Judge Grants Aug. 18 Summary Judgment Deadline in Verizon’s Case vs. N.Y. Town

U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