Jacobs et al v. City of New York et al

Filing 45

ORDER granting 44 Letter Motion to Stay re: 44 JOINT LETTER MOTION to Stay discovery and status report addressed to Judge Vernon S. Broderick from Brian Francolla dated February 26, 2021. APPLICATION GRANTED. (Signed by Judge Vernon S. Broderick on 3/1/2021) (cf)

Case 1:18-cv-03275-VSB Document 45 Filed 03/01/21 Page 1 of 1

THE CITY OF NEW YORK

LAW DEPARTMENT

JAMES E. JOHNSON
Corporation Counsel

BRIAN FRANCOLLA
Senior Counsel
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]

100 CHURCH STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10007

February 26, 2021
VIA ECF
Honorable Vernon S. Broderick
United States District Judge
Southern District of New York
40 Foley Square
New York, New York 10007
Re:

3/1/2021

Jarzette Jacobs Administrator of Estate of Jah’Lire Nicholson et al. v. City, et al.,
18-CV-3275 (VSB)

Your Honor:
I am a Senior Counsel in the Office of James E. Johnson, Corporation Counsel of the City
of New York, representing defendants City of New York, Police Officer Daniel Decario, and Police
Officer Djafar Tsaabbast in the above-referenced matter. Defendants write respectfully on behalf of the
parties to advise the Court of the status of this action and to respectfully request that the Court extend the
stay of discovery until April 30, 2021.
By letter dated November 30, 2020, the parties respectively advised the Court that we had
been working cooperatively towards facilitating a forensic evaluation by plaintiffs’ expert to take place in
New York with the hope that we might be able to have that occur before the end of February, or that by
that point we would at least be able to propose a realistic timeline for when it could occur. While the
parties have continued to work cooperatively in this regard, the status of the pandemic – albeit far more
promising than when we last wrote – is still preventing us from being able to complete the forensic
valuation. The fact that plaintiffs’ expert resides in Michigan has made finalizing this forensic evaluation
particularly difficult in light of the required inter-state travel as well as the need for numerous people to
gather indoors for a potentially lengthy amount of time. The parties anticipate that if the Court were to
extend the stay in the manner requested, we could by the end of April – assuming vaccine distribution
continues to improve – be able to resume discovery and propose a reasonable schedule at that time to
complete what remains outstanding.
Accordingly, the parties respectfully request that the Court further extend the stay of
discovery until April 30, 2021. To the extent that this request is granted, the parties further respectfully
request that the Court permit them to submit a joint status update at the conclusion of the stay.