Brown v. County of Westchester
- Philip Halpern
- 7:22-cv-06146
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Brown v. County of Westchester, Judge Halpern dismissed Bianca Brown’s eleventh claim and the County District Attorney’s Office as a defendant, both with prejudice.
Bianca Brown’s eleventh claim under the New York State Constitution and the Westchester County Office of the District Attorney were removed from the case; the office was terminated as a defendant.
What happened
In Brown v. County of Westchester, Defendants were preparing to ask the court to dismiss the case. At a pre-motion conference, the court addressed two matters identified in the opinion.
Bianca Brown had said she agreed to withdraw her eleventh claim under the New York State Constitution. The court also ruled that the Westchester County Office of the District Attorney could not be sued because it has no separate legal existence from the District Attorney.
The court dismissed the eleventh claim with prejudice and dismissed the Westchester County Office of the District Attorney as a defendant with prejudice. Judge Philip M. Halpern also directed the Clerk of Court to remove that office as a defendant.
The detailed version
- Brown v. County of Westchester · No. 7:22-cv-06146
- Philip Halpern
- Feb. 8, 2023
Background
The court held a pre-motion conference concerning Defendants’ anticipated motion to dismiss on February 8, 2023. The opinion addresses Bianca Brown’s earlier statement that she consented to withdraw her eleventh cause of action under Article 1, Section 11 of the New York State Constitution.
Rulings
The court dismissed Brown’s eleventh claim for relief with prejudice. The court also dismissed the Westchester County Office of the District Attorney as a defendant with prejudice. It relied on the conclusion that the office “does not have a legal existence separate from the District Attorney” and therefore “is not an entity that can be sued.”
Effect of the Order
The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the Westchester County Office of the District Attorney as a defendant. The opinion does not state that the court ruled on the anticipated motion to dismiss as a whole. Judge Philip M. Halpern signed the order.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.