Motions for Summary Judgment

Motions for summary judgment and responses must comply with with Local Rules 56.1(a) and 56.1(b), as well as the procedures outlined here.

The Local Rules are not mere technicalities. The Court expects strict compliance.  Failure to do so may result in the Court striking briefs, disregarding statements of fact, deeming statements of fact admitted, and granting or denying summary judgment.

Absent prior leave of court, the movant must not file more than 80 statements of undisputed material facts and the respondent shall be limited to 40 statements of undisputed material facts. In complex cases, the Court may request that the parties submit a timeline of events in addition to statements of undisputed material facts.

All statements of undisputed material facts and their responses shall be filed separately from the memoranda of law and must include the line, paragraph, or page number where the supporting material may be found in the record.

Courtesy copies of exhibits to summary judgment motions and responses, if requested, must be organized in three-ring binders or spiral bound, with a table of contents and labeled tabs.

Motions to strike are generally disfavored. If a party contends that another party has included inadmissible evidence, improper argument, or other objectionable material in a Local Rule 56.1 submission, a request for the Court to disregard such material should be raised in the party’s response or reply brief, not a separate motion to strike.

Deposition Testimony Evidence

Parties submitting deposition testimony are to provide a cover sheet to the deposition stating (a) the name of the witness, (b) the date of the deposition, and (c) the deponent’s title and/or role in, or relationship to, the pending litigation (e.g., “John Doe, plaintiff's human resources manager” or “Jane Doe, plaintiff's union representative”). Parties should not simply file the entire transcript of the deposition testimony submitted in support of their respective positions, but instead should provide only the relevant excerpted portions referenced in the party's motion papers, preferably in the condensed transcript format where multiple deposition transcript pages are reduced to one page. Copies of deposition exhibits should not be attached unless specifically referenced in the motion papers.