SDNY Notice of Motion: Drafting, ECF Filing, and Service

To file a Notice of Motion in the Southern District of New York, you assemble a four-part motion package that complies with Local Civil Rule 7.1, follow your assigned judge’s individual rules on top of that, e-file the package through ECF, and serve every party that has appeared. The Notice itself is a short cover document; the substance lives in the memorandum of law and supporting materials that accompany it. Getting any piece wrong is one of the quickest ways to have a motion rejected without a judge ever reading the argument.

Start With Your Judge’s Individual Rules

Every SDNY judge publishes Individual Rules and Practices that supplement the local rules, and those individual rules frequently override defaults. One judge may require a pre-motion letter before any dispositive motion; another may not. One may demand courtesy copies; another explicitly forbids them. When individual rules conflict with local rules on a procedural detail, the individual rules control.

Download your assigned district judge’s rules and your assigned magistrate judge’s rules from the court’s Individual Rules and Practices page before drafting anything.1United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Individual Rules and Practices Read them for pre-motion procedures, page or word limits, courtesy-copy requirements, and any proposed-order requirement.

Handle the Pre-Motion Step Before You Draft

SDNY does not let you file most substantive motions cold. The gatekeeping process depends on the type of motion.

Discovery Motions

For any motion arising under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26 through 37 or Rule 45, Local Civil Rule 37.2 requires the moving party to request an informal conference with the court by filing a letter-motion before filing a formal motion. No discovery motion will be heard unless that step has been completed and the dispute remains unresolved.2United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Local Rules of the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York – Section: Local Civil Rule 37.2 Many judges add a mandatory meet-and-confer obligation and a specific letter format; use your judge’s version.

Dispositive and Other Substantive Motions

For motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment, and similar dispositive filings, many SDNY judges require a pre-motion letter outlining the grounds and legal authority for the proposed motion. Those letters run two to five pages depending on the judge and are filed as letter-motions on ECF. The opposing party gets a brief window to respond. The judge then grants permission to file, sets a conference, or resolves the issue on the letters. Skipping this step when required will get the motion rejected.

The Four Required Components of the Motion Package

Local Civil Rule 7.1(a) requires every motion to include four documents, and omitting any one is grounds for rejection:3United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Local Rules of the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York – Section: Local Civil Rule 7.1

  • A Notice of Motion identifying the relief sought and the legal authority for the request.
  • A memorandum of law organized under headings for each issue, citing the supporting authorities.
  • Supporting affidavits or declarations from people with personal knowledge, along with any documentary exhibits.
  • A word-count certificate for the memorandum, if it is filed by an attorney or prepared on a computer, stating the exact word count.

Some individual judges also require a proposed order reflecting the specific relief requested. Opposition and reply papers follow the same structure for the memorandum and supporting materials.

Drafting the Notice of Motion

The Notice of Motion is a short, typically single-page document that acts as the cover page for the motion package. Local Civil Rule 7.1(a)(1) requires it to do two things: specify the relief the motion seeks and identify the legal authority for that request, whether a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, a statute, or both.3United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Local Rules of the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York – Section: Local Civil Rule 7.1

Be precise about the relief. “Motion for Summary Judgment Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56” is the right level of specificity. Vague labels like “motion for relief” will draw a deficiency notice. The Notice should also include:

  • The full case caption with all party names
  • The docket number
  • The initials of the assigned District Judge and Magistrate Judge
  • The name, address, email, and phone number of the filing attorney or self-represented party
  • A return date, if the assigned judge’s rules require one

Writing the Memorandum of Law

The memorandum of law carries the argument. Local Civil Rule 7.1(a)(2) requires it to be divided under headings corresponding to each issue the court needs to decide.3United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Local Rules of the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York – Section: Local Civil Rule 7.1

Word limits are strict. For attorney-filed or computer-prepared documents, the main supporting or opposition brief cannot exceed 8,750 words, and reply briefs cannot exceed 3,500 words. The limits include footnotes and endnotes but exclude the caption, table of contents, table of authorities, signature blocks, and required certificates. Self-represented parties filing handwritten or typewritten briefs get page limits instead: 25 pages for the main brief and 10 pages for replies.3United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Local Rules of the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York – Section: Local Civil Rule 7.1

The word-count certificate must accompany every attorney-filed or computer-prepared memorandum and state the exact count. You may rely on your word processor’s count. If a judge grants permission to exceed the defaults and expresses the extension in pages, each additional page is capped at 350 words.

