Legal Question in Family Law in New York

What exactly does it mean for a motion "to be heard?" In my (limited) experience with motions they are dealt with in writing, the initial Notice with its Affidavit, followed by the Opposition, and finally the Reply. However, I am preparing to file a motion - and will be consulting with an attorney on this soon, but was hoping to get some preliminary advice on a general scale - and what I've read through 2214(b) I must give 8 days notice prior to be when the motion will be heard, and I'm not sure exactly what this means. If I'm not mistaken motions do not always - if even often - include oral arguments on them but are mainly deal with in writing, and thus I'm not sure WHY I need to give a date "to be heard" on the motion and why I must bother going to court to be heard and request relief when the relief I'm seeking is included IN the notice of motion I will be serving on the other side.

So I guess my questions are: what does it mean for a motion "to be heard?" If motions are dealt with mainly in writing WHY do I even need to go to court to be heard?


Asked on 5/31/11, 12:11 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Paula McGill Paula McGill Attorney at Law

You are correct, most motions are decided on the papers filed by the parties.

However, depending on the motions and the issues, the judge may require a hearing if all facts and issues weren't set out in the submissions. .

In most cases, scheduling a hearing is at the discretion of the judge. In other cases, the judge is required to hold a hearing before issuing certain orders.

I understand it's time consuming and expensive (if you have to take off from work). However, such is the nature of litigation.

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Answered on 5/31/11, 10:32 pm


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