One courthouse at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Nearly every civil part decides motions on submission, the county caps adjournments at three, and a discovery motion filed before a pre-motion conference can be denied. Know the rules of the assigned justice before the return date arrives.
Last verified: September 11, 2026
Verified against primary sources published on nycourts.gov: the Ninth Judicial District judges and parts index, the Term 9 assignment order covering August 17 to September 13, 2026, the individual part rules of each justice, and the Westchester Supreme Court Civil Case Management Rules revised effective September 2, 2025. Courtroom assignments below are stated as of the Term 9 assignment order and are not permanent, because the court reassigns by term. Part rules change without notice. Read the rules of the assigned justice before relying on any general statement on this page. See revision notes at the bottom of this page.
Civil Supreme Court business in Westchester County is conducted at a single address: the Supreme and County Court building, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains, NY 10601. It stands downtown between Quarropas Street and Martine Avenue, with metered street parking nearby and access by Bee-Line bus and Metro-North. The building is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The District Administrative Judge is the Honorable Anne E. Minihan. The Supervising Judge of the Supreme Court, Civil, is the Honorable Nancy Quinn Koba.
Main number: (914) 824-5100.
Civil Division, 9th floor: (914) 824-5300, fax (914) 824-5873.
Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Clerk Gerard DePaulo, 8th floor Courthouse Tower, (914) 824-5343.
This office, and not the individual part, is where adjournment requests are filed in several parts. Email: MotionSupportWestchester@nycourts.gov.
Hon. Lewis J. Lubell, Room 1200. Clerk Amanda Hall, (914) 824-5350.
The county rule barring per diem counsel from settlement conferences is discussed in its own section below.
Hon. Paul I. Marx, Room 1600. Clerk Joseph Tuohy, (914) 824-5623.
The calendar call in this part is at 9:15 a.m. promptly, which is the earliest published call in the county.
The Annex and the Courthouse Tower. Two internal designations appear in the published rules without an address attached to either. The rules of Hon. David F. Everett place his part in "Courtroom 201 (Annex)," and the Motion Support Office is listed on the "8th floor Courthouse Tower." No separate street address is published on nycourts.gov for either designation, and our office has not verified whether they describe wings of the single building at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard or a second structure. We state that rather than assert one building or two. Confirm the physical location with the part clerk before a first appearance in Courtroom 201 or a first filing at Motion Support.
This is the defining feature of the county and the first thing a litigator arriving from elsewhere needs to absorb. In Westchester County the motion return date is, in most parts, a paper event. The papers are submitted, the court decides, and nobody stands up. A firm that calendars a Westchester return date the way it would calendar a New York County return date is preparing for an appearance that the court does not want.
Below is what each justice publishes, in the justice's own phrasing, with the courtroom stated as of the Term 9 assignment order covering August 17 to September 13, 2026. The court reassigns by term, so confirm the courtroom before traveling.
| Justice | Courtroom | What the part rules say about motions |
|---|---|---|
| Hon. Diane M. Clerkin | 1801 | "all motions shall be submitted without oral argument. There will be no appearances on the return date of any motion unless this Court so directs." |
| Hon. David F. Everett | 201 (Annex) | "Motions are on submission only unless the Court directs otherwise." An in-person appearance is required on the return date of all orders to show cause unless the court indicates otherwise. |
| Hon. William J. Giacomo | 102 | "all motions are by submission only," returnable any Monday at 9:30 a.m. "Personal appearances are not required on the return date." |
| Hon. Doris M. Gonzalez | 1203 | Her published rules do not state a motion practice. Do not assume submission. Call the part. |
| Hon. Linda S. Jamieson | 103 | "motions on submission only... on any Friday the Court is in session... no oral arguments will be heard on any motions unless directed by the Court." |
| Hon. Nancy Quinn Koba | 1602 | "All Motions shall be returnable on Thursdays and are on submission only." The calendar is called at 9:30 a.m. |
| Hon. Paul I. Marx | 1600 | "There will be no oral argument on any motion or Order to Show Cause unless directed by the Court." |
| Hon. Alexandra D. Murphy | 104 | "All motions are by submission only" unless the court orders argument, returnable any Monday at 9:30 a.m. |
| Hon. Robert S. Ondrovic | 1201 | "All motions will be decided by submission and personal appearances on the return date are not required unless the Court specifically directs oral argument." |
