Housing Rights Initiative v. Compass, Inc.
- Sidney Stein
- 1:21-cv-02221
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Housing Rights Initiative v. Compass, Inc., Judge Moses ordered Chandler Management to produce discovery and required Housing Rights Initiative to provide an update.
Chandler Management, LLC had to produce specified discovery by June 26, 2024, and Housing Rights Initiative had to submit a fact-discovery status update by July 1, 2024.
What happened
In Housing Rights Initiative v. Compass, Inc., the court addressed a discovery dispute involving plaintiff Housing Rights Initiative and defendant Chandler Management, LLC.
The court ordered Chandler to produce by June 26, 2024, all remaining nonprivileged documents responsive to Housing Rights Initiative’s first document request that were within Chandler’s possession, custody, or control. The order specifically included monthly management statements prepared by First Management Corp., even if those documents were held by that nonparty service provider. Housing Rights Initiative also had to submit a fact-discovery status update by July 1, 2024.
United States Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses issued the order after a discovery conference. The opinion does not state any broader ruling on the merits of the case.
The detailed version
- Housing Rights Initiative v. Compass, Inc. · No. 1:21-cv-02221
- Sidney Stein
- June 11, 2024
Discovery Order
The court issued an order concerning plaintiff Housing Rights Initiative’s first request for documents. Defendant Chandler Management, LLC, was ordered to produce no later than June 26, 2024, all remaining nonprivileged documents that respond to that request and are within Chandler’s “possession, custody, or control” under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34(a)(1).
Documents Held by a Nonparty
The order stated that the required production included, but was not limited to, documents described by Housing Rights Initiative as “monthly management statements,” which were prepared by Chandler’s property manager, First Management Corp. The court reminded Chandler that documents can be within a party’s “control” even when a nonparty physically possesses them. The court explained that control includes the legal right or practical ability to obtain documents from the nonparty.
Additional Requirement and Disposition
The court also ordered Housing Rights Initiative to submit a letter by July 1, 2024, updating the court on the status of fact discovery. United States Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses issued these discovery directives after the day’s discovery conference. The opinion did not decide the parties’ underlying claims or defenses.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.