Hinfin Realty Corp. v. Pittston Co.

206 F.R.D. 350 (2002)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
H
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Hinfin Realty Corp. v. Pittston Co.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
206 F.R.D. 350 (2002)

Facts

Hinfin Realty Corp. and others (plaintiffs) sued Pittston Co. (Pittston) (defendant) for environmental damage to their property on July 24, 2000, but took no action on the suit until they amended their complaint on February 1, 2001. Very little discovery followed. Pittson moved to stay the proceedings, which the plaintiffs opposed. Pittston began making discovery demands. Hinfin’s president, Donald Death, Sr. then became ill and died. Death, Sr. was an important witness for the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs’ financial situation also deteriorated. Pittston offered the plaintiffs evidence that it was not the proper defendant. The plaintiffs asked Pittston to stipulate to a dismissal without prejudice, so they could determine if Pittston was the correct defendant. Pittston refused. The plaintiffs withdrew their objection to Pittston’s request for a stay. When the stay was denied, the plaintiffs moved for a voluntary dismissal without prejudice, which Pittston opposed. Pittston argued it would be prejudiced if the suit was reinitiated later, because it would be subject to duplicative litigation, witnesses would die, and memories would fade. Alternately, Pittston requested that the court condition a dismissal without prejudice on an award of costs and attorney’s fees totaling $135,000.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Spatt, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 807,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 807,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 807,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Civil Procedure

Key Terms