| Hon. Thomas Quiñones | 1403 | Motions are returnable Fridays at 9:30 a.m. and are decided on the papers, with argument only if the court so determines. |
| Hon. Walter Rivera | 1401 | "All motions will be decided by submission. There will be no appearances on a motion's return date unless specifically stated by the Court." |
| Hon. David J. Squirrell | 1601 | "Appearances are not required on motions unless directed by the Court, or unless oral argument is requested in writing and granted." |
| Hon. Damaris E. Torrent, A.J.S.C. | 800 (IAS Part 28) | "Unless otherwise directed by the Court, all motions are decided on submission only." |
| Hon. Gretchen Walsh | 105 | "Motions are generally submitted without oral argument." Returnable Fridays at 9:30 a.m. |
| Hon. Charles D. Wood | 1202 | "All motions are submitted without appearances and without oral argument, unless the court orders otherwise." |
| Hon. David S. Zuckerman | 1603 | "Motions are on submission only unless the Court directs otherwise." No appearance is required unless the court indicates otherwise. |
Two cautions on the table above. The rules of Hon. Alexandra D. Murphy are marked effective 01/2021, which makes them the oldest part rules posted in the county, so confirm current practice with her part before relying on them. And the court publishes only one numbered part in the county, IAS Part 28 before Justice Torrent. Every other justice is identified by courtroom, not by part number. A citation to a Westchester part number other than Part 28 is almost certainly a courtroom number mistaken for a part.
The practical consequence follows directly. Because the return date is a paper event in most parts, the appearance work in Westchester County is concentrated in conferences, orders to show cause, trial assignment calls, and depositions, rather than in motion argument. A firm deciding whether to send anyone to the courthouse should start by reading what the assigned justice says about the return date, and for many of these parts the answer is that no one needs to go. Our office maintains profiles of the bench at Westchester County judge profiles, including a detailed page on Hon. Alexandra D. Murphy.
Westchester County caps adjournments by rule, not by custom, and the cap is county-wide. The Civil Case Management Rules provide that a motion return date "may not be adjourned more than three (3) times and the return date may not be adjourned for a period exceeding a total of sixty (60) days." Both limits run together, so three short adjournments can exhaust the sixty days and a single long one can exhaust the count.
The county rule sets the floor. Several justices publish something stricter, and the differences are the reason a stipulation between counsel carries little weight in this county.
"This Part cannot accept requests for adjournments of any pending motions. The parties must file requests for adjournments in the Motion Support Office." The part honors no stipulations.
On conferences: "Unless the parties receive confirmation from the IAS Part Clerk that a conference has been rescheduled, the parties shall appear for the conference as originally scheduled."
An adjournment request must be made "36 HOURS IN ADVANCE," and "THEREAFTER THE PARTIES MUST APPEAR ON THE RETURN DATE."
Two adjournments are the maximum absent good cause. Non-appearance may draw a default judgment, sanctions, costs, and fees.
Requests are made two days in advance in writing, and the rule is absolute: "NO MOTION SHALL BE CONSIDERED ADJOURNED UNLESS A MEMBER OF THE COURT'S STAFF NOTIFIES THE PARTIES."
Silence from chambers is not approval.
Requests go to Motion Support two business days out, by email, and the same principle governs: "Unless the parties have received Court's approval of an adjournment, no motion is considered to have been adjourned."
Requests are made 48 hours in advance in writing via NYSCEF, and an adjournment is "NOT effective unless and until approved by the Court."
"Appearances may not be adjourned by stipulation. Only the Court has the authority to grant an adjournment."
Consent adjournments are capped at sixty days and are not effective "unless the Part Clerk, the Court's Secretary or the Court's Law Clerk has conveyed the Court's approval."
Requests are made 48 hours in advance by email to the Part Clerk only, and "parties should not assume that the request... has been granted unless specifically advised by the Court."
Requests must be made "by no later than 12:00 noon of the date preceding the scheduled date," by letter to the Senior Court Clerk filed via NYSCEF, and on consent of all opposing counsel.
Conference adjournments are requested by email to the Part Clerk only. His rules are explicit: "DO NOT upload conference adjournment requests to NYSCEF."
Adjournment requests are uploaded to NYSCEF with all parties copied, and "Unless the parties receive confirmation from the Court that a conference has been rescheduled, the parties must appear for the conference as originally scheduled."
