IAS Power: One-Judge Supervision, Assignment, and Disqualification

New York’s Individual Assignment System is the rule that puts one judge in charge of your civil case from start to finish in Supreme Court and County Court. Codified at 22 NYCRR 202.3, it requires that every civil action and proceeding be assigned to a single judge who provides “continuous supervision” through final resolution.¹ That judge, called the assigned judge, handles every motion, conference, discovery dispute, and ultimately the trial, unless one of the specific exceptions in the rule applies. The Court of Claims operates under a parallel version through 22 NYCRR 206.3.²

What One-Judge Supervision Means in Practice

Before the IAS, different judges handled different stages of the same lawsuit. A motion judge might rule on an early issue and never see the case again. Discovery disputes went to someone else, and a third judge might preside over the trial. Each new judge started from scratch, and parties sometimes got inconsistent rulings on related issues.

The IAS eliminates that. When your assigned judge has already ruled on what evidence is discoverable, that context carries into every later dispute about the same documents or witnesses. A judge who has spent months learning the facts of a commercial dispute will not tolerate recycled arguments in a new motion. The institutional memory often pushes cases toward settlement more effectively than any formal mediation. It also means the judge you draw at the outset shapes everything that happens for months or years afterward.

How a Case Gets Assigned: The Request for Judicial Intervention

A case doesn’t land on a judge’s desk automatically. The IAS kicks in when someone files a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) under 22 NYCRR 202.6.³ Until the RJI is filed, the court will not accept motions, orders to show cause, notes of issue, or requests for a preliminary conference. You can file one any time after service of process, but you must file one before the court will act on most applications.

The RJI costs $95.⁴ Several categories are exempt from the fee: applications for poor person relief (the fee is only required if relief is denied), habeas corpus proceedings involving institutionalized individuals, change-of-name applications, and extreme risk protection orders.³

Once the clerk receives the completed RJI, the case is assigned through a “method of random selection authorized by the Chief Administrator.”¹ Randomness is the point. Parties cannot select their judge, and the automated process prevents forum shopping. After assignment, all future filings must reference the assigned judge and the case’s index number. In most counties, the RJI is submitted through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing (NYSCEF) system, which can generate the form from information entered during filing or accept an uploaded PDF.

What the Assigned Judge Controls

The assigned judge controls virtually everything that happens in the case: discovery deadlines, every motion, the preliminary conference, and the trial itself. The judge also sets internal procedures for their specific courtroom part, including rules on how motions are submitted and when oral argument is granted. That concentrated authority is the IAS’s greatest practical effect.

Sanctions That Back Up the Judge’s Orders

When a party ignores discovery orders or misses court-imposed deadlines, the assigned judge has real teeth. Under CPLR 3126, the court can impose escalating consequences for willful noncompliance with disclosure obligations:

Order that disputed issues be treated as resolved in favor of the party who sought the discovery.
Preclude the noncompliant party from supporting or opposing specific claims, or from introducing certain evidence at trial.
Strike all or part of the offending pleadings, stay the case until the order is obeyed, dismiss the action, or enter a default judgment.

These are not theoretical. New York courts regularly enforce them, and the Court of Appeals has held that strict compliance with conference orders is required.⁵ The preliminary conference rules for New York County specifically warn that unexcused failures to meet deadlines can result in costs, sanctions, or other remedies under both the Rules of the Chief Administrator and CPLR 3126.⁶ Once the assigned judge sets a deadline, treat it as immovable.

The Preliminary Conference and the Case Timeline

After the RJI is filed, the court schedules a preliminary conference to map out the case. Under 22 NYCRR 202.12, the court issues a stipulation and order providing for completion of discovery within 12 months for a standard case or 15 months for a complex one, measured from the RJI filing date.⁷ Attorneys must certify that they have met and conferred on disclosure issues before the conference.

At the conclusion of the conference, the court issues a written order memorializing its directions and any stipulations. That order becomes the roadmap for the rest of the case, setting deadlines for depositions, document production, expert disclosure, and the filing of the note of issue. Extensions require a written request and a showing of good cause.

When the Case Goes to a Different Judge

The IAS is built on continuity, but rigid one-judge assignment isn’t always practical. Section 202.3(c) spells out several exceptions:¹

If a judge’s existing caseload limits their ability to take new cases, the Chief Administrator can suspend new assignments to that judge until the backlog clears.
When the assigned judge is unavailable, matters requiring immediate disposition can go to a designated backup judge.
The Chief Administrator, a Deputy Chief Administrative Judge, or the administrative or supervising judge for the relevant court can transfer a case from one judge to another “in accordance with the needs of the court.” Before doing so, the transferring official should consult with both the current and receiving judges whenever appropriate.⁸
The Chief Administrator can assign reserve trial judges to handle trials in exceptional circumstances.

