Hon. Tracy Catapano-Fox. Malpractice Part and Compliance Conference Part B.
Supreme Court, Queens County. 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435. Courtroom 48. Published part rules for the Medical, Dental and Podiatric Malpractice Conference and Trial Part, the compliance conference calendar, and practitioner intelligence from attorneys with direct experience.
Book an AppearanceQuick Reference
| Court | Supreme Court, Queens County |
| Courthouse | 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435 |
| Courtroom | Courtroom 48 |
| Part Phone | (718) 298-1172 |
| Malpractice Part | Medical, Dental and Podiatric Malpractice Conference and Trial Part, which she presides over with Hon. Kevin Kerrigan |
| Compliance Conference | Compliance Conference Part B. Part A is Hon. Mojgan C. Lancman. |
| IAS Part | No separate numbered IAS part is listed for this justice. |
| Preliminary and Compliance Conferences | Tuesdays |
| Motion Calendar and Pre-Trial Conferences | Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. |
| Trial-Ready Conferences | Mondays at 9:30 a.m. |
| Executed Orders | May be emailed in lieu of appearing. |
| Adjournments | The first adjournment is automatically granted, generally one per party. |
| Virtual Conferences | Only on written application to chambers. |
| AI Disclosure | Any use of autogenerated artificial intelligence in a submission must be indicated in an attorney's affirmation. |
| Malpractice Part Rules | Effective August 29, 2024. |
| Verify Before Appearing | Confirm the part, the courtroom, and the calendar with the part clerk before every appearance. |
Two Parts, Two Different Appearances
Justice Catapano-Fox sits in more than one part in Queens County, and the answer to most procedural questions depends on which of them put the case on the calendar. Counsel arriving on a compliance conference notice and counsel arriving on a medical malpractice case need different halves of this page.
Medical, Dental and Podiatric Malpractice Conference and Trial Part
Justice Catapano-Fox presides over this part with Hon. Kevin Kerrigan. The part sits in Courtroom 48 at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435, and the part telephone is (718) 298-1172. The part publishes its own rules, effective August 29, 2024, and those rules set the discovery schedule described below. Counsel on a malpractice case should read the discovery rules first, because they carry the shortest deadlines on this page.
Compliance Conference Part B
Justice Catapano-Fox also sits in Compliance Conference Part B. Compliance Conference Part A belongs to Hon. Mojgan C. Lancman, and our office maintains a separate page of published rules and practitioner notes for that part at Justice Lancman, Queens County. A compliance conference notice names one of the two parts, so counsel should confirm which one before the date and before assigning coverage.
No Separate Numbered IAS Part
No separate numbered IAS part is listed for Justice Catapano-Fox. A case reaches her through the malpractice part or through Compliance Conference Part B rather than through a numbered IAS assignment.
Published Part Rules
Source: nycourts.gov. Medical Malpractice Part rules effective August 29, 2024. Last verified: September 11, 2026. Everything in this section is published rule text. Confirm it with the part clerk before every filing and every appearance.
Calendar Days
Preliminary conferences and compliance conferences are held on Tuesdays. The motion calendar and pre-trial conferences are held on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. Trial-ready conferences are held on Mondays at 9:30 a.m.
Executed Orders in Lieu of Appearing
Executed orders may be emailed to the part in lieu of appearing. That rule is the reason a conference on this calendar sometimes needs no attorney in the courtroom, and it is also the reason a missed email carries the same consequence as a missed appearance.
Adjournments
The first adjournment is automatically granted, generally one per party.
Virtual Conferences
Virtual conferences are available only on written application to chambers. Counsel who needs to appear remotely should apply in writing rather than assume a link will issue.
Defaults
Failure to submit an executed order or to appear produces a default order issued by the Court. A missed plaintiff's deposition can bring dismissal of the complaint.
The Discovery Rules Are Strict on Their Face
The discovery provisions of the malpractice part rules are strict as published, and our office reports them here as written rather than softening them. Four of them decide most of what happens on a malpractice case in this part.
- Plaintiff's deposition within 90 days of the preliminary conference order. The rules set that window and expect it to be met.
- Failure to notice and schedule the plaintiff's deposition within that window may waive the right to depose the plaintiff. The consequence falls on the party that did not notice the deposition.
- The inability to obtain authorizations or medical records is expressly not good cause to adjourn a plaintiff's deposition. The rules close that ground by name, so an application resting on missing records starts from a rule that has already rejected it.
- All individually named defendants are deposed before the compliance conference. The compliance conference is the checkpoint, and the depositions are expected to be behind counsel by the time it is reached.
Motion Practice Does Not Pause the Preliminary Conference Order
The rules state that “The Preliminary Conference Order will not be adjourned pending motion practice.” A pending motion does not stop the discovery clock set by the order, so counsel who expects relief from a deadline should seek it from the part rather than assume the motion suspends the schedule.
Artificial Intelligence Disclosure
Any use of autogenerated artificial intelligence in a submission must be indicated in an attorney's affirmation. Counsel who prepares a submission with an AI tool discloses that use in the affirmation filed with the papers.
Before You Send a Covering Attorney
This part runs on dates and executed orders. A covering attorney should arrive knowing the deposition posture of the case, because the published rules tie the plaintiff's deposition to a 90-day window running from the preliminary conference order and put every individually named defendant's deposition ahead of the compliance conference.
Two practical consequences. First, failure to submit an executed order or to appear produces a default order issued by the Court, so a covering attorney who cannot reach the courtroom should make sure the executed order reaches the part. Second, the first adjournment is automatically granted, generally one per party, which means the second request is the one that needs a reason and a plan.
Practitioner Intelligence
This section is field observation from attorneys who appear in this part, not published rule text. The published rules are set out above and control. Last updated: September 11, 2026.
Practice Tips
- Read the notice for the part name. A compliance conference notice names Part A or Part B. Part B is Justice Catapano-Fox and Part A is Justice Lancman, and the two parts run differently.
- Work back from the preliminary conference order. The 90-day window for the plaintiff's deposition starts there, and the rules treat missing authorizations and missing medical records as no excuse for moving it.
- Do not wait on a motion. The published rules say the preliminary conference order will not be adjourned pending motion practice, so a discovery deadline stays where it is while a motion is pending.
- Use the executed-order option deliberately. Executed orders may be emailed in lieu of appearing, which is the cheapest way to close out a conference, and the same rule makes an unsent order a default.
- Apply in writing for a virtual conference. The part allows virtual conferences only on written application to chambers.
- Disclose AI use in the affirmation. The part requires any use of autogenerated artificial intelligence in a submission to be indicated in an attorney's affirmation.
Field Note, September 8, 2026
On September 8, 2026, over a defense request for an adjournment, the court directed the plaintiff to serve the bills of particulars within two weeks and adjourned the preliminary conference to October 13, 2026. That is an account of what happened on one case on one date, not a rule of the part.
One Practitioner's Observation on the Punitive Language
A covering attorney who appears in this part regularly reports that the punitive language printed on a standard preliminary conference order is not enforced unless the order also carries handwritten punitive language. That is one attorney's account of what that attorney has seen in the part. It appears in no published rule of this part, and our office has not confirmed it.
No one should rely on it. Every deadline in a preliminary conference order is a directive of the Court. Counsel should meet the deadline, or ask the part for relief before the date passes. An attorney who treats an order as unenforceable because of an observation on a web page is taking a risk this office does not recommend and would not take. The observation is worth knowing as courtroom texture, and it is worth nothing as a reason to miss a date.
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Court rules and procedures change frequently. Information on this page is for general reference only and may not reflect the most current rules. Verify all information with the part clerk before your appearance.
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