Requests are made two business days out, filed on NYSCEF and emailed to the Motion Support Clerk. A maximum of three adjournments applies, sixty days in total and thirty days per request.
The single rule to carry out of this section. In Westchester County an adjournment is granted, never agreed. Four separate parts say in terms that a request is not effective until the court or its staff says so, and two of them say the parties must appear on the original date in the meantime. Counsel who marks a date off the calendar on the strength of a stipulation is exposed to a default, and the county rule adds that discovery continues regardless: "Discovery shall proceed during the period of any adjournment."
Counsel accustomed to a centralized conference part will not find one here. The Civil Case Management Rules provide that "A preliminary conference should be held before the assigned IAS Justice." That single sentence changes the preparation, because there is no generalist clerk running a room full of files. The justice who will decide the case is the one setting the schedule.
If the conference is non-substantive, or if the parties submit a stipulation to be so-ordered, no in-person conference is held. If the stipulation is not timely returned signed, the court schedules an appearance. A firm that assumes the stipulation route will hold and then never returns it signed has created the appearance it was trying to avoid.
The first compliance conference date is set in the preliminary conference order, roughly 150 days before the discovery cutoff. The conference is conducted by the assigned justice or by the justice's Principal Law Clerk. A covering attorney should expect a working conversation about the state of discovery rather than a calendar call.
The county rules set a high bar for who may attend and what they must bring. Counsel must bring all documents relevant to liability and damages, be fully familiar with every aspect of the case, and be expressly authorized to negotiate. The plaintiff's demand is due at least ten days ahead. Counsel for an insured defendant must have spoken to the adjuster and must have authority to settle. Justice Marx adds that in insured cases counsel should be prepared to disclose policy limits, the adjuster's name, and the claim number. Justice Gonzalez requires counsel to "be prepared with a demand or offer and obtain the consent of clients in advance."
This is the requirement that most often defeats an otherwise sound motion in Westchester County, and it deserves its own heading because it is invisible to anyone reading the CPLR alone. The Civil Case Management Rules provide that no discovery motion may be filed until a pre-motion conference has been requested and held, and that a motion filed before that conference may be denied.
The motion can be timely, complete, properly served, and fully supported, and still go out on a procedural ground that has nothing to do with its merits. The sequence is the requirement: request the conference, hold the conference, then move. Counsel handling a Westchester file from an office in another county should calendar the conference request as the first step of any discovery dispute, not as a courtesy that precedes the motion.
Why this compounds. The county-wide adjournment rule forbids an adjournment "after the time to move or submit opposition or reply papers has expired." A discovery motion denied for want of a pre-motion conference consumes calendar time that cannot be recovered by adjournment later. The pre-motion conference is not a formality to be cleared quickly. It is the gate.
Westchester County sets its own post-note-of-issue schedule and enforces it.
Justice Everett adds one appearance requirement worth noting alongside the submission practice above: unless the court indicates otherwise, an in-person court appearance is required on the return date of all orders to show cause. A county where nearly every motion is a paper event still expects counsel in the room on an order to show cause.
The county uses Microsoft Teams. The format of any given appearance, in person or virtual, is ordered or permitted by the assigned justice. Counsel does not elect it. Justice Jamieson's rules illustrate the posture: all conferences are in person unless otherwise instructed, and a party may request to appear virtually only on a showing of good cause. Recording a virtual proceeding is not permitted.
The detail that strands people. The Teams link is emailed only to the service email addresses on the parties' NYSCEF accounts. It does not go to the attorney who happens to be handling the appearance, to a general firm mailbox, or to an address supplied by phone that morning. If the covering attorney is not reading the NYSCEF service address on the account, the link never reaches the person who needs it. Confirm before the date who will receive the link and how it will be forwarded, because a missed virtual appearance counts the same as a missed in-person one.
The Civil Case Management Rules publish one county-wide calendar time: "Calendar call in the Trial Assignment Part ('TAP') will be at 9:15 a.m. promptly." Individual parts generally call at 9:30 a.m., and several justices state that time in their own rules, including Justice Koba, Justice Giacomo, Justice Murphy, Justice Quiñones, and Justice Walsh.
No second call is published. Neither the county rules nor any individual part rule we reviewed mentions one. That is a statement about what the court publishes, not a finding that the court never takes a case out of order. Plan on the first call, because nothing in writing supports planning on anything else.
