New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 22 - JUDICIARY › Subtitle A - JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION › Chapter I - Standards and Administrative Policies › Subchapter A - Rules Of The Chief Judge › Part 53 - Litigation Coordinating Panel › Section 53 .1 - Coordination of related actions pending in more than one judicial district

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28,
					 July 10, 2024
(a)
					 Application. This section shall apply when related actions are pending in the
					 courts of the Unified Court System in more than one judicial district and it
					 may be appropriate for these actions to be coordinated pursuant to the criteria
					 and procedures set forth in this section. Coordination pursuant to this section
					 shall apply to pretrial proceedings, including dispositive motions.
(b) Litigation coordinating panel.
(1) Composition. The Chief Administrator of
					 the Courts, in consultation with the Presiding Justice of each Appellate
					 Division, shall create a Litigation Coordinating Panel composed of one justice
					 of the Supreme Court from each judicial department of the State.
(2) Procedure. The panel shall determine, sua
					 sponte or upon application of a party to an action, a justice before whom such
					 an action is pending, or an administrative judge, whether the related actions
					 should be coordinated before one or more individual justices. The panel shall
					 provide notice and an opportunity to be heard to all parties to the actions
					 sought to be coordinated and shall inform the justices before whom such actions
					 are pending of the initiation of proceedings before the panel.
(3) Standards for coordination. In
					 determining whether to issue an administrative order of coordination, the panel
					 shall consider, among other things, the complexity of the actions; whether
					 common questions of fact or law exist, and the importance of such questions to
					 the determination of the issues; the risk that coordination may unreasonably
					 delay the progress, increase the expense, or complicate the processing of any
					 action or otherwise prejudice a party; the risk of duplicative or inconsistent
					 rulings, orders or judgments; the convenience of the parties, witnesses and
					 counsel; whether coordinated discovery would be advantageous; efficient
					 utilization of judicial resources and the facilities and personnel of the
					 court; the manageability of a coordinated litigation; whether issues of
					 insurance, limits on assets and potential bankruptcy can be best addressed in
					 coordinated proceedings; and the pendency of related matters in the Federal
					 courts and in the courts of other states. The panel may exclude particular
					 actions from an otherwise applicable order of coordination when necessary to
					 protect the rights of parties.
(4)
					 Determination.
(i) The panel shall issue a
					 written decision on each application. If the panel determines to direct
					 coordination, it shall issue an administrative order identifying the actions
					 that shall be coordinated. The order may address actions subsequently filed or
					 not otherwise then before the panel.
(ii) The order of the panel, following
					 consultation with the Chief Administrative Judge, shall specify the number of
					 Coordinating Justices and the county or counties in which the coordinated
					 proceedings shall take place. In making this decision, the panel shall
					 consider, among other things, the venues of origin of the cases to be
					 coordinated; whether the actions arise out of an accident or events in a
					 particular county; judicial caseloads in prospective venues; fairness to
					 parties; the convenience of the parties and witnesses; the convenience of
					 counsel; and whether the purposes of this section can best be advanced by
					 coordination before more than one Coordinating Justice.