New York Supreme Court, Westchester County Document Format Requirements

CRITICAL

Motion papers and all correspondence must include the index number assigned to the action.

Motion papers and all correspondence must indicate the index number assigned to the action.

CRITICAL

Proposed verdict sheets must be submitted in Word format and emailed to the Judge’s Confidential Secretary at the stated address.

In addition, the proposed verdict sheet(s) shall be submitted in Word format and emailed to the Judge’s Confidential Secretary at rsutherl@nycourts.gov.

CRITICAL

Jury-charge proposals must be prepared in Word format and emailed to the Judge’s Confidential Secretary at the stated address.

In addition, such proposals shall be prepared in Word format and emailed to the Judge’s Confidential Secretary at rsutherl@nycourts.gov.

CRITICAL

Format

DOCX

The proposed verdict sheet must be emailed to the stated address in MS Word format.

The proposed verdict sheet shall also be submitted to 9jd-judgesquirrell@nycourts.gov in MS WORD format.

CRITICAL

Any audio or visual exhibits submitted in support of a motion must be provided on a USB drive and filed under NYCRR 202.5-b(d)(7).

If any party submits any audio/visual exhibits in support of a motion, such submission must be submitted to the Court on a USB drive and filed in accordance with NYCRR 202.5-b(d)(7).

CRITICAL

Applies to

Post trial motion

Post-trial motions under CPLR 4403 or 4404 must include a copy of the trial transcript.

Motions brought by a party after jury trial pursuant to CPLR 4403 or CPLR 4404 must be supported by a copy of the trial transcript.

CRITICAL

A proposed verdict sheet must be finalized and typewritten in a form suitable for submission to the jury.

A proposed verdict sheet must be in a final typewritten form sufficient to submit to the jury.

CRITICAL

Every paper submitted in connection with a motion must bear page numbers.

All papers submitted in connection with motions shall bear page numbers.

CRITICAL

The verdict sheet must be in final, typewritten form so that it may be given to the jury by the court.

The verdict sheet shall be in a final, typewritten form, which may be used given by the court to the jury.

CRITICAL

Format

DOCX

Proposed verdict sheets must be submitted in Word format and emailed to the Judge’s Principal Law Clerk, Ray Mechmann.

In addition, the proposed verdict sheet(s) shall be submitted in Word format and e-mailed to the Judge’s Principal Law Clerk Ray Mechmann at jmechman@nycourts.gov.

CRITICAL

Format

DOCX

Jury-charge proposals must be prepared in Word format and emailed to the Judge’s Principal Law Clerk.

In addition, such proposals shall be prepared in Word format and e-mailed to the Judge’s Principal Law Clerk at jmechman@nycourts.gov.

CRITICAL

The available court motion templates must be used in residential foreclosure cases involving a defaulted homeowner.

Motion templates available at https://www.nycourts.gov/forms/foreclosure/index.shtml relevant to residential foreclosure cases where the homeowner has defaulted must be utilized.

CRITICAL

The trial notebook must contain an index of all contents and the listed sections in the specified order.

The trial notebook shall contain an index identifying all contents of the trial notebook. The trial notebook shall contain, in this order, the following: proposed witness list; proposed exhibit list, including the exhibits; marked pleadings; Bills of Particulars; all medical narrative reports exchanged by the parties; all expert disclosures served pursuant to CPLR 3101 (d); memoranda of law concerning any procedural, evidentiary, or other legal issue, which the parties anticipate the Court will need to determine; requests to charge; and proposed verdict sheet.

CRITICAL

A motion working copy must include all supporting documents and exhibits with external tabs.

The working copy of a motion must include all documents filed in support of the motion, including exhibits with external tabs.

CRITICAL

Unless the court permits otherwise, motion papers and Orders to Show Cause must be typewritten in at least 12-point type, double-spaced, and fully legible, including exhibits.

Except by permission of the Court, all motion papers and Orders to Show Cause must be typewritten (minimum 12-point type), double-spaced, and entirely legible, including exhibits.

CRITICAL

Pretrial deposition or examination transcripts included as exhibits must contain only single, front-facing pages, and manuscripts may not be submitted.

Deposition/Examination before Trial transcripts included as exhibits must be single, front-faced pages only. Parties shall not submit manuscripts.

CRITICAL

Each party may submit no more than fifteen VEC exhibits unless the Court approves otherwise, and each exhibit must be uploaded separately.

Each party is limited to fifteen (15) exhibits, unless otherwise approved by the Court, and each exhibit must be uploaded separately using the VEC.

CRITICALCivil cases

The proposed verdict sheet must be typed and submitted in final form for presentation to the jury.

The verdict sheet is to be typed and in final form for presentation to the jury.

CRITICALCivil cases

The parties' contentions must be submitted on one typed, single-spaced page as soon as possible after trial begins.

