Castro v. City Of New York
- P. Castel
- 1:19-cv-10234
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Castro v. City of New York, Judge Castel extended litigation deadlines and postponed a court conference because of COVID-19 disruptions.
Yoleysi Castro, the City of New York, and the individual defendants identified as Dockery, Goggin, Myers, and Villette were affected by the deadline extensions and conference postponement.
What happened
Yoleysi Castro’s case against the City of New York and others concerns alleged improper searches, false arrest, and excessive force during two 2018 visits to Rikers Island.
The City asked for a 90-day pause because the pandemic made document gathering and in-person depositions difficult. Castro also asked for more time to serve four individual defendants, and the City did not object.
Judge P. Kevin Castel extended the time to answer or file a motion to July 24, 2020, extended the time to serve the individual defendants to July 17, 2020, and postponed the conference previously set for May 8 to a date in September 2020.
The detailed version
- Castro v. City Of New York · No. 1:19-cv-10234
- P. Castel
- Apr. 14, 2020
Background
The City of New York submitted a letter requesting a 90-day stay of Yoleysi Castro’s civil case because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter stated that the City’s Law Department had moved most employees to work from home, creating difficulties in communicating with client agencies, locating and producing documents, and arranging depositions. The City argued that remote depositions were not an adequate substitute for in-person depositions in the circumstances described.
The letter states that Castro alleges improper search, false arrest, and excessive force arising from two incidents during visits to Rikers Island in August 2018. It says that, during the first incident, an officer allegedly put hands into Castro’s pants and underwear during a pat-frisk search. During the second incident, Castro was allegedly detained for several hours after Department of Correction staff believed she was bringing contraband into the facility. The order does not decide these allegations.
Service Request
Castro requested an extension of the time to serve individual defendants Dockery, Goggin, Myers, and Villette. The letter states that counsel received their service addresses on March 23, 2020, and that the existing service deadline was June 4, 2020. Castro requested an extension to July 30, 2020. The City stated that it did not represent those individuals but did not object to the request.
Ruling
The order states that the time to answer or move was extended to July 24, 2020. It also states that the time to serve the individual defendants was extended to July 17, 2020. The conference was adjourned from May 8 to September 2020 at 12:00 p.m.; the day in September is not clear in the provided text. Judge P. Kevin Castel did not rule on the underlying search, arrest, or excessive-force allegations in this order. The provided text requests a 90-day stay, but the operative order text does not clearly state whether the stay itself was granted.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.