The rules on lateness are correspondingly firm. The county rules provide that "Defaulting or late appearances by counsel, in the absence of an adequate excuse, may be subject to sanctions and/or costs." Justice Marx states that "Unexcused tardy arrivals will not be tolerated." An attorney traveling from a city office to the courthouse for a 9:15 a.m. call should build the schedule around that time and not around the train that usually works.
Civil part proceedings in the Ninth Judicial District are eligible for presumptive mediation absent contrary direction, and a party seeking exemption must show good cause. The timetable runs from the Order of Reference.
"Parties are required to attend all mediation sessions," and attorneys are strongly encouraged to attend. The party-attendance requirement is the operative one for scheduling purposes, because it cannot be satisfied by counsel alone.
Westchester County maintains a Commercial Division staffed by two justices. The Honorable Linda S. Jamieson sits in Courtroom 103 and the Honorable Gretchen Walsh sits in Courtroom 105, in each case as of the Term 9 assignment order.
The court states the eligibility threshold directly: "The monetary threshold for commercial cases in Westchester County has been changed to $100,000."
Both Commercial Division justices follow the submission practice described above. Justice Jamieson takes motions "on submission only... on any Friday the Court is in session," with no oral argument unless the court directs it. Justice Walsh states that "Motions are generally submitted without oral argument," returnable Fridays at 9:30 a.m. Justice Walsh also presides over the Environmental Claims Part, reachable at (914) 824-5193, which is listed at Courtroom 205.
On conferences, Justice Jamieson requires trial counsel or the attorney of record with full authority at a settlement conference, and Justice Walsh requires counsel with authority to settle together with party attendance. Both requirements are about authority rather than about who holds the file.
For procedural detail, see the Commercial Division Playbook. For the causes of action that travel through the Commercial Division, see Business Disputes, Breach of Contract, Partnership and LLC Disputes, and Shareholder Disputes.
Hon. Nancy Quinn Koba and Hon. Charles D. Wood. (914) 824-5351, MedMalWestchester@nycourts.gov.
Preliminary conferences are held in person unless otherwise designated, and a request to appear virtually is made in writing three business days in advance. Per diem appearances "will not be recognized" in this part.
Hon. Diane M. Clerkin, Courtroom 1802. Court Attorney-Referee Janine Flanagan, (914) 824-5232.
Calendars are typically called at 9:30 a.m., and the part handles note-of-issue cases only.
Hon. Doris M. Gonzalez, Courtroom 1203. Principal Law Clerk Peter Rivera, Esq.
Hon. Christie L. D'Alessio and Hon. Anne E. Minihan, 14th floor. No courtroom is published.
"All appearances are in person, in Westchester Supreme Court."
Hon. Gretchen Walsh, (914) 824-5193. Listed at Courtroom 205.
Hon. Keri A. Fiore (Courtroom 1000), Hon. Amy S. Puerto (1001), Hon. Rolf M. Thorsen (1002), and Hon. James L. Hyer (1003). Supervising Judge for Matrimonial Matters: Hon. Victor Grossman.
Matrimonial work is outside this firm's scope and our office does not cover these parts. The parts are listed here so that counsel reading a calendar can place them.
Justice Puerto calls her calendar at 9:30 a.m. daily and grants virtual appearances "only in exceptional circumstances." Justice Thorsen requires that "Counsel and parties must appear in-person at all conferences." Justice Fiore requires an adjournment request three business days out and states that "Absent explicit approval from the Court in writing, the adjournment request is not deemed granted, even if... on consent."
Our office does not state a categorical rule about electronic filing in Westchester County, because the published sources do not read the same way. The Westchester Joint Protocols and the Ninth Judicial District electronic filing page describe the consensual and mandatory categories differently enough that a flat statement on this page would be unreliable.
What can be said is this. The court publishes the categories of case in which electronic filing is consensual and in which it is mandatory, and counsel should check the current protocol for the case type before filing. Where a part rule directs a particular filing method, as several do for adjournment requests and exhibits, that direction controls within the part.
Westchester County publishes a restriction on per diem appearances that no other county in our coverage area publishes in the same terms. Our office states it plainly, because a firm planning coverage in this county is entitled to know where the line falls before it retains anyone.
In most of the county the motion return date needs no attorney of any kind. As the table above shows, nearly every civil part decides motions on submission and states that personal appearances on the return date are not required unless the court directs oral argument. There is usually nothing to cover, which is a better answer for the client than coverage would be.
