Hardy v. HNY Ferry LLC
- Garnett
- 1:25-cv-04359
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hardy v. HNY Ferry, Judge Garnett indefinitely adjourned the initial conference and related filing deadline because of defendants’ bankruptcy proceedings.
John Hardy, the defendants involved in the action, and the case schedule. The plaintiffs must submit a status update by August 18, 2025.
What happened
In John Hardy v. HNY Ferry LLC, et al., Hardy’s lawyers said he brought a personal-injury claim under the Jones Act after a June 1, 2022 accident. They said the complaint and summonses had not been served because most defendants were involved in a bankruptcy case.
Hardy’s lawyers asked to postpone the July 11, 2025 initial conference while the parties discussed settlement and sought permission to continue the case without violating the bankruptcy stay. They also described a written agreement allowing Hardy to file the case but restricting further steps without additional approval.
Judge Margaret M. Garnett granted the request. She adjourned the initial conference and the deadline for joint pre-conference submissions indefinitely, and ordered the plaintiffs to provide a status update by August 18, 2025.
The detailed version
- Hardy v. HNY Ferry LLC · No. 1:25-cv-04359
- Garnett
- July 1, 2025
Background
The plaintiff’s counsel described the case as a personal-injury action under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 688. Counsel stated that Hardy’s accident occurred on June 1, 2022, and that the three-year period they identified for bringing the claim expired on May 31, 2025.
Counsel stated that the summonses and complaint had not been served because all but two defendants were debtors in a bankruptcy case pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Counsel also stated that the parties had executed a written stipulation permitting Hardy to file the action and obtain summonses, but prohibiting further steps without another stipulation or permission from the Texas bankruptcy court.
Request
Hardy’s counsel asked the court to postpone the initial conference while counsel discussed a possible settlement with the defendants’ insurance carrier. If settlement discussions failed, counsel said the parties would need to address the bankruptcy stay and insurance-coverage issues before proceeding with the action.
Ruling
The court granted the request. The initial pretrial conference scheduled for July 11, 2025, was “ADJOURNED sine die,” meaning it was postponed without setting a new date. The deadline for the parties’ joint pre-conference submissions was also adjourned sine die. Judge Margaret M. Garnett ordered the plaintiffs to submit a status update addressing the matters raised in the letter by August 18, 2025. The order did not decide the merits of Hardy’s Jones Act claim.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.