Unless otherwise ordered, matters before Judge Wiles shall be conducted in accordance with any Case Management Order entered in the case and, to the extent not inconsistent, the following practices: Scheduling Pursuant to Local Rule 5070-1, a moving party or applicant must contact Chambers to obtain a hearing date prior to filing and serving a motion, cross-motion, application or any other request for relief requiring a hearing. All scheduling requests should be directed to Jacqueline DePierola, Courtroom Deputy. Requests for relief requiring a hearing that are filed without first obtaining a hearing date will not be acted on. Parties may not grant extensions of time on briefing without prior consent from Chambers. Adjournments will be granted if -agreed to by all parties and approved by Chambers or, -after consent is sought and denied, granted by the Court after a request to Chambers (wiles.chambers@nysb.uscourts.gov), copied to the other side, and stating the basis for the request. Requests for adjournment should be made no later than 12 noon on the business day before the scheduled hearing; requests made after that time will be granted only where good cause exists for the untimely request. Any adjournment made prior to the original hearing date must be noticed with the filing and service of a "Notice of Adjournment" prior to the original hearing date. A hearing will not be officially adjourned until the Notice of Adjournment is filed on the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) System. Orders to Show Cause Parties must contact Chambers prior to filing a proposed order to show cause or motion to shorten time. (See Local Rule 9077-1(a)). Counsel should be prepared to submit the following documents for the Court's review: a copy of the underlying motion, proposed order to show cause (in Word or WordPerfect format only) and a supporting affidavit. If the request for an order to show cause is granted, the papers must be filed on the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) system. The Court will contact the movant regarding the disposition of the requested order to show cause. Injunctive relief will not, except in a demonstrated emergency, be granted without the party against whom relief is sought being given an opportunity to be heard. Notices of Presentment Parties wishing to move by notice of presentment should consult Local Bankruptcy Rule 9074-1 to determine what matters may be handled on presentment. The rule also describes the notice and filing requirements when presenting a motion or application by presentment. Motions for relief from stay will not be considered on presentment. Parties do not need to contact Chambers to schedule a date and time for presentment. The Court will schedule a hearing in the event there is an objection filed or if it is determined to be necessary. After the applicable objection period has passed, the underlying motion and an electronic version of the proposed order in Word or WordPerfect format should be submitted to Chambers at wiles.chambers@nysb.uscourts.gov on the day on which the motion is scheduled for presentment. The cover email must contain a representation that (i) the movant sought relief by notice of presentment and (ii) the objection period has passed and no objections were filed. Unless they are part of the Word document, the email must also attach any exhibits or attachments to the proposed order in PDF format. The proposed order should also state, if accurate, that no objections have been filed. Submission of Orders Proposed orders may be submitted either by mail or by email; however, submission by email is preferred. The email or cover letter should contain the following information: a.The name, telephone number and email address of the person submitting the order. b.The case name and the ECF document numbers of the relevant motion papers. c.If the relief was granted by the Court, a representation that the relief was granted and the date on which it was granted. d. If exhibits are to be attached to the proposed order, they should be clearly labeled and submitted in PDF format (unless they are part of the Word document). Proposed orders submitted by email should be sent to wiles.chambers@nysb.uscourts.gov (link sends e-mail) in Word or WordPerfect format only. Proposed orders submitted by mail should contain a hard copy of the order, accompanied by a CD Rom or flash drive containing an electronic copy of the order in Word or WordPerfect format. Proposed orders should not be emailed to individual members of Chambers or the Clerk's Office, unless you are instructed to do so. Timing of submission: If a motion does not require a hearing or presentment, then proposed orders should be emailed or sent to Chambers at wiles.chambers@nysb.uscourts.gov at the time the moving papers are filed. For motions on presentment, proposed orders should be emailed or sent to Chambers on the date of presentment. For other motions, unless otherwise directed by the Court, proposed orders should be emailed or sent to Chambers after the Court grants the requested relief. 2004 Orders Requests for 2004 orders may be submitted ex parte but the Court in its discretion may require notice and a hearing. Ordinarily, an order should be without prejudice to objections as set forth in the sample form of order attached. Sealing Orders Requests for filing and maintaining information under seal may be submitted ex parte and must indicate the grounds for sealing and for proceeding ex parte. A party requesting permission to file information under seal must submit to Chambers an unredacted copy of the relevant document, which should be clearly labeled “confidential.” the document must be in unredacted form, highlighting the portions proposed to be redacted. redactions should be the minimum necessary to protect information that is truly confidential. if redactions are excessive, the motion will be denied in its entirety. After the sealing order has been entered, the requesting party must provide to the Office of the Clerk of Court: the signed sealing order with the docket entry number of the order; one paper copy of the unredacted document to be sealed; thumb drive storage device which contains a "pdf" version of the unredacted document The redacted version should be filed on the docket. The proposed sealing order must contain one of the following two provisions i. The unredacted version shall not be made available to any party without the sealing party’s consent, may not be filed on the public docket, and shall remain under seal until the closing of the case or entry of the final decree. Upon closure, the Clerk’s Office is directed to release any hard copies or electronic storage device of the [Sealed