Preliminary and compliance conferences are governed by a different rule, and the difference matters. The county requires "an attorney thoroughly familiar with the action and who is authorized to act on behalf of the party." Several justices restate it in their own rules. Justice Ondrovic: "Only an attorney thoroughly familiar with the action and authorized to act on behalf of a party shall appear." Justice Squirrell: "All attorneys appearing, either as attorney of record or of counsel, must be fully familiar with the matter(s) on which they appear and must be authorized to enter into both substantive and procedural agreements." Justice Torrent adds that a failure on the familiarity and authority rule "may be regarded as a default."
That is a standard about preparation and authority, not a prohibition on who signs the appearance. It is the same standard this office meets in every county where it appears: the covering attorney reads the file, knows the discovery posture, and carries written authority from the attorney of record on the questions the conference will reach. Where the referring firm cannot give that authority in advance, the conference is not a candidate for coverage anywhere, and Westchester County is more explicit about saying so.
Depositions, examinations before trial, examinations under oath, and 50-h hearings are unaffected by any of the restrictions above. Those proceedings are not court appearances and the Civil Case Management Rules do not reach them.
The honest summary. Westchester County is neither closed to outside coverage nor open without qualification. Settlement conferences are closed by rule. Two parts and one matrimonial part refuse per diem appearances outright. Most motion return dates need nobody. Conferences are open to an attorney who has read the file and holds authority to act, and depositions are open without restriction. Any firm that tells a Westchester client something simpler than that is describing a different county.
The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson has been covering court appearances and depositions throughout New York for 28 years. In Westchester County our office handles the work the county rules leave open, and we say so before a booking rather than after a problem.
A written report follows every appearance by the end of business, covering what the court directed, the calendar dates set, and the next appearance or its absence.
Our office confirms availability promptly and delivers the report the same day. For the bench profiles behind the parts described above, see our Westchester County judge profiles and the full court intelligence hub.
Send the caption, the index number, the assigned justice, and the date. Our office confirms and reports the same day.
Available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM EST
In nearly every civil part in the county the answer is no. The published part rules decide motions on submission and state that personal appearances on the return date are not required unless the court directs oral argument. The phrasing varies by justice, and the rules of Hon. Doris M. Gonzalez do not state a motion practice at all, so the rules of the assigned justice control. Read them before deciding whether the return date needs anyone.
The Westchester Supreme Court Civil Case Management Rules provide that a motion return date may not be adjourned more than three times and may not be adjourned for a period exceeding a total of sixty days. Requests go to the Motion Support Office in writing, by email to MotionSupportWestchester@nycourts.gov, at least two business days before the return date, on notice to all parties. In no event will an adjournment be granted after the time to move or to submit opposition or reply papers has expired.
Yes. Under the Civil Case Management Rules no discovery motion may be filed until a pre-motion conference has been requested and held, and a motion filed before that conference may be denied. This is the trap that catches counsel arriving from another county, because the motion is complete, timely, and still defective.
Partly. The Civil Case Management Rules state that no answering services or per diem counsel are permitted to attend settlement conferences. Hon. Diane M. Clerkin and the Medical Malpractice Part state that per diem appearances will not be recognized, and Hon. James L. Hyer states that per diem counsel are not permitted in his matrimonial part. Outside those parts, motions are decided on submission, so a return date usually needs no one at all, and preliminary and compliance conferences require an attorney thoroughly familiar with the action and authorized to act on behalf of the party, which is a competence and authority standard rather than a ban. Depositions, examinations before trial, examinations under oath, and 50-h hearings are unaffected.
The Civil Case Management Rules provide that the calendar call in the Trial Assignment Part will be at 9:15 a.m. promptly. Individual parts generally call at 9:30 a.m. No second call is published in the county rules or in any part rule, so counsel should plan on the first call. Late appearances without an adequate excuse may be subject to sanctions or costs.
Call 212-233-0666 or text 917-686-3827 with the caption, the index number, the assigned justice or courtroom, and the date. A written report follows every appearance by the end of business.
Reference profiles for the Supreme Court, Westchester County bench: part assignments, published rules, and civil docket notes. See our Westchester County judge profiles, the profile of Hon. Alexandra D. Murphy, or browse the full court intelligence hub.