Mercado v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority
- Analisa Torres
- 1:20-cv-06533
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Mercado v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Judge Torres granted plaintiffs’ request to substitute Ray Anthony Lugo as a plaintiff under Rule 25.
The ruling affects Ray Anthony Lugo, Raymond Michael Lugo’s estate, and the other plaintiffs in the Fair Labor Standards Act action; it permits Ray Anthony Lugo to replace Raymond Michael Lugo as a party plaintiff.
What happened
In Mercado v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the plaintiffs asked the court to replace Raymond Michael Lugo with Ray Anthony Lugo, the administrator of Raymond Michael Lugo’s estate, as a plaintiff.
The plaintiffs’ claims arise under the Fair Labor Standards Act. They said the substitution was permitted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25, which addresses replacing a party who has died when the claim continues.
Judge Analisa Torres granted the request. She found that it was filed within the required 90-day period, that the claims survived Raymond Michael Lugo’s death, and that Ray Anthony Lugo was authorized to represent the estate.
The detailed version
- Mercado v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority · No. 1:20-cv-06533
- Analisa Torres
- Oct. 19, 2023
Background
The plaintiffs asked the court to substitute Ray Anthony Lugo, administrator of the estate of his father, Raymond Michael Lugo, as a party plaintiff. The request was made under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(a)(1), which allows substitution when a party dies and the claim continues.
Court’s analysis
The court identified three requirements for substitution: the request must be timely, the claims must survive the person’s death, and the proposed substitute must be a proper party. The court found all three requirements satisfied. The request was filed with the notice of death and therefore fell within Rule 25’s 90-day period. The court also determined that the Fair Labor Standards Act claims survived Raymond Michael Lugo’s death. Finally, because Ray Anthony Lugo was the voluntary administrator of the estate and had been lawfully designated to represent it, the court found him to be a proper party.
Ruling
Judge Analisa Torres granted the plaintiffs’ request to substitute Ray Anthony Lugo as a party plaintiff. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 140.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.