Document] to the [Sealing Party] for disposal; OR ii. The unredacted version shall not be made available to any party without the sealing party’s consent, may not be filed on the public docket, and shall remain under seal until further order of the Court. Every sealing order must state that the movant shall submit an unredacted copy of the [Document] to the Clerk of this Court under seal in an envelope, clearly indicating that the same has been filed under seal by order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Every proposed sealing order must provide, in substance, that it is without prejudice to the rights of any party in interest, or the UST, to seek to unseal the document or any part of it. Conferences Requests for conferences should ordinarily be made by letter emailed to wiles.chambers@nysb.uscourts.gov, together with a follow-up call to Jacqueline DePierola, Courtroom Deputy at (212) 668-5663. The letter requesting the conference should ordinarily be filed on the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) System. The letter should include the reason for the conference request and must be no longer than two pages in length. If a telephonic conference is granted, Chambers will advise if the parties should (i) submit a conference call-in number and passcode to Chambers; (ii) set up a conference call and at the time of the conference call Chambers after all other participating parties are on the line; or (iii) participate in the conference via Courtcall. Form and Content of Briefs Unless ordered otherwise, briefs and motions with embedded argument and citations shall be submitted in text searchable format and include a table of contents, headings, and a table of authorities. Unless ordered otherwise, moving and responsive briefs shall ordinarily be no more than 40 pages in length, and reply briefs no more than 15 pages, in each case exclusive of the table of contents and table of authorities. No courtesy copies to Chambers of briefs or motions are required unless Chambers instructs otherwise. Retention Applications Retention Applications -- Parties must email Chambers a copy of retention applications, which highlights any of the following provisions(and also highlights or provides clear reference to exactly where the provisions are in the engagement letter): limitations on liability indemnification provisions limitations on amounts or kinds of damages reimbursement of attorneys’ fees arbitration jurisdiction If a hard copy is provided instead and the materials are otherwise voluminous, the highlighted pages should be flagged. "First Day" Motions Parties wishing to schedule hearings on "first day" motions in Chapter 11 cases should contact Chambers on the date of filing to discuss scheduling of the hearing. In addition to ECF filing their “first day” motions, parties should submit one hard copy in advance of the hearing. The best notice practical must ordinarily be provided to the Debtor's 20 largest unsecured creditors and principal secured creditors. The Court will not ordinarily schedule a hearing on "First Day" motions until the second day of the case, at the earliest. It is expected that Debtor's counsel will have consulted with the United States Trustee in advance regarding all relief to be requested at the First Day Hearing. If multiple debtors seek an order allowing joint administration of their cases, counsel should email chambers at wiles.chambers@nysb.uscourts.gov as soon as practicable after the cases are filed a Word or a Word Perfect version of the proposed order and, in the cover email, indicate whether or not the United States Trustee has consented to the proposed joint administration. Evidentiary Hearings and Trials Unless otherwise directed by the Court, the parties shall exchange pre-marked exhibits no less than fourteen days before trial. Unless otherwise directed by the Court, parties are required to submit to the Court a joint pretrial order at least seven days before the trial date. The required form of the joint pretrial order can be found here. Motions in limine ordinarily must be filed at least fourteen days before trial, with responses due seven days before trial. Unless otherwise directed by the Court, parties are required to submit to the Court their exhibits to be used at trial at least seven days before trial, along with a table of contents clearly identifying each exhibit. Adversary Proceedings Parties in adversary proceedings should be prepared at the first pretrial conference to agree to a joint pretrial scheduling order. A form pretrial scheduling order may be found here. Counsel should also consult, in particular, the rules regarding Evidentiary Hearings and Trials. Discovery Disputes Pursuant to Local Rule 7007-1(b), discovery motions may not be filed until the parties have (a) conferred among themselves to resolve the dispute and (b) participated in a conference with the Court. Parties should contact Chambers to schedule a conference, which may be telephonic. Prior to any request for a conference on a discovery issue, the party requesting the conference is required to make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute with opposing counsel consistent with Local Rule 7007-1(a). Telephonic Appearances Unless the Court provides otherwise, parties wishing to participate in a hearing telephonically must register with Court Solutions. Attorneys seeking to participate must be admitted to the Court or admitted pro hac vice. (See Local Rule 2090-1). Information on how to register with Court Solutions can be found here on the Court's website. Additional instructions are attached to General Order M-543, which can be found here. Parties that wish to "listen in" on a hearing are not required to receive consent from Chambers prior to registering with Court Solutions, nor to be admitted to the court or to be admitted pro hac vice. Additionally, and on an interim basis, parties that wish to make a "live" telephonic appearance in order to speak or make argument are not required to receive prior permission from Chambers, although admission to the court or admission pro hac vice is still required. Counsel who intend to participate telephonically for any hearings of an evidentiary nature, including the examination of witnesses or the submission of evidence, are required to notify Chambers at least two business days in advance of the hearing. These requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Miscellaneous Questions on all other issues should be directed to Chambers, either to the Courtroom Deputy or the law clerk assigned to the case. However, counsel are urged to limit all communications with chambers to matters that cannot be resolved without such direct communication.
