Moonsammy v. Banks
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:24-cv-05151
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Moonsammy v. Banks, Judge Engelmayer denied emergency injunctive relief because the Moonsammys did not show likely irreparable harm.
Cindy and Kemraj Moonsammy’s request for emergency relief concerning a resolution meeting about A.M.’s due process complaint was denied; the opinion does not resolve the underlying dispute.
What happened
In Moonsammy v. Banks, Cindy and Kemraj Moonsammy asked the court to require the New York City Department of Education to hold a resolution meeting about their daughter A.M.’s due process complaint.
The court applied the emergency-injunction standard, which requires a showing of irreparable harm, a sufficient likelihood of success or serious legal questions with strongly favorable hardships, and consistency with the public interest. The court found that the Moonsammys had not shown they were likely to suffer irreparable harm without the requested relief.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer therefore denied the Moonsammys’ motion for emergency injunctive relief.
The detailed version
- Moonsammy v. Banks · No. 1:24-cv-05151
- Paul Engelmayer
- Aug. 14, 2024
Background
On July 16, 2024, Cindy and Kemraj Moonsammy moved for emergency injunctive relief against the New York City Department of Education. They asked the court to require the Department to convene a resolution meeting with them, members of their daughter A.M.’s individualized education program team who had specific knowledge of the facts identified in A.M.’s due process complaint, and a public-agency representative with decision-making authority. The requested meeting was to occur within the time limits identified by the Moonsammys under 20 U.S.C. § 1415 and 34 C.F.R. § 300.510.
The court directed the parties to confer about the request. The Department opposed the motion, and the Moonsammys filed a reply and supporting declarations. The court held a hearing on August 14, 2024.
Legal standard
The court stated that a party seeking an emergency injunction must show irreparable harm, either a likelihood of success on the merits or serious questions on the merits together with a balance of hardships decidedly favoring the moving party, and that the relief would serve the public interest.
Ruling
For the reasons given at the hearing, the court found that the Moonsammys had not met their burden of showing that they were likely to suffer irreparable harm without the requested emergency relief. The court therefore concluded that they had not established entitlement to the injunction and ordered that their motion for emergency injunctive relief be denied. The opinion does not provide the hearing’s additional reasons.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.