Willis v. New York City Department of Homeless Services
- Sarah Cave
- 1:24-cv-00735
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Willis v. City of New York, Judge Cave denied Willis’s requests to block extensions and obtain summary judgment before discovery.
Rodney Willis, the City of New York, Kevin Perdomo, and Denise Turner; the order specifically denied Willis’s requests and continued the case’s 30-day stay while Turner sought new counsel.
What happened
In Willis v. City of New York, Rodney Willis, representing himself, sent three letters asking the court to deny further extensions, describing his claims, seeking summary judgment, and reporting alleged workplace monitoring.
The court denied Willis’s request to block further extensions because the case was stayed for 30 days while Denise Turner sought new counsel. It also denied his request for summary judgment because the parties had not completed discovery, making the request premature.
Judge Sarah L. Cave directed the clerk to mail Willis a copy of the order. The opinion does not state a separate ruling on the workplace-monitoring allegations in the third letter.
The detailed version
- Willis v. New York City Department of Homeless Services · No. 1:24-cv-00735
- Sarah Cave
- Oct. 17, 2024
Background
Rodney Willis, who was representing himself, filed three letters. The first two asked the court to deny the defendants any additional extensions of time, stated Willis’s claims, and requested summary judgment in his favor. The third letter alleged that a manager at Willis’s office was asking other managers for information that could support a reprimand or written disciplinary action, and that other people were asking colleagues to monitor him in exchange for personal favors.
The court had previously stayed the case for 30 days after granting Corporation Counsel for the City of New York’s request to withdraw as Denise Turner’s lawyer. The stay was intended to give Turner time to obtain new counsel.
Rulings
The court denied Willis’s request to prevent any further extensions. It relied on the reasons given in its earlier order concerning the withdrawal of Turner’s counsel and the resulting 30-day stay.
The court also denied Willis’s request for summary judgment. It had previously denied an earlier summary-judgment motion as premature because the parties had not yet conducted discovery. The court explained that Willis would have an opportunity to seek summary judgment later, after the withdrawal issue, any renewed motion to dismiss, and discovery were completed.
The opinion does not state a separate ruling on the allegations in Willis’s third letter. The clerk was directed to mail Willis a copy of the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.