Livingston v. The City Of New York
- Katherine Failla
- 1:19-cv-05209-KPF
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Livingston v. City of New York, Judge Failla scheduled an initial pretrial conference and directed case-management submissions without deciding the claims.
The parties and their counsel, including Andrew Livingston, the City of New York, and the other defendants, were affected by the scheduling, filing, service, and conference requirements.
What happened
In Livingston v. The City Of New York, the court assigned the case to Judge Katherine Polk Failla and scheduled an initial pretrial conference for April 16, 2020, at 2:30 p.m. in Courtroom 618 of the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse.
The court ordered counsel for all parties to attend, register as electronic filing users, confer about settlement and other case-management issues, and submit a proposed case-management plan and scheduling order. The parties also had to submit a joint letter addressing the case, jurisdiction and venue, deadlines, motions, discovery, settlement discussions, and other issues.
Judge Failla also explained when the conference could be canceled or postponed and directed counsel to serve the order and her individual rules on other parties’ attorneys. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion listed at Docket No. 20; the order did not state that the motion was granted or denied.
The detailed version
- Livingston v. The City Of New York · No. 1:19-cv-05209-KPF
- Katherine Failla
- Mar. 6, 2020
Background
The court issued a notice scheduling an initial pretrial conference in Andrew Livingston’s case against the City of New York and other defendants. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims or defenses in detail.
Court’s directives
The court assigned the case to Judge Katherine Polk Failla for all purposes and ordered counsel for all parties to appear at an initial pretrial conference on April 16, 2020, at 2:30 p.m. in Courtroom 618 of the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse. The conference was to be attended by the attorney who would serve as principal trial counsel.
The court directed counsel to register promptly as electronic filing users and to review and comply with Judge Failla’s individual rules for civil cases. Before the conference, counsel had to confer about settlement and the subjects covered by a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16 conference.
The parties were ordered to file electronically and email a proposed civil case management plan and scheduling order by the Thursday of the week before the conference. The parties also had to submit a joint letter of no more than five pages addressing:
- the nature of the action, principal defenses, and major legal and factual issues; - why federal jurisdiction and venue were proper; - existing deadlines and cutoff dates; - outstanding motions; - discovery already completed and discovery needed for meaningful settlement discussions; - the status of settlement discussions and whether the parties wanted a settlement conference; and - other information that could help move the case toward settlement or trial.
If the case had been settled or otherwise terminated, counsel did not have to submit the letter or appear if proof of termination was sent to the court before the conference. Requests to extend a deadline or adjourn the conference had to be made by letter at least 48 hours in advance and include the information required by the court’s individual rules.
The court also allowed the parties to request cancellation of the conference if they agreed to a schedule closing all discovery within six months and had no other issues to raise. The court stated that it would ordinarily grant such requests.
Disposition
Judge Failla directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion at Docket No. 20. The opinion does not identify the motion’s requested relief and does not say that the motion was granted or denied. The order otherwise set scheduling and filing requirements; it did not decide the merits of the underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.