation of adjournment.
COURTESY COPIES OF PAPERS
If decision is reserved after oral argument, the court may direct you to provide hard copies of your papers, your exhibits, or both. If the court directs you to provide hard copies, the papers must be delivered to chambers within two weeks, either by delivering them directly to the courtroom clerk, or by bringing them to the eleventh (11th) floor and asking the court officer to please put the papers in Judge Ward’s mailbox, within two weeks after the motion was argued.
RESOLUTION OF A MOTION, ACTION OR PROCEEDING
The parties may resolve motions by e-filing and emailing to Chambers, a proposed Order, signed by all parties, requesting that it be “So Ordered.” The proposed order must be uploaded to NYSCEF no later than three (3) business days prior to the scheduled appearance. If the Court accepts the uploaded stipulation or adjournment, it will be reflected in eCourts, otherwise the parties must appear in person.
If a motion is resolved by the parties prior to the return date, the movant must upload a letter to NYSCEF, copying chambers, indicating that the motion is withdrawn. If an action or proceeding is settled/resolved, the parties must notify the Court immediately by uploading a stipulation of discontinuance to NYSCEF and copying chambers.
If a case is only partially settled, the stipulation of discontinuance must explicitly state that it is a partial stipulation of discontinuance and must clearly indicate which party or parties have settled or are no longer in the case.
FORMS
Short Form Order
Order Page 2
Joint Trial Order
Consolidation Order
Default Judgment Order
Order Changing Venue
SUBPOENAS AND OTHER REQUSTS TO SO ORDER DOCUMENTS
The court will only consider so ordering a subpoena, for discovery or otherwise, if it is directed to a governmental employee or agency, or in situations where an attorney subpoena will not suffice. If, however, a subpoena from an attorney would be sufficient, the court will not so order the subpoena. All subpoenas to be so ordered must be e-filed with the designation “Subpoena – Request to So Order.” All subpoenas must sufficiently state the reasons underlying the subpoena. Judicial subpoenas must be made returnable to the New York State Supreme Court, Kings County, Subpoenaed Records Room, 360 Adams Street, 6th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
INFANT COMPROMISE ORDERS
Petitions for infant compromise orders, as well as any supplemental submissions, must be filed electronically through NYSCEF and hard copies must be submitted to chambers immediately thereafter. All proposed Infant Compromise Orders must comply with CPLR 1207 and 1208. Hearing dates and times will be scheduled by chambers staff upon submission of all required and requested documents. All parties must appear for a hearing unless their appearance was otherwise waived in writing.
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 liability issues. Further, the submission shall include the infant’s medical reports, a recent physician affirmation, a settlement letter, an incident report (i.e., police report, school accident report…) and an affirmation of no liens. If the infant is fourteen (14) years of age, or older, an affidavit of consent from the infant must be included with the petition.
If any portion of the settlement is structured, the cost of the annuity must be clearly stated in the papers. If a compromise order was previously signed in the action, such order must be attached as an exhibit. Petitions to amend a compromise order 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.
If any portion of the settlement is structured, the cost of the annuity must be stated in the papers. If a compromise order was previously signed in the action, such order must be attached as an exhibit. Petitions to amend a compromise order 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
All cases assigned to Part 9 for trial shall immediately report to Chambers. The Court will conference every case when it is assigned for trial. At the initial conference, each attorney shall notify the Court of any motions in limine, scheduling conflicts, and/or need for interpreters. Plaintiff’s counsel must submit the following at the initial conference:
Marked Pleadings and Bill of Particulars: Plaintiff/Petitioner must furnish to the Court marked pleadings and a copy of the Bill of Particulars, pursuant to CPLR §4012 and Kings County Supreme Court Uniform Civil Term Rules §202.35.
All parties must submit the following at the initial conference:
Exhibits and List of Exhibits: Counsel must pre-mark all exhibits in the order in which they intend to introduce them at trial. A list of the exhibits shall also be provided to the Court at the initial conference. If the exhibit list changes, the party with the changes shall submit an updated list to the court prior to the commencement of the trial. Plaintiffs will number their exhibits and defendants will letter their exhibits. On the day of trial, the exhibits and the exhibit list will be given to the Part Clerk who will officially mark them before trial. It is the responsibility of the attorneys to ensure that subpoenaed records have arrived in the Subpoenaed Record Room.
Witness list: Prior to commencement of the trial, each of the parties shall provide a list of potential witnesses in the order in which they intend to call them at trial, including expert witnesses, a brief description their expertise, and a brief summary of expected trial testimony.
Requests to Charge and Proposed Verdict Sheets: At the first conference with the judge, the parties participating in the trial are required to provide the Court with printed proposed jury charges and printed proposed verdict sheets.
After all parties have rested, but before the case is given to the jury, the Judge will conduct an informal Charge Conference to discuss the various charges that each party has requested, as well as the questions that will appear on the verdict sheet. If a party wants to add or remove charges that they requested before the trial began, they must provide the court and their adversaries with printed copies of the new request to charge prior to the Charge Conference. If any of the charges requested require the party requesting the charge to fill in blank spaces in the charge (e.g. “plaintiff’s contentions, “defendant’s contentions,” etc.) it is the responsibility of the party requesting the charge to provide the Court with the language that they are requesting be inserted into the blank space in the charge. Failure to provide the language for the blank space in the charge may result in the court inserting its own language into the blank spaces, based on the testimony and proof adduced at trial. After the Charge Conference, the court will go on the record to memorialize the discussion at the conference, to review the charges that the court will give to the jury, and to let the attorneys place their objections, if any, on the record.
Deposition Transcripts: If a party plans on utilizing, or thinks that they might have to utilize, a deposition transcript at trial, courtesy copies of the transcript(s) must be provided to the court prior to commencement of the trial.
Motions in Limine: Any potential evidentiary question, procedural question/issue, or substantive law matter not previously adjudicated shall be brought to the Court’s attention and addressed prior to commencement of the trial by way of an oral or written motion in limine. A written memorandum of law with citations to the Official Reports is required. Citations and courtesy copies of relevant court decisions and statutes should be furnished to the Court prior to commencement of plaintiff's case and when otherwise requested by the Court.
Unless otherwise agreed to at the initial conference, trials shall proceed day by day until completed.
PART REMINDER
Judge Ward does not make discovery rulings, so please do not address discovery-related inquiries to chambers, they must the subject of a motion made returnable in the Compliance Conference Part (CCP).