Formatting Minimums

Local Civil Rule 7.1(b) sets baseline formatting standards for all papers filed in the SDNY. Individual judges can add requirements on top, but the floor is:3United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Local Rules of the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York – Section: Local Civil Rule 7.1

  • Body text in 12-point type or larger; footnotes may use 10-point.
  • Margins of at least one inch on all four sides.
  • Double-spaced text, with headings, footnotes, and block quotations permitted to be single-spaced.

Redact Personal Information Before Filing

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 requires redaction of sensitive personal information in all court filings, whether electronic or paper.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5.2 – Privacy Protection For Filings Made with the Court Before your motion package or any supporting exhibit goes on the docket, redact:

  • Social Security and taxpayer ID numbers to the last four digits.
  • Dates of birth to the year only.
  • Names of minors to initials only.
  • Financial account numbers to the last four digits.

Review every exhibit. Contracts, tax documents, and medical records routinely contain these identifiers.

Filing Through ECF

The complete motion package must be electronically filed using SDNY’s Case Management/Electronic Case Filing system. Attorneys register for ECF to obtain a user ID and password.5United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Electronic Case Filing Under the SDNY ECF Rules, the login credentials used to submit documents serve as the attorney’s signature for purposes of Rule 11 and every other rule requiring a signature.6United States District Court Southern District of New York. ECF Rules and Instructions – Section: 8.1 Filing is complete when the system generates a Notice of Electronic Filing, which records the official date and time and serves as your receipt.

Pick the ECF event that most closely matches your motion. Mislabeling can route the filing incorrectly or cause chambers to miss it. Letter-motions requesting pre-motion conferences go under the letter-motion event, not general correspondence.

Serving the Motion on Other Parties

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5 requires the moving party to serve the complete motion package on every other party that has appeared.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 5 – Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers For parties whose attorneys are registered ECF users, the electronic transmission of the Notice of Electronic Filing constitutes service. Service is complete at the moment of filing, but ineffective if the filer learns the document did not reach the person being served.

For parties not registered on ECF, including some self-represented litigants, serve paper copies by mail or hand delivery. Keep proof of service for every party served outside ECF.

Opposition and Reply Deadlines

Local Civil Rule 6.1 sets two default response tracks:8United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Local Rules of the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York – Section: Local Civil Rule 6.1

  • Discovery motions under Federal Rules 26 through 37 and Rule 45: opposition due 7 days after service, reply due 2 days after service of the opposition.
  • All other civil motions: opposition due 14 days after service, reply due 7 days after service of the opposition.

These are defaults. A judge’s individual rules or a scheduling order can and often does set a different timetable, so check both before calendaring. Count time under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6, which excludes the day of the triggering event and extends deadlines falling on weekends or court holidays.

If You Are Filing Without a Lawyer

Self-represented parties in SDNY do not file through ECF. They may submit motion papers by mail, in person at the courthouse, or by email to the Pro Se Intake Unit at the court’s designated address. Emailed documents must be PDF and no larger than 15 megabytes; anything that doesn’t meet those requirements won’t be docketed.9United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Representing Yourself in Federal Court (Pro Se)

Once the Pro Se Intake Unit receives the filing, staff scan and docket it onto ECF, which automatically notifies represented parties. That ECF docketing counts as service on parties with attorneys, so a self-represented filer does not need to separately mail those parties or attach a certificate of service for them.9United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Representing Yourself in Federal Court (Pro Se) If another party is also self-represented and not receiving ECF notices, serve them by mail or hand delivery.

All documents submitted by self-represented parties must include an original signature, a case caption, and a title. The court provides form documents, including a form motion template, on its website. Handwritten or typewritten briefs are subject to page limits rather than word limits: 25 pages for the main brief and 10 pages for replies.