Mees v. City of New York
- Alison Nathan
- 1:19-cv-07346
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Mees v. City of New York, Judge Nathan denied Mees’s request for partial final judgment to seek an immediate appeal.
Heleen Mees, whose request for an immediate appeal was denied; the order also concerns her state-law claims against the City of New York and the other defendants.
What happened
In Mees v. City of New York, Heleen Mees asked the court to enter partial final judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b), so she could immediately appeal the court’s April 7, 2020 order.
Mees said immediate review was needed because the limitations period for her state-law claims might expire while the case continued. The court disagreed, explaining that her motion to file a late notice of claim paused the limitations countdown for claims that were not already untimely.
Judge Alison J. Nathan denied Mees’s motion for partial entry of final judgment. The order resolved docket entry 68.
The detailed version
- Mees v. City of New York · No. 1:19-cv-07346
- Alison Nathan
- May 19, 2020
Background
Heleen Mees moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) for partial entry of final judgment. Rule 54(b) can allow an immediate appeal of part of a case before the entire case ends. Mees sought to appeal the court’s April 7, 2020 order.
Court’s Reasoning
The court explained that permission for an early appeal should be used sparingly because the law generally disfavors piecemeal appeals. Mees’s only stated reason for seeking partial final judgment was concern that the limitations period for her state-law claims would expire during the litigation.
The court rejected that concern. It explained that filing a motion for permission to file a late notice of claim pauses the limitations period for the relevant claims. Mees filed that motion on December 23, 2019. The pause applied to claims that were not already untimely and would continue if Mees succeeded on appeal in arguing that the court should have granted her motion to file a late notice of claim.
Disposition
Judge Alison J. Nathan denied Mees’s motion for Rule 54(b) partial entry of final judgment. The order states that it resolves Docket No. 68.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.