Nothing in that list lets a party request a different judge because they dislike the assigned judge’s rulings. Transfer authority rests with court administrators, not litigants.

Specialized Parts

Section 202.3(c)(2) authorizes specialized tracks for matrimonial actions, medical malpractice cases, tax assessment review proceedings, condemnation actions, and matters requiring protracted consideration.¹ When multiple judges are assigned to a specialty category, cases are still distributed randomly among them.

The most prominent specialized part is the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court, governed by 22 NYCRR 202.70. It handles business disputes including breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims, fraud, UCC transactions, commercial real property disputes, shareholder derivative actions, and the internal affairs of business organizations.⁹ Most case types must meet a monetary threshold that varies by county, ranging from $50,000 in Albany, Onondaga, and the Seventh Judicial District up to $500,000 in New York County. Shareholder derivative actions and commercial class actions are exempt from the thresholds entirely, which are calculated without counting punitive damages, interest, costs, disbursements, or counsel fees.

The Dual Track Option

Section 202.3(c)(6) authorizes an alternative structure where the individually assigned judge supervises the case through the note of issue and pretrial conference, after which the case may transfer to a different judge for trial.¹ The Chief Administrator must authorize this system for a particular court, county, or judicial district. The dual track trades some continuity for scheduling flexibility, letting trial-ready cases move forward even when the originally assigned judge’s calendar is full.

Grounds for Disqualifying the Assigned Judge

Separate from administrative transfers, New York Judiciary Law Section 14 requires a judge to step aside in specific situations. A judge cannot sit on a case in which they are a party, in which they previously served as an attorney or counsel, in which they have a personal interest, or in which they are related to a party within the sixth degree of consanguinity or affinity. The degree of relationship is calculated by counting each person in the line between the judge and the common ancestor, then down to the party.

There are limited exceptions. A judge is not disqualified simply because they hold an insurance policy with a corporate party that is an insurance company. And a judge who owns stock or securities in a corporate litigant can still hear the case if the parties waive the disqualification in writing or on the record in open court. The waiver provisions cover only financial interest through stock ownership, not the other grounds for disqualification.

If you believe the assigned judge has a conflict, raise it early. Waiting until after an unfavorable ruling to allege bias that existed from the start will not be well received by the appellate courts.

Living With the Assigned Judge’s Rulings

Because one judge controls the entire case, a bad pretrial ruling can feel especially consequential. In most situations, you cannot appeal a judge’s interlocutory order until after the case reaches final judgment. New York’s appellate courts hear appeals as of right from final orders, and intermediate rulings generally merge into the final judgment for appellate purposes.

There are narrow exceptions. Article 57 of the CPLR permits appeals from certain interlocutory orders, including orders granting or refusing injunctions. The Appellate Division also has discretionary authority to grant leave to appeal from interlocutory orders where the issue is significant enough to warrant immediate review. As a practical matter, most discovery rulings and scheduling decisions are not appealable until the case is over. Parties who believe the assigned judge committed a fundamental error on a dispositive motion have better odds of immediate review, since orders granting summary judgment or dismissing claims often qualify as appealable. For the routine pretrial management decisions where the IAS judge’s power is most visible, the appellate courts expect you to live with the ruling and raise it later if necessary.

1
Legal Information Institute. New York Compilation of Codes, Rules, and Regulations Title 22 Section 202.3 – Individual Assignment System; Structure
2
Cornell Law Institute. New York Code 22 NYCRR 206.3 – Individual Assignment System; Structure
3
Legal Information Institute. New York Code 22 NYCRR 202.6 – Request for Judicial Intervention
4
New York State Unified Court System. How to File a Request for Judicial Intervention
5
New York State Senate. New York Laws CVP – Civil Practice Law and Rules Article 31 Section 3126
6
New York State Unified Court System. Rules Regarding Preliminary Conferences – New York County
7
Legal Information Institute. New York Code 22 NYCRR 202.12 – Preliminary Conference
8
New York State Unified Court System. Uniform Civil Rules For The Supreme Court And The County Court – Section 202.3
9
New York Courts. 22 NYCRR 202.70 – Rules of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court