Calle v. 1226 Second Avenue Realty Corp.

Background

Defendants 1226 Second Avenue Realty Corp., doing business as Primola Restaurant, Djuliano Zuliani, and Samuel Morocho, moved for a second extension of the deadline to answer the complaint. They asked that their response be due 20 days after mediation, arguing that responding before mediation would be inefficient and waste resources.

Plaintiff Angel Calle opposed the extension. He also asked the court to direct defendants to respond to discovery requests that he said were served after a required conference between the parties’ lawyers. Defendants disputed that the conference had occurred and asked the court to direct that the formal discovery requests be held until mediation ended.

Answer Deadline

The court denied defendants’ request for an extension of time to answer. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b)(1)(A), an extension may be granted for good cause. The court found that defendants had not shown good cause for delaying their answer until after mediation. Although the court found no evidence of bad faith, it concluded that the delay would prejudice Calle by depriving him of the opportunity to review and evaluate defendants’ position on the claims before mediation.

Discovery

The court found that Calle’s discovery requests were premature. Defendants disputed whether the parties had held the required conference under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f), and the court concluded that discovery beyond what was required under the Fair Labor Standards Act mediation pilot program could interfere with mediation. The court also noted that it had not issued a scheduling order or approved a case-management plan and generally does not set a discovery schedule until after an initial pretrial conference.

The court granted defendants’ request to hold formal discovery in abeyance pending mediation and further order from the court. It directed the clerk to terminate the motions at Dkts. 16 and 18.