Coccaro v. Barnard College

Background

Barnard College moved to stay, or pause, discovery while its motion to dismiss was pending. Barnard filed the motion on August 25, 2023. Julia Coccaro opposed it, and Barnard filed a reply.

Court’s Analysis

The court considered three factors commonly used when a defendant asks to pause discovery during a pending motion to dismiss: whether the defendant made a strong showing that the plaintiff’s claims were unmeritorious, how broad and burdensome the discovery would be, and the risk of unfair prejudice to the party opposing the stay.

On the first factor, the court found that Coccaro’s implied-contract and unjust-enrichment claims had a substantial likelihood of surviving the motion to dismiss. On the second factor, Barnard argued that discovery would be voluminous and burdensome, but the court found that Barnard’s statements were vague and conclusory and did not establish that the discovery requests were voluminous and burdensome. On the third factor, Coccaro did not make arguments about unfair prejudice, but the court concluded that her inherent interest in proceeding promptly weighed slightly against pausing discovery.

Ruling

The court held that the three factors, taken together, favored denying a stay of discovery. Judge J. Paul Oetken denied Barnard College’s request for a stay of discovery and directed the Clerk of Court to close the motion at ECF No. 28.