FRCP 56 Timing and the Local Rule 56.1 Statement in SDNY and EDNY

Short answer: absent a local rule or court order, FRCP 56(b) lets you move “at any time until 30 days after the close of all discovery.” In SDNY and EDNY, Local Civil Rule 56.1 adds a mandatory numbered statement of undisputed facts, a paragraph-by-paragraph counterstatement, and an electronic copy.

The federal timing rule is short and mostly a default. The Local Rule 56.1 statement is where Southern and Eastern District motions are actually won and lost: an unanswered paragraph is deemed admitted, and a missing statement can sink the motion before the court reaches the brief. New York state court dropped its counterpart rule in 2025, so state and federal practice in New York now run on opposite defaults.

When is a summary judgment motion due under FRCP 56?

Rule 56(b) reads: “Unless a different time is set by local rule or the court orders otherwise, a party may file a motion for summary judgment at any time until 30 days after the close of all discovery.”

• It is a default, not a floor. The 2009 Committee Note calls these “default provisions that may be altered by an order in the case or by local rule.” Your scheduling order usually controls.
• “All” discovery includes expert discovery. The trigger is not the close of fact discovery.
• Early motions are allowed. The nonmovant’s protection is Rule 56(d), not a timing bar.

Count the 30 days under Rule 6(a)(1): “exclude the day of the event that triggers the period,” “count every day, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays,” and if the last day lands on a weekend or legal holiday, “the period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.”

What does Local Civil Rule 56.1 require in SDNY and EDNY?

The Joint Local Civil Rules, edition effective January 2, 2026, impose five obligations.

1. The movant’s statement. Under 56.1(a), the motion “must be accompanied by a separate, short, and concise statement, in numbered paragraphs” of the material facts the movant contends are not genuinely disputed. “Failure to submit such a statement may constitute grounds for denial of the motion.”
2. The counterstatement. Under 56.1(b), the opposition must include a “correspondingly numbered paragraph admitting or denying, and otherwise responding to, each numbered paragraph” in the movant’s statement, and may add “a separate, short and concise statement of additional material facts.”
3. Deemed admissions. Under 56.1(c), each movant paragraph “will be deemed to be admitted for purposes of the motion unless specifically denied and controverted” by a correspondingly numbered paragraph.
4. Citations to admissible evidence. Under 56.1(d), each statement by the movant or opponent “must be followed by citation to evidence that would be admissible,” set out as Rule 56(c) requires.
5. The electronic copy. Under 56.1(e), when all parties have counsel, the movant “must provide all other parties with an electronic copy, in a standard word processing format,” and the counterstatement must reproduce each entry in the movant’s statement with the response directly beneath it.

Subdivision (a) excludes Administrative Procedure Act and Freedom of Information Act claims. When a represented party moves against a self-represented litigant, Local Civil Rule 56.2 requires a separate notice to the pro se party attaching the full texts of Rule 56 and Local Rule 56.1.

Why the 56.1 statement controls the outcome

Rule 56(c)(1) requires a party asserting that a fact is or is not genuinely disputed to cite “particular parts of materials in the record.” Rule 56(c)(3) adds that the court “need consider only the cited materials.” Rule 56(e) then lets the court treat an improperly supported or unaddressed fact as undisputed. Local Rule 56.1(c) converts that discretion into a default: a paragraph you do not specifically deny and controvert, with a citation, is admitted.

A general denial, a denial that argues instead of citing, or a denial that cites the complaint rather than evidence leaves the fact standing. Rule 56(c)(4) sets the floor for the declarations you cite: they “must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show that the affiant or declarant is competent to testify on the matters stated.”

If the motion comes before the facts you need are available, Rule 56(d) is the tool. On a showing “by affidavit or declaration that, for specified reasons, it cannot present facts essential to justify its opposition,” the court may defer or deny the motion, allow time for discovery, or issue another appropriate order.

