JOANNA SEYBERT, District Judge.
On December 28, 2011, plaintiffs Jean Romeo, individually and as the Administratix of the estate of John Prodan, and the Estate of John Prodan (together, "Plaintiffs") commenced this action against two mental health aid entities—defendants Aid to the Developmentally Disabled, Inc. ("ADD") and Independent Group Home Living Program, Inc. ("IGHL")—and several individual defendants employed by ADD, IGHL, and the State of New York. Plaintiffs alleged various federal and state law claims arising out of Mr. Prodan's death while he was in the custody of ADD. By Memorandum and Order dated March 22, 2013 (the "March 22nd Order"), the Court granted a motion to dismiss filed by the State Defendants
Plaintiffs now move pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6) for reconsideration of the October 3rd Order and to vacate the October 9th Judgment so that they may file a proposed Third Amended Complaint. (Docket Entry 57.) For the following reasons, Plaintiffs' motion is DENIED.
The Court assumes familiarity with the factual and procedural background of this case, which is detailed in the Court's March 22nd and October 3rd Orders.
As noted, Plaintiffs commenced this action seeking redress for Mr. Prodan's death while he was in the custody of ADD. The Amended Complaint asserted claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the ADD Defendants and the State Defendants, claims for negligence against the ADD Defendants and the IGHL Defendants, and claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985, 1986 and the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act ("PAIMI"), 42 U.S.C. § 10801, and for negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress against all Defendants. (Docket Entry 2.)
On April 13, 2012, the State Defendants moved to dismiss. (Docket Entry 14.) On March 22, 2013, the Court granted the State Defendants' motion in its entirety.
The ADD and IGHL Defendants subsequently filed letter motions to dismiss on April 2 and April 15, 2013, respectively, seeking dismissal of the federal claims against them under the "law of the case" doctrine and, with respect to the state law claims, either seeking dismissal for failure to state a claim or, in the alternative, requesting that the Court decline to extend supplemental jurisdiction over them.
On October 9, 2013, the Clerk of the Court entered judgment in Defendants' favor in accordance with the Court's October 3rd Order and closed this case. (Docket Entry 56.) Six months later, on April 9, 2014, Plaintiffs filed the instant motion for reconsideration of the October 3rd Order and to vacate the October 9th Judgment so that Plaintiffs may file a proposed Third Amended Complaint. (Docket Entry 57.) This motion is currently pending before the Court.
The Court will first set forth the applicable legal standard before addressing Plaintiffs' specific grounds for reconsideration.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) permits a district court to reconsider a final judgment or order based on any one of five specified reasons or under a sixth, "catchall" provision, which Plaintiffs argue applies here. FED. R. CIV. P. 60(b). The catchall provision, which states that a court may relieve a party for "any other reason justifying relief," FED. R. CIV. P. 60(b)(6), "`confers broad discretion on the trial court to grant relief when appropriate to accomplish justice [and] it constitutes a grand reservoir of equitable power to do justice in a particular case.'"
Moreover, Rule 60(b) "`strikes a balance between serving the ends of justice and preserving the finality of judgments.'"
There is no specific time limit for bring a motion under the catchall provision; the motion "must be made within a reasonable time." FED. R. CIV. P. 60(c)(1). Determining whether a motion under Rule 60(b) has been made within a reasonable time requires a court to "`scrutinize the particular circumstances of the case, and balance the interest in finality with the reasons for delay.'"
Reconsideration under Rule 60(b)(6) is not warranted here. Plaintiffs do not contest the validity of the March 22nd Order, October 3rd Order, or the October 9th Judgment dismissing Plaintiffs' claims. Instead, Plaintiffs urge reconsideration because Plaintiffs have "identif[ied] other bases for federal jurisdiction under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; The Medicaid Act and the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act. . . ." (Pls.' Br., Docket Entry 57-3, at 7.) However, as noted above, a Rule 60(b) motion is not appropriate to raise new claims that could have been raised earlier.
The only excuse Plaintiffs offer for not raising these claims earlier is that, according to Plaintiffs, this Court "recently acknowledged" the Rehabilitation Act, the Medicaid Act, and the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act "as the bases for federal jurisdiction against a similar type of agency and its employees in" the case of
Plaintiffs also urge the Court to exercise diversity jurisdiction over Plaintiff's state law claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 because Ms. Romeo, as executor of Mr. Prodan's estate, recently relocated to Massachusetts. (Pls. Br. at 1-2.) This argument is patently meritless. It is well settled that the legal representative of a decedent's estate is deemed to have the same citizenship as the decedent.
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration and to vacate (Docket Entry 57) is DENIED.
SO ORDERED.