Fletcher v. Medgar Evers College
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:20-cv-04163
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Fletcher v. Medgar Evers College, Judge Caproni granted requests to postpone the initial conference and defendants’ response deadline.
The parties and their counsel received additional time for the initial conference, required filings, and defendants’ response to the complaint. Anyone attending the conference was also given instructions to participate by telephone.
What happened
Fletcher v. Medgar Evers College, CUNY, et al. was at the scheduling stage. Counsel requested more time for the initial conference and for certain defendants to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint. The request was supported or joined by the parties’ appearing counsel, and the plaintiff’s counsel consented.
The request followed earlier extensions and was based on time needed to determine representation for some defendants, consult with future counsel, and consider settlement discussions. The letter also said that Medgar Evers College had no separate legal existence from the City University of New York, but the order did not decide that issue.
Judge Valerie Caproni granted the application. She moved the initial conference to December 4, 2020, required joint submissions by November 24, and extended defendants’ time to answer or otherwise respond to December 1. The parties may later request a settlement-conference referral after counsel is retained for two defendants.
The detailed version
- Fletcher v. Medgar Evers College · No. 1:20-cv-04163
- Valerie Caproni
- Sept. 14, 2020
Background
The Office of the New York Attorney General, representing the City University of New York in the action, requested two scheduling extensions. First, it asked to postpone the initial pretrial conference and related filings from September 25 to December 4, 2020. Second, it asked to extend the time for Medgar Evers College, CUNY, Félix V. Matos Rodriguez, Rudolph Crew, and Johnathon P. Hardaway, II, to answer, move, or otherwise respond to the complaint from October 2 to December 1, 2020.
The request stated that earlier extensions had been used to determine representation. The Attorney General’s Office said it would represent CUNY and its chancellor in the official-capacity claim, while Crew and Hardaway had been advised to obtain private counsel. The letter also referred to settlement discussions and a possible settlement conference. Counsel for the parties who had appeared joined or consented to the requested extensions.
Ruling
Judge Valerie Caproni granted the application. The initial conference was adjourned to Friday, December 4, 2020, at 11:00 a.m.; joint pre-conference submissions were due Tuesday, November 24, 2020; and defendants’ time to answer or otherwise respond was adjourned to Tuesday, December 1, 2020. The order permitted the parties to submit a joint letter requesting referral to Magistrate Judge Stewart Aaron for a settlement conference after counsel was retained for Hardaway and Crew. It did not decide the underlying claims or the letter’s assertion about Medgar Evers College’s legal status.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.