Rule table

Requirement	Operative language	Source
Default deadline	“at any time until 30 days after the close of all discovery”	FRCP 56(b)
Default can be changed	“Unless a different time is set by local rule or the court orders otherwise”	FRCP 56(b)
Record citations	“citing to particular parts of materials in the record”	FRCP 56(c)(1)(A)
Facts unavailable to nonmovant	“for specified reasons, it cannot present facts essential to justify its opposition”	FRCP 56(d)
Day counting	“exclude the day of the event that triggers the period”	FRCP 6(a)(1)(A)
Weekend and holiday rollover	“the period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday”	FRCP 6(a)(1)(C)
Movant’s statement	“a separate, short, and concise statement, in numbered paragraphs”	S.D.N.Y./E.D.N.Y. Local Civ. R. 56.1(a) (eff. Jan. 2, 2026)
Consequence of omission	“Failure to submit such a statement may constitute grounds for denial of the motion.”	Local Civ. R. 56.1(a)
Counterstatement	“correspondingly numbered paragraph admitting or denying, and otherwise responding to, each numbered paragraph”	Local Civ. R. 56.1(b)
Deemed admitted	“will be deemed to be admitted for purposes of the motion unless specifically denied and controverted”	Local Civ. R. 56.1(c)
Evidence citations	“must be followed by citation to evidence that would be admissible”	Local Civ. R. 56.1(d)
Electronic copy	“must provide all other parties with an electronic copy, in a standard word processing format”	Local Civ. R. 56.1(e)
Bankruptcy adversary proceedings	“Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 applies in an adversary proceeding.”	FRBP 7056

Drafting-ready text: Local Rule 56.1 statement and counterstatement skeleton

The movant’s statement, numbered, one fact per paragraph, each followed by a pinpoint citation:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
[SOUTHERN / EASTERN] DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

[PLAINTIFF],                         Case No. [__]-cv-[_____] ([JUDGE INITIALS])
          Plaintiff,
     v.                              DEFENDANT'S STATEMENT OF UNDISPUTED
[DEFENDANT],                         MATERIAL FACTS PURSUANT TO
          Defendant.                 LOCAL CIVIL RULE 56.1

Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1(a), Defendant [NAME] submits the
following statement of the material facts as to which it contends there
is no genuine issue to be tried.

1. [One material fact, stated without argument.] ([Name] Decl. ¶ [_];
   [Name] Dep. [page]:[line]-[page]:[line], Ex. [_].)

2. [Next fact.] ([Citation to admissible evidence].)

Dated: [City], New York
       [Date]
                                     [COUNSEL, FIRM, ADDRESS, EMAIL]

The counterstatement, which under 56.1(e) must restate each movant entry with the response directly beneath it:

PLAINTIFF'S RESPONSE TO DEFENDANT'S LOCAL CIVIL RULE 56.1 STATEMENT
AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS

1. [Movant's paragraph 1, reproduced verbatim.]

RESPONSE: Denied. [One sentence identifying the disputed portion.]
([Name] Decl. ¶ [_]; Ex. [_] at [page].)

2. [Movant's paragraph 2, reproduced verbatim.]

RESPONSE: Admitted that [narrow admitted portion]. Otherwise denied.
([Citation to admissible evidence].)

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FACTS

[N+1]. [Additional fact.] ([Citation to admissible evidence].)

Build the response in the movant’s electronic copy rather than retyping from the PDF; it avoids an accidentally unanswered paragraph.

Worked example: counting the Rule 56(b) default

Assume all discovery, expert discovery included, closes on Friday, January 15, 2027, and the scheduling order sets no dispositive motion deadline.

• Day 0: Friday, January 15, 2027. Excluded under Rule 6(a)(1)(A).
• Day 30: Sunday, February 14, 2027.
• Rollover: Monday, February 15, 2027 is Washington’s Birthday, which Rule 6(a)(6)(A) lists as a legal holiday. The period runs to the next day that is not a weekend or legal holiday.
• Last day to file: Tuesday, February 16, 2027.
• Opposition: Joint Local Civil Rule 6.1 sets the default for non-discovery motions: opposing papers are “served within 14 days after service of the moving papers.” With ECF service on February 16, that is Tuesday, March 2, 2027. Rule 6(d) adds three days only for listed methods such as mail; the 2016 amendment removed electronic service from that list.
• Reply: due “within seven days after service of the answering papers,” which is Tuesday, March 9, 2027.

