Behlin v. Rite Aid Pharmacy Store
- Katherine Failla
- 1:18-cv-04335
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 8
In Behlin v. Rite Aid Pharmacy Store, Judge Failla denied discovery relief during the stay and invited a request for volunteer counsel.
Rahbu Behlin and the defendants, because the court denied Behlin’s request to compel discovery while the case remained stayed; Behlin was also invited to request volunteer counsel.
What happened
In Rahbu Behlin v. Rite Aid Pharmacy Store, et al., the court considered Behlin’s request to require the defendants to respond to his discovery requests. The case and all discovery had been paused because of the COVID-19 health emergency, with the pause scheduled to expire on July 27, 2020.
The court denied the request to compel discovery because the case was still paused. It explained that, after the pause ends, the defendants’ time to respond to discovery requests that were pending when the pause began will resume. The court also invited Behlin to apply for a volunteer lawyer but did not appoint one.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla entered the order on July 23, 2020. She explained that civil-case representation depends on a volunteer lawyer agreeing to take the case and that Behlin should be prepared to continue without a lawyer.
The detailed version
- Behlin v. Rite Aid Pharmacy Store · No. 1:18-cv-04335
- Katherine Failla
- July 24, 2020
Background
The court received Rahbu Behlin’s letter, docketed July 21, 2020, asking the court to compel the defendants to respond to his discovery efforts. Discovery is the pretrial process through which parties obtain information and documents relevant to the case.
The court had stayed, or paused, the case by an April 1, 2020 order because of the COVID-19 health emergency. It extended that stay on June 12, 2020. When the order was entered, the case and all discovery remained stayed, and the stay was scheduled to expire on July 27, 2020.
Ruling on Discovery
The court denied Behlin’s motion to compel discovery. The stated reason was that the case and all discovery had been stayed since April 1, 2020. The court reminded the parties that, once the stay was lifted, the defendants’ time to respond to discovery requests pending when the stay began would begin running again.
Request for Volunteer Counsel
In response to Behlin’s request for help litigating the case, the court invited him to submit a request for volunteer counsel. The court identified factors it would consider, including whether the claim appeared likely to have substance, Behlin’s ability to investigate important facts and present the case, whether conflicting evidence would require cross-examination, the complexity of the legal issues, and any special reason that a lawyer would be more likely to produce a fair result.
The court explained that there were no funds to hire lawyers for civil cases and that it relied on lawyers who volunteer. It also stated that even if Behlin’s request were granted, no volunteer lawyer was guaranteed to accept the case, and Behlin should be prepared to proceed without counsel. The order did not grant or deny an application for counsel; it invited Behlin to make one.
Disposition
Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied the motion to compel discovery and invited Behlin to request volunteer counsel. The order did not decide the underlying claims in the case.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.