2) Contentions of the parties on one typed page, single spaced.

CRITICAL

Format

DOCX

The parties must email Word-format copies of moving and responsive affidavits or affirmations and memoranda of law to Tamar Veltauri no later than the motion's return date.

The parties shall forward copies of the moving affirmations/affidavits and memorandums of law and responsive affirmations/affidavits and memorandums of law (in WORD format to Tamar Veltauri at tveltauri@nycourts.gov on or before the return date of the motion.

CRITICAL

Plaintiffs must number exhibits, defendants must letter them, and a party should continue its designation system across subsequent submissions.

Plaintiffs shall designate exhibits by number, defendants shall designate exhibits by letter. Exhibit lettering or numbering should not begin anew for subsequent papers submitted by the same party.

CRITICAL

Deposition or examination-before-trial transcripts submitted as exhibits must be single-sided.

Deposition/Examination Before Trial transcripts included as exhibits must be single sided only.

CRITICAL

Affirmations, affidavits, and memoranda of law must have consecutively identifiable numbered pages.

All affirmations, affidavits and memoranda of law must contain numbered pages.

CRITICAL

Social security numbers in documents uploaded to NYSCEF must be formatted as xxx-xx-____.

All social security numbers contained in any documents uploaded onto NYSCEF shall be set forth in the following format: xxx-xx-____.

CRITICAL

Affirmations, affidavits, and memoranda of law must contain consecutively numbered pages.

All affirmations, affidavits, and memoranda of law must contain numbered pages and comply with CPLR 2106.

WARNING

Format

DOCX

If the parties cannot agree on a verdict sheet, each side must present its proposed verdict sheet in Microsoft Word format.

If agreement cannot be reached, then each side shall present a proposed verdict sheet in Microsoft Word format

WARNING

The verdict sheet must be in final, typewritten form for possible use by the court when giving it to the jury.

The verdict sheet shall be in a final, typewritten form, which may be used given by the court to the jury.

WARNING

All motion papers must be legible and should be typewritten and double-spaced; exhibits must be labeled, and hard copies must have tab markings.

All motion papers submitted to the Court, including orders to show cause, must be legible, and should be typewritten and double-spaced, with all exhibits labeled (and, in the case of hard copies, affixed with tab markings).

WARNING

Applies to

Working copy

Working copies are not required unless specifically directed; when required, the working copy must include the NYSCEF Confirmation Notice as a firmly fastened cover page.

A. Working Copies: This Part does not require working copies unless otherwise directed in a particular matter. In the event that the Part requires a working copy, the working copy shall have the Confirmation Notice generated by the NYSCEF system, showing that the documents have been e-filed, firmly fastened thereto as a cover page.

WARNING

Citations to exhibits longer than 10 pages must identify the page number containing the cited information.

Reference to exhibits longer than 10 pages shall indicate the page number on which the information cited is contained.

WARNING

Exhibit numbering or lettering must continue from the previous filing rather than restart within a motion or cross-motion.

Within a single motion (or in cases of a cross-motion), exhibit numbers/lettering shall continue from the last filing and not start anew.

WARNING

Trial notebooks must be assembled in three-ring binders with sequential section tabs, using numbered tabs for plaintiffs and lettered tabs for defendants.

Trial notebooks shall be assembled in three-ring binders, with sequential tabs dividing each section. Plaintiff(s) shall use numbered tabs. Defendant(s) shall use lettered tabs.

WARNING

An exhibit without page numbers must be bates-stamped.

Any exhibit not containing page numbers shall be bates-stamped.

WARNING

The party opposing a motion shall use numbers/letters opposite of those used by the moving party.

The party opposing a motion shall use numbers/letters opposite of those used by the moving party.

WARNING

Working copies are not accepted in NYSCEF cases unless the court directs otherwise.

For all NYSCEF cases, working copies are not accepted, unless otherwise directed.

WARNING

A tabbed Trial Notebook must be provided at the Pre-Trial Conference, with exhibits placed in a separate tabbed binder.

At the Pre-Trial Conference, the Court shall be provided with a Trial Notebook with the following included with tabs for each section (except for exhibits which shall be in a separate binder with tabs):

WARNING

References to exhibits longer than 10 pages must identify the cited information’s page number, and an exhibit without page numbers must be Bates-stamped.

Reference to exhibits longer than ten (10) pages shall indicate the page number on which the information cited is contained. Should the exhibit not contain page numbers, the exhibit shall be bates-stamped.

WARNING

Working-copy bindings and fastenings must not obscure or omit document content, and heavy-duty staples may not be used.

Bindings or fastenings either on the top of left-side of the page shall not encroach upon, delete, or otherwise omit the content of the papers. Do not bind papers with heavy-duty staples.

WARNING

Citations to legal authority must use the official citation.

