NY Courts Announce Uniform Scheduling Order For Civil Cases Against NYC

This article was originally published October 11, 2020.

Recently the New York courts announced the implementation of a uniform case scheduling order for all cases in Supreme Court where the City of New York is a party. According to the announcement,

In consideration of the ongoing pandemic, the uniform case scheduling order will be issued at the outset of a case without the need for in-person conferencing. Instead, clerks will enter dates for discovery disclosures once a request for a preliminary conference is filed. To ensure that discovery dates do not conflict with attorney and witness schedules, the clerks will contact the parties to solicit important initial information in all cases. For instance, attorneys may be asked to provide a range of acceptable deposition dates, and to disclose whether the right to a General Municipal Law §50-h hearing has been waived. Once such information is received, it will be entered into the uniform case scheduling order, reviewed by the presiding judge in a designated city part, and issued. Above all else, the uniform case scheduling order offers a blueprint for the court’s desire to offer efficient and predictable outcomes in city cases litigated across the five boroughs.

As we have previously covered, this is one of many steps the courts have taken during the pandemic to attempt to streamline court appearances and reduce foot traffic in the courthouses. A copy of the order is available here.