Mercer v. New York City Housing Authority
- Lewis Liman
- 1:22-cv-02271
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Mercer v. New York City Housing Authority: Judge Liman granted NYCHA’s request to adjourn the conference and stay discovery while its dismissal motion is pending.
Robert Mercer and the New York City Housing Authority; the order postponed the case-management proceedings and paused discovery while NYCHA’s motion to dismiss remained pending.
What happened
In Mercer v. New York City Housing Authority, NYCHA asked to postpone the initial pretrial conference, extend the case-management-plan deadline, and pause discovery while its motion to dismiss was pending. Robert Mercer consented to the request and is identified as representing himself.
The court granted the request. It adjourned the initial pretrial conference and the deadline for the proposed management plan without setting a new date, and stayed discovery while the motion to dismiss is considered.
Judge Lewis J. Liman entered the order on October 3, 2022. The order did not decide NYCHA’s motion to dismiss; it stated that, after the motion is resolved, the parties must request an initial conference if one is still necessary.
The detailed version
- Mercer v. New York City Housing Authority · No. 1:22-cv-02271
- Lewis Liman
- Oct. 3, 2022
Background
NYCHA asked the court to: (1) adjourn the initial pretrial conference scheduled for October 11, 2022; (2) extend the deadline for submitting a proposed case-management plan; and (3) stay, or pause, discovery until the court resolved NYCHA’s motion to dismiss. The letter states that this was NYCHA’s first request to adjourn the conference and first request for a discovery stay, and that Robert Mercer consented.
The court had directed the parties to submit a proposed case-management plan by October 4, 2022, and to attend the initial pretrial conference on October 11, 2022. NYCHA had filed its motion to dismiss on September 26, 2022. NYCHA argued that the motion could fully dispose of the case because, in its view, the amended complaint did not sufficiently allege that an NYCHA policy, practice, or custom deprived Mercer of a constitutional right.
Ruling
Judge Lewis J. Liman granted NYCHA’s request. The initial pretrial conference and the deadline for the proposed case-management plan were adjourned without a new date, and discovery was stayed pending resolution of the motion to dismiss. The court directed the parties, if necessary, to request an initial conference within one week after the motion was resolved.
This order addressed scheduling and discovery only. It did not resolve the motion to dismiss or decide whether Mercer adequately pleaded a constitutional-rights violation.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.