(a) All motions shall be returnable before the assigned judge, and all papers shall be filed with the court on or before the return date.

If a case has not been assigned to a judge, the motion shall be made returnable before the court, and a copy of the moving papers, together with a request for judicial intervention, shall be filed with the court, with proof of service upon all other parties, where required by section 202.6 of this Part, within five days of service upon the other parties. The moving party shall give written notice of the index number to all other parties immediately after filing of the papers. Copies of all responding papers shall be submitted to the court, with proof of service and with the index number set forth in the papers, on or before the return date. The case shall be assigned to a judge as soon as practicable after the filing of the request for judicial intervention pursuant to section 202.6 of this Part, but in no event later than the return date. After assignment to the judge, the court shall provide for appropriate notice to the parties of the name of the assigned judge. Motion papers noticed to be heard in a county other than the county where the venue of the action has been placed by the plaintiff shall be assigned to a judge in accordance with procedures established by the Chief Administrator.

(c) The moving party shall serve copies of all affidavits and briefs upon all other parties at the time of service of the notice of motion. The answering party shall serve copies of all affidavits and briefs as required by CPLR 2214. Affidavits shall be for a statement of the relevant facts, and briefs shall be for a statement of the relevant law.

(d) Motion papers received by the clerk of the court on or before the return date shall be deemed submitted as of the return date. The assigned judge, in his or her discretion or at the request of a party, thereafter may determine that any motion be orally argued and may fix a time for oral argument. A party requesting oral argument shall set forth such request in its notice of motion or in its order to show cause or on the first page of the answering papers, as the case may be. Where all parties to a motion request oral argument, oral argument shall be granted unless the court shall determine it to be unnecessary. Where a motion is brought on by order to show cause, the court may set forth in the order that oral argument is required on the return date of the motion.

(f) Where the motion relates to disclosure or to a bill of particulars, and a preliminary conference has not been held, the court shall notify all parties of a scheduled date to appear for a preliminary conference, which shall be not more than 45 days from the return date of the motion unless the court orders otherwise, and a form of a stipulation and order, prescribed by the Chief Administrator of the Courts, shall be made available which the parties may sign, agreeing to a timetable which shall provide for completion of disclosure within 12 months, and for a resolution of any other issues raised by the motion. If all parties sign the form and return it to the court before the return date of the motion, such form shall be “so ordered” by the court, and the motion shall be deemed withdrawn. If such stipulation is not returned by all parties, the conference shall be held on the assigned date. Issues raised by the motion and not resolved at the conference shall be determined by the court.

(g) Unless the circumstances require settlement of an order, a judge shall incorporate into the decision an order effecting the relief specified in the decision.