Phoenix Light SF Limited v. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation

Background

The plaintiffs brought breach-of-contract claims against The Bank of New York Mellon, as Trustee. The defendant had a second motion for summary judgment pending before Judge Caproni. The court had also permitted the defendant to file a supplemental brief addressing whether the plaintiffs lacked standing—the legal requirement that a plaintiff be entitled to bring a claim—and, alternatively, whether a prior related decision prevented the plaintiffs from arguing that they had standing.

Related proceeding and appeal

In a related case involving many of the same plaintiffs and the same underlying agreements, Judge Vernon S. Broderick granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. He found that the plaintiffs lacked both constitutional and prudential standing to bring their breach-of-contract action. The plaintiffs appealed and later filed a motion asking Judge Broderick to reconsider; he denied that motion. The appeal remained pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Court’s action

Judge Caproni stated that, based on her review of the related decision and the appellate brief, she anticipated that the Second Circuit’s ruling would resolve whether the plaintiffs in this case had Article III standing to bring their claims. The court therefore ordered the plaintiffs to show cause—meaning explain why the requested action should not be taken—by January 8, 2021, why this case and the related matter at Docket No. 18-CV-1194 should not be stayed while the appeal was pending. The defendant had until January 15, 2021, to respond. Each side could submit a letter of up to eight double-spaced pages. The order did not itself stay the cases and did not rule on the pending summary-judgment motion.