Now check the assigned judge’s individual practices. If they require a pre-motion conference letter before any summary judgment motion, the February 16 date is the last day to file the motion, not the day to start the process. Send the letter early enough for the conference to occur inside the window, or request a briefing schedule in it.

How New York state, California, and bankruptcy court compare

New York state court. 22 NYCRR 202.8-g, the Uniform Rule that had imposed a statement of material facts in Supreme Court, was repealed effective July 7, 2025 (N.Y. State Register, May 28, 2025, Vol. XLVII, Issue 21). Federal court in New York kept its requirement.

California state court. CCP 437c(b)(1) still requires “a separate statement setting forth plainly and concisely all material facts that the moving party contends are undisputed,” and a deficient moving statement “may in the court’s discretion constitute a sufficient ground for denying the motion.” Timing runs backward from the hearing rather than forward from discovery: notice “at least 81 days before the time appointed for hearing,” opposition “not less than 20 days preceding the noticed or continued date of hearing,” reply “not less than 11 days,” and the hearing “no later than 30 days before the date of trial.” See our posts on the CCP 437c 81-day count and the CRC 3.1350 separate statement format.

Bankruptcy adversary proceedings. FRBP 7056 provides that “Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 applies in an adversary proceeding,” but changes the timing: the motion “must be filed at least 30 days before the first date set for an evidentiary hearing on any issue that the motion addresses, unless a local rule sets a different time or the court orders otherwise.” Check the bankruptcy court’s own local rules for any statement requirement.

Pre-filing checklist

• Read the scheduling order first; its deadline displaces Rule 56(b).
• Confirm the date of the close of all discovery, including expert discovery, and count 30 days under Rule 6(a), rolling past weekends and legal holidays.
• Read the assigned judge’s individual practices for a pre-motion letter requirement, page or word limits, and any courtesy copy rule.
• Draft the 56.1 statement in numbered, single-fact paragraphs with no argument.
• Pin-cite every paragraph to admissible evidence: declaration paragraph, deposition page and line, exhibit page.
• Serve the electronic copy of the 56.1 statement in a standard word processing format when all parties have counsel.
• On opposition, reproduce every movant paragraph with the response directly beneath, and specifically deny and controvert with a citation for every fact you dispute.
• If you need discovery to oppose, file a Rule 56(d) declaration stating the specified reasons.
• Against a pro se party, serve and file the Local Rule 56.2 notice with the full texts of Rule 56 and Local Rule 56.1.
• Confirm the memorandum fits Local Civil Rule 7.1(c)’s 8,750-word limit and attach the word-count certificate.
• Run every citation in the brief and the 56.1 statement through a pre-filing verification protocol.

Federal MSJ package drafting

The Local Rule 56.1 statement is the document in a Southern or Eastern District MSJ package where a single uncited denial concedes a fact. LegalBriefsUSA drafts the full federal MSJ package for supervising counsel: the memorandum, the 56.1 statement or counterstatement keyed to the record, the supporting declarations, and the Rule 56(d) declaration when the record is not complete. If you have a 150-paragraph statement to answer and 14 days to do it, that is the document to send us. For the three-system view, see summary judgment timing in California, New York, and federal court.

Authorities cited

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a) through (h) and the 2009 and 2010 Committee Notes, read at law.cornell.edu. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(a)(1), 6(a)(6)(A), and 6(d) with the 2016 Committee Note, read at law.cornell.edu. Joint Local Civil Rules of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, Rules 6.1, 56.1, and 56.2, edition effective January 2, 2026, read in the court’s own PDF at nysd.uscourts.gov and cross-checked against federal-rules.com. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7056, read at law.cornell.edu. 22 NYCRR 202.8-g repeal status, read at law.cornell.edu. California Code of Civil Procedure section 437c(a)(2), (a)(3), (b)(1) through (b)(4), read at california.public.law and codes.findlaw.com, which agreed. Left out for lack of verification: the date and content of any 2024 amendment to Local Rule 56.1, because the committee notes appendix did not render in today’s fetch; specific judges’ pre-motion conference and 56.1 practices; the bankruptcy courts’ own local rules; and all case law on deemed admissions, because no opinion was opened and read for this article.

LegalBriefsUSA.com provides drafting and research support to licensed attorneys and law firms. This article is written for attorneys, is not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.