Trustees of the Local 806 Structural Steel and Bridge Painters of Greater New…
Trustees of the Local 806 Structural Steel and Bridge Painters of Greater New York Employee Trust Funds v. American Venture Construction LLC
- Philip Halpern
- 7:21-cv-01012
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Trustees v. American Venture Construction: Judge Halpern administratively closed the case because claims were stayed during bankruptcy proceedings.
The plaintiffs and the remaining defendants, American Venture Construction LLC and American Tri-venture LLC, are affected by the administrative closure and the continued stay of the claims against the bankruptcy debtors.
What happened
In Trustees of the Local 806 Structural Steel and Bridge Painters of Greater New York Employee Trust Funds v. American Venture Construction LLC, the two remaining defendants were involved in ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, which stayed the claims against them.
The court had asked the parties to explain why the case should remain open after the settlement with the only defendant that was not in bankruptcy. The parties did not respond.
Judge Philip M. Halpern ordered the Clerk to administratively close the case, without prejudice to either party asking to reopen it by letter within 30 days after the bankruptcy proceedings end or the automatic stay is lifted. Scheduled conferences and other court appearances were cancelled.
The detailed version
- Trustees of the Local 806 Structural Steel and Bridge Painters of Greater New… · No. 7:21-cv-01012
- Philip Halpern
- June 16, 2022
Background
The two remaining defendants were American Venture Construction LLC and American Tri-venture LLC. The opinion states that both were debtors in ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. As a result, the claims against them were stayed under 11 U.S.C. § 362, which imposes an automatic pause on many actions against a bankruptcy debtor.
The court had previously ordered that the case would be administratively closed unless the parties explained by June 3, 2022, why it should remain open and active in light of the settlement with the sole non-bankrupt defendant. The parties did not file the requested letter or otherwise communicate with the court.
Ruling
Judge Philip M. Halpern ordered the Clerk of Court to administratively close the case. The order states that this closure was without prejudice to either party moving by letter to reopen the case within 30 days after the bankruptcy proceeding concludes or the automatic stay is otherwise vacated. The court also cancelled all conferences and other scheduled court appearances. The opinion explains that administrative closure is a docket-management measure and has the same effect as a stay; it does not determine the merits of the claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.