Meisner v. 623 Ninth Avenue Associates, LLC

Background

The document is a letter from Amy Meisner’s attorney requesting a pre-motion conference about a possible motion to compel discovery. The discovery requests were directed to defendants 623 Ninth Avenue Associates, LLC and Lotus West Corp. The letter says Meisner served a first request for documents and a first set of interrogatories on December 11, 2023. According to the letter, the defendants did not respond within the time required by the cited Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Meisner’s lawsuit seeks remediation of architectural barriers at the defendants’ place of public accommodation. The letter identifies claims under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, New York State Executive Law § 296, New York State Civil Rights Law § 40, and the Administrative Code of the City of New York. It also says the defendants asserted defenses involving whether removing barriers was readily achievable, whether compliance was structurally impracticable or technically infeasible, whether accommodations would cause undue hardship, whether an alternate method of access was provided, and whether the premises provided equivalent facilitation.

Requested discovery

The requested discovery fell into three categories. First, Meisner sought architectural and construction records, including building plans, permits, property surveys, due-diligence reports, and costs. Second, she sought financial information concerning accessibility costs, the site’s financial resources, expenses, damages, and ownership and leasing. Third, she sought operational documents, including manuals, policies, and procedures. The letter states that this information was relevant to Meisner’s claims and to the defendants’ asserted defenses.

The letter also states that Meisner’s lawyer made multiple attempts to resolve the dispute with defense counsel. It asks the court to schedule a conference to discuss a motion requiring immediate responses without objections, based on the lawyer’s contention that the defendants waived objections by failing to respond on time.

Court’s action

Judge Barbara C. Moses ordered the defendants to respond to Meisner’s letter no later than February 23, 2024. The court also directed Meisner to promptly supplement the letter by filing the discovery requests at issue. The document does not state that the court granted or denied a motion to compel, ruled on whether objections were waived, or ordered production of the requested materials.