Massey v. Hernandez
- Gregory Woods
- 1:20-cv-08633
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Massey v. Hernandez, Judge Woods rescheduled a conference and ordered officials to produce Massey after he missed the first conference.
Tyrone Massey, the defendants, defense counsel, and officials responsible for producing Massey at the Anna M. Kross Center.
What happened
In Massey v. Hernandez, the court had scheduled a status conference for April 20, 2022. Tyrone Massey did not join the conference, although defense counsel told the court that Massey had been brought to the designated location but refused to participate.
The court adjourned the conference and scheduled a telephone conference for May 10, 2022. It ordered the warden or another official at the Anna M. Kross Center to bring Massey to a suitable location with a telephone so he could participate.
Judge Woods also reminded Massey to follow court orders and warned that continued failure to participate or comply could lead to dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). The order did not dismiss the case.
The detailed version
- Massey v. Hernandez · No. 1:20-cv-08633
- Gregory Woods
- Apr. 22, 2022
Background
On March 8, 2022, the court scheduled a status conference for April 20, 2022, and the Clerk mailed the scheduling order to Massey’s address listed on the docket. On April 20, the court, the court reporter, and defense counsel appeared by telephone, but Massey did not. Defense counsel advised the court that Massey had been produced at the designated time but refused to join the conference. The court therefore adjourned the conference.
The court also understood from a March 22, 2022 letter from defense counsel that Massey had not served initial disclosures or responded to the defendants’ discovery requests. The court noted that it had twice extended the discovery deadlines.
Order
The court scheduled a new telephone conference for May 10, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. It ordered the warden or another official in charge of the Anna M. Kross Center to produce Massey by that time at a suitable location equipped with a telephone so he could participate in a conference with the court and defense counsel. Defense counsel was directed to send the order to the warden, confirm that the facility could connect Massey to the conference, and make other arrangements if necessary.
Warning About Dismissal
Judge Gregory H. Woods reminded Massey that he must comply with court orders. The court warned that continued failure to comply with its orders or to participate actively in the litigation could result in dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), which permits dismissal when a plaintiff fails to prosecute a case or comply with court rules or an order. This order did not dismiss the case or impose another stated sanction.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.