ny-suffolk-dc - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: ny-suffolk-dc description: > Use when drafting or filing in Suffolk County District Court (Uniform District Court Act) — the second Long Island District Court handling civil actions up to $15,000, landlord-tenant summary proceedings, and small claims in five western towns + Brookhaven. Triggers include 'Suffolk District Court', 'Suffolk County District Court', 'Central Islip courthouse', 'Suffolk Landlord Tenant Part', 'UDCA', 'Uniform District Court Act'. Covers Suffolk DC's six geographic districts (five western towns + Brookhaven), Civil Part / L&T Part / Small Claims Part / Commercial Claims Part, 22 NYCRR Part 212 format, and $15,000 UDCA jurisdictional ceiling. IMPORTANT: Suffolk DC does NOT cover eastern towns (East Hampton, Southampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southold) — they route to Town Justice Courts. NOT a substitute for Suffolk Supreme Court (separate court with own filing system). version: 0.1.1

Suffolk County District Court

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Verify the specific District's local rules and the assigned Judge's Part Rules before every filing.

At a glance

Court: Suffolk County District Court — established under the Uniform District Court Act (UDCA) and codified procedural rules at 22 NYCRR Part 212
Civil jurisdiction: claims up to $15,000 (UDCA § 202)
Small claims: up to $5,000 in informal proceedings (UDCA § 1801)
Commercial claims: up to $5,000 in the Commercial Claims Part (UDCA § 1801-A)
L&T (summary proceedings): no monetary cap on rent arrears; RPAPL Article 7 procedure
Headquarters: 400 Carleton Avenue, Central Islip, NY 11722 (First District / Cohalan Court Complex)
E-filing: NYSCEF expanding in Suffolk District Court civil filings; check NYSCEF case-type matrix before attempting

Coverage area — five western towns + Brookhaven

Suffolk District Court has jurisdiction only over the five western towns plus Brookhaven:

Town of Babylon
Town of Huntington
Town of Islip
Town of Smithtown
Town of Brookhaven

The five eastern towns — Riverhead, Southold, Shelter Island, Southampton, and East Hampton — are outside the District Court's jurisdiction. Civil matters arising in those towns route to the Town Justice Courts (Uniform Justice Court Act, civil jurisdiction up to $3,000). This is a frequent surprise for pro se litigants who file in Central Islip a case that actually belongs in (e.g.) Southampton Town Justice Court.

District	Coverage	Courthouse
First District	Town of Babylon	400 Carleton Avenue, Central Islip (Cohalan Complex)
Second District	Town of Babylon	400 Carleton Avenue, Central Islip
Third District	Town of Huntington	30 Center Drive, Central Islip
Fourth District	Town of Smithtown	30 Center Drive, Central Islip
Fifth District	Town of Islip	30 Center Drive, Central Islip
Sixth District	Town of Brookhaven	30 Center Drive, Central Islip

Most filings actually transit through one of the two Central Islip courthouses (Cohalan Complex at 400 Carleton, and 30 Center Drive). The District designation drives the calendaring and judicial assignment, not the physical location.

Parts division

Suffolk District Court operates the same Parts as Nassau:

Civil Part — debt-collection and contract actions up to $15,000
Landlord-Tenant Part — RPAPL Article 7 summary proceedings (nonpayment + holdover); the Suffolk County L&T forum for the western towns + Brookhaven
Small Claims Part — informal proceedings; up to $5,000
Commercial Claims Part — entities; UDCA § 1801-A
Criminal Parts — misdemeanors + violations + arraignments
TPVA — Traffic and Parking Violations Agency

Distinctives

Suffolk's jurisdictional split is unique on Long Island

Unlike Nassau (where the District Court covers the entire county), Suffolk's District Court covers only the five western towns plus Brookhaven. The eastern towns (Riverhead, Southold, Shelter Island, Southampton, East Hampton) maintain their own Town Justice Courts with the $3,000 small-civil limit. Pro se debt-defense practice therefore looks different in eastern Suffolk than in western Suffolk:

Western Suffolk + Brookhaven: cases up to $15,000 land in Suffolk District Court (Central Islip); CCFA + 22 NYCRR Part 212 apply
Eastern Suffolk: cases up to $3,000 land in Town Justice Court; cases over $3,000 must route to Suffolk Supreme Court, not the District Court

CCFA + 22 NYCRR § 202.27-a apply in full

The 2022 Consumer Credit Fairness Act (CCFA) applies in full at Suffolk District Court Civil Part the same way it applies in Nassau District Court and NYC Civil Court. CPLR 3015(e) heightened pleading (account statements, itemized default-rate calculation, chain of title for assigned debt) is enforced at default-judgment time. The 3-year SOL on consumer-credit actions (CPLR 214-i) shortens many actions filed in the wake of the 2022 reforms.

Cohalan Court Complex is the principal courthouse

The John P. Cohalan Jr. Court Complex at 400 Carleton Avenue, Central Islip is the primary courthouse — it houses both Suffolk District Court (First + Second Districts) and the Suffolk County Supreme Court Civil Term. The complex is colloquially "Central Islip" and the two courts are sometimes confused; verify the named court on the summons.

L&T Part procedure

Suffolk District Court's Landlord-Tenant Part runs RPAPL Article 7 summary proceedings under the same procedural framework as Nassau and NYC Housing Court. The 2019 HSTPA amendments — 14-day rent demand, 30/60/90-day termination notice based on tenancy length, § 234-a caps on late fees, and the rent-deposit protection scheme — apply across Suffolk County L&T practice. Note that Good Cause Eviction (2024 statewide opt-in) has been adopted by several Suffolk County villages and cities (Islip, Babylon Village among them); confirm the relevant municipality's election before drafting a holdover petition that would now require Good Cause grounds.

Discovery is limited

CPLR Article 31 disclosure formally applies; in practice Suffolk District Court Civil Part rarely sees written interrogatories or document demands outside the pre-trial conference order. Most disputes are resolved at the first two appearances on the consumer-credit calendar.

Filing checklist

Summons + Complaint: UDCA § 401 / 402 — short-form summons + complaint with the $45 filing fee (UDCA § 1911(1))
Service: CPLR 308 / 312 within UDCA § 403 service period (typically 120 days)
Answer: defendant has 30 days from service in the Civil Part (CPLR 320(a))
Pre-trial conference: routinely scheduled within 60-90 days of issue being joined; held at Central Islip regardless of District
Trial date: 6-12 months from filing in most Civil Part cases

Format compliance: 22 NYCRR Part 212 governs Suffolk District Court filings. Use ny-statewide-format as the baseline.

Composition with other ny- skills

ny-statewide-format — baseline 22 NYCRR Part 202 format with Part 212 District Court adjustments
ny-county-courts — broader roll-up that this skill refines
ny-nassau-dc — the parallel Nassau District Court skill
ny-discovery — CPLR Article 31 mechanics
ny-first-30-days — Answer / pre-answer motion triage
ny-consumer-debt — CCFA pleading + default scrutiny in the Civil Part
ny-landlord-tenant — RPAPL Article 7 procedure for the Suffolk L&T Part
ny-pro-se — pro se framework (Suffolk DC is high-volume pro se)
ny-file-packet — packet assembly

Pro-se resources

Suffolk County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service: 631-234-5577
Nassau / Suffolk Law Services (NSLS) — civil legal aid; serves both counties
Touro Law Center Civil Practice Clinic — Central Islip; pro se support
Self-Represented Litigants Office at Cohalan Complex