Barry v. The Institutes
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:24-cv-09605
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Barry v. The Institutes, Judge Engelmayer stayed the case pending arbitration and ordered status updates every three months.
The stay affects Michael Barry and the defendants The Institutes, The Insurance Information Institute, Inc. ("Triple I"), and Sean Kevelighan in his capacity as chief operating officer of Triple I.
What happened
In Barry v. The Institutes, the defendants asked the court to stay the case after an Eastern District of Pennsylvania order required Michael Barry to arbitrate under an agreement’s arbitration clause.
The court said arbitration was pending and relied on its authority to manage the case. It therefore issued a discretionary stay while the arbitration proceeds.
Judge Engelmayer directed the parties to file a joint status update every three months until the arbitration ends and directed the clerk to close the pending motion.
The detailed version
- Barry v. The Institutes · No. 1:24-cv-09605
- Paul Engelmayer
- May 29, 2025
Background
The Institutes and Sean Kevelighan moved to stay Michael Barry’s case. The motion followed an April 7, 2025 order from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granting the defendants’ motion to compel arbitration against Barry under an arbitration clause in an agreement between the parties.
The court had previously stated that it was prepared to issue a discretionary stay if either party began arbitration proceedings. The defendants’ motion and supporting exhibits informed the court that arbitration was pending.
Ruling
The court issued a discretionary stay of the case pending resolution of the arbitration. It relied on the court’s inherent authority to manage its docket, meaning its authority to control the progress of cases before it. The parties must file a joint status update every three months until the arbitration is resolved. The clerk was directed to close the motion pending at Docket 29.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.