Johnson v. City of Newburgh

Background

The plaintiff sued the City of Newburgh, Chief Police Anthony Geraci, Police Officer Kevin Jodice, and The Mid Hudson News. The opinion states that The Mid Hudson News moved to dismiss the sole count against it on June 30, 2022. On July 27, 2022, the City of Newburgh, Geraci, and Jodice filed a partial motion to dismiss.

Order

The court ordered the plaintiff to notify the court by August 5, 2022, whether he intended to file an amended complaint in response to the motions or would rely on the complaint already subject to those motions. If the plaintiff chose not to amend, the motions would proceed under the ordinary schedule. The court also stated that it was unlikely to grant another opportunity to amend to address deficiencies identified by the fully briefed motions.

If the plaintiff chose to amend, the court required him to file the amended complaint no later than 14 days after notifying the court of that choice. Within 21 days after the amendment, the defendants could answer, file a motion to dismiss the amended complaint, or notify the court by letter that they would rely on their initially filed motions. The order stated that the deadlines for opposition and reply papers would follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Civil Rules unless the court ordered otherwise.

Disposition and significance

This order did not grant or deny either motion to dismiss and did not decide the merits of the claims. It directed the plaintiff to choose between amending the complaint and proceeding on the existing complaint. Judge Briccetti signed the order as a United States District Judge.