Rocque v. Visiting Nurse Service of New York
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:22-cv-09196
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Rocque v. Visiting Nurse Service of New York, Judge Briccetti ordered plaintiffs to choose between amending their complaint and proceeding on the existing complaint.
The plaintiffs and the defendants involved in the complaint and the partial motion to dismiss, including Visiting Nurse Service of New York, VNS Health, Visiting Nurse Service of Westchester, Inc., VNS Westchester, and Calvary Hospital, Inc.
What happened
In Rocque v. Visiting Nurse Service of New York, two defendants filed a partial motion asking the court to dismiss parts of the complaint for failure to state a legal claim. The plaintiffs are Jeffrey Rocque, as executor of Gwen Rocque’s estate, and Lawrence Rocque, individually.
The court ordered plaintiffs to notify it by April 17, 2023, whether they intend to file an amended complaint or rely on the existing complaint. If they amend, they must file the amended complaint within 14 days after notifying the court. The defendants then have 21 days to answer, file a new dismissal motion, or, for Visiting Nurse Service of New York and VNS Health, state that they rely on their original motion.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti did not decide the dismissal motion or the adequacy of the complaint. He issued procedures and deadlines for how the motion and any amended complaint would proceed.
The detailed version
- Rocque v. Visiting Nurse Service of New York · No. 7:22-cv-09196
- Vincent Briccetti
- Apr. 6, 2023
Background
On April 5, 2023, Visiting Nurse Service of New York and VNS Health filed a partial motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), which concerns whether a complaint states a legally sufficient claim. The opinion does not identify which claims or portions of the complaint the motion challenges.
Court’s Order
The court ordered the plaintiffs to notify it by April 17, 2023, whether they would either file an amended complaint in response to the motion or rely on the complaint targeted by the motion.
If the plaintiffs chose not to amend, the motion would proceed under the normal schedule. The court stated that it was unlikely to give the plaintiffs another opportunity to amend to address deficiencies revealed by the fully briefed motion.
If the plaintiffs chose to amend, they had to file the amended complaint within 14 days after notifying the court of that decision. Within 21 days after the amendment, Visiting Nurse Service of New York and VNS Health could answer, file a motion to dismiss the amended complaint, or notify the court that they would rely on their original motion. Visiting Nurse Service of Westchester, Inc., VNS Westchester, and Calvary Hospital, Inc. could, within the same 21-day period, answer or file a motion to dismiss the amended complaint.
Disposition
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti issued a case-management order setting these choices and deadlines. The order did not grant or deny the partial motion to dismiss and did not resolve the merits of any claim.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.