L.B. v. New York City Department of Education
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:21-cv-06626
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In L.B. v. New York City Department of Education, Judge Caproni granted counsel’s withdrawal for T.B. and stayed the case for 70 days.
L.B. and T.B., whose counsel was permitted to withdraw; the case was stayed while they sought replacement counsel.
What happened
In L.B. v. New York City Department of Education, the plaintiffs’ lawyer asked to withdraw because of irreconcilable differences and a conflict with the plaintiffs. The Court had already allowed the lawyer to withdraw for L.B. and asked T.B. whether he objected and whether he wanted time to find a new lawyer.
T.B. told the Court that he did not object and wanted time to find replacement counsel. The Court therefore granted the lawyer’s motion to withdraw for T.B. and paused the case for 70 days so the plaintiffs could hire new counsel.
Judge Valerie Caproni ordered the plaintiffs, by May 26, 2023, either to have new counsel file a notice of appearance or to submit a status update through the Pro Se Intake Unit about their efforts to obtain counsel. The Court warned that it was unlikely to extend the pause much beyond that date without extraordinarily good reasons.
The detailed version
- L.B. v. New York City Department of Education · No. 1:21-cv-06626
- Valerie Caproni
- Mar. 23, 2023
Background
On March 6, 2023, plaintiffs’ counsel moved to withdraw, citing irreconcilable differences and an irreconcilable conflict with the plaintiffs. On March 17, 2023, the Court granted the motion as to L.B. and directed T.B. to state whether he objected to the withdrawal and whether he wanted time to find a new attorney or intended to proceed without one.
T.B. notified the Court that he did not object to counsel’s withdrawal and requested time to find replacement counsel.
Ruling
The Court granted plaintiffs’ counsel’s motion to withdraw as counsel for T.B. The Court also stayed, or paused, the case for 70 days to give the plaintiffs time to hire new counsel.
The Court ordered the plaintiffs, no later than May 26, 2023, either to retain counsel who filed a notice of appearance or to submit a status update about their efforts to obtain counsel. The status update had to be filed through the Pro Se Intake Unit. The Court warned that it was unlikely to continue the stay much beyond May 26 without extraordinarily good reasons. The Clerk was directed to terminate Elisa F. Hyman and Erin Michelle O’Connor as counsel for T.B.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.