Which idea lasted longer?  Was it the Chief Administrative Judge of New York State’s idea to have attorneys inform Judges that they took more than 60 days to decide a motion (see post) or the Appellate Division, Fourth Department’s settlement program?

Effective February 1, 2007, the Fourth Department will no longer have a settlement program similar to the other three Appellate Division Departments (see press release and repeal).  Did this short-lived program demonstrate its ineffectiveness in its early stages or did newly-appointed Justice Scudder suggest the repeal because he thought it was a bad idea to begin with?  Who knows?

All practitioners need to know is that they no longer have to include a pre-calendar statement with a notice of appeal.