Citations to legal authority must be to the official citations.

WARNING

Plaintiffs must number their exhibits, defendants must letter their exhibits, and the same party should continue its exhibit lettering or numbering across subsequent papers.

Plaintiffs shall designate exhibits by number; Defendants shall designate exhibits by letter. Exhibit lettering or numbering should not begin anew for subsequent papers submitted by the same party.

WARNING

Working copies of proposed judgments, orders, and separation agreements must be separated from the motion submission.

Working copies of proposed judgements, orders and separation agreements must be separated from the motion submission for ease of uploading.

WARNINGCivil cases

When feasible, parties must also submit the proposals by e-mail in a format compatible with Microsoft Word or WordPerfect.

If it is feasible, such proposals shall also be submitted via e-mail to llubell@nycourts.gov such as is compatible with Microsoft Word or WordPerfect.

WARNING

Format

PAPER

The required pre-trial memoranda must be submitted both in hard copy and as a word document emailed to the Part Clerk.

On the date of commencement of the Trial, the parties shall submit: 1) pre-trial memoranda of law compliant with 22 NYCRR § 202.20-h [a] (both in hard copy and word document emailed to the Part Clerk);

WARNING

Format

PAPER

The jury-trial submission of proposed jury charges and special verdict sheets must be made in hard copy and as word documents emailed to the Part Clerk.

On the date of commencement of the Trial, the parties shall submit: 1) pre-trial memoranda of law compliant with 22 NYCRR § 202.20-h [a] (both in hard copy and word document emailed to the Part Clerk); 2) a copy of all expert reports; 3) for jury trials, proposed jury charges and special verdict sheets (both in hard copy and word document emailed to the Part Clerk);* 4) a joint stipulation regarding undisputed material facts, issues/ claims that have been resolved and/or withdrawn and issues/claims remaining to be tried; 5) witness lists compliant with 22 NYCRR § 202.37; 6) exhibit books compliant with 22 NYCRR § 202.20-h (b); 7) pre- marked exhibits compliant with 22 NYCRR § 202.34; and 8) all Motions In Limine.

WARNING

Deposition or examination transcripts included as exhibits must be single-sided, and manuscript transcripts may not be submitted.

Deposition/Examination Before Trial transcripts included as exhibits must be single-sided only. Parties may not submit manuscript transcripts.

WARNING

Papers submitted for the Court's signature must identify the document on the signature page at least two lines below the signature line.

All papers which are submitted for signature by the Court shall be identified on the signature page at least two lines below the signature line, so that the document being signed by the Court can be identified. Example: Jones v Green Acres, LLC, Index #, Type of Document.

WARNING

Papers submitted for the court’s signature must identify the document on the signature page at least two lines below the signature line.

All papers which are submitted for signature by the Court shall be identified on the signature page at least two lines below the signature line, so that the document being signed by the Court can be identified. Example: Jones v Green Acres, LLC, Index #, Type of Document.

WARNING

Citations must reference an official state reporter whenever one is available.

All citations must be to an official state reporter, if available.

WARNING

Every uploaded document must be properly identified.

Documents shall be properly identified.

WARNING

c. Format your documents to ensure that the date and signature line is not the only content on the final page.

c. Format your documents to ensure that the date and signature line is not the only content on the final page.

WARNING

Exhibits must be uploaded as separate, properly identified documents rather than contained within an affirmation or other uploaded document.

Exhibits shall be uploaded separately and properly identified. (For example, an Affirmation shall be uploaded and identified as such and any exhibits referenced therein shall be uploaded as separate documents and NOT contained within the uploaded affirmation).

WARNING

Social security numbers should appear in the masked format xxx-xx-____.

d. Social security numbers should be set forth in the following format: xxx-xx-____.

WARNING

Counsel and self-represented parties must pre-mark all exhibits, with agreed exhibits marked for admission subject to court approval and all nonconsented exhibits marked for identification only.

Counsel and any self-represented party must meet with the assigned Court Reporter to pre-mark all exhibits for identification. Any exhibits whose admission is agreed to by the parties must be pre- marked for admission, subject to Court approval. All exhibits not consented to shall be marked for identification only.

INFO

Working copies are not required unless the Part directs them in a particular matter, and any required working copy must have the NYSCEF Confirmation Notice firmly fastened as a cover page.

This Part does not require working copies unless otherwise directed by this Part in a particular matter. In the event that this Part requires a working copy, the working copy shall have the Confirmation Notice generated by the NYSCEF system, showing that the documents have been e-filed, firmly fastened thereto as a cover page.

INFO

Parties are requested, but not required, not to submit minuscripts.

Parties are requested not to submit minuscripts.

INFO

The court recommends using the NYS UCS website format for the Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law and Judgment of Divorce.

a. The Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law and Judgment of Divorce should be in the format found on the NYS UCS website.