Hon. Verris B. Shako. Courtroom 14.

Practitioner Intelligence

The items in this section are observations and practice notes from attorneys who have appeared in this part. They are not published rules, and they do not override the Part Rules above. Last verified: September 11, 2026.

Tips

• Settle the motion question before anyone travels to Goshen. Because motions are decided on submission, a return date usually calls for no appearance at all. Confirm whether the Court has directed an appearance, or whether a written request for oral argument was granted, before a covering attorney is booked.
• Ask for oral argument in writing, and ask early. The published rules make a written request, granted by the Court, the route to argument on a motion. An oral request at the part is not that route.
• Count backward from the Thursday. Motions are returnable on Thursdays, and an adjournment letter has to be e-filed by 3:00 p.m. two business days before the date. Fix the letter deadline off the return date, not off the day the adjournment becomes necessary.
• Put all three elements in the adjournment letter. The reason, the consent position of the parties, and three proposed dates. A letter that carries only two of the three is incomplete on its face.
• Send someone to a conference who knows the discovery posture and can speak to dates. A conference in this part can produce a full discovery schedule from the bench, so the attorney who appears should know where each item stands, what has been served, what is outstanding, and what dates the referring firm can live with. A covering attorney who can only report that discovery is ongoing is of limited use at a conference here.
• Plan on appearing in person for a conference. A virtual appearance is available only in extenuating circumstances, so it is not the default and should not be assumed.

Field Note from September 8, 2026

At a compliance conference in Gagnon v. Brink Properties LLC (Index No. EF009864-2024), the court set the entire discovery schedule from the bench. The court directed that the independent medical examination be noticed by October 5, 2026 and completed within thirty days, that the report of that examination be exchanged by December 7, 2026, that post-deposition demands be served within seven days and responses served within fourteen, and that the note of issue be filed on or before November 6, 2026, subject to the examination.

That is an account of one appearance on one date. It is not a published rule, and it is not a prediction of what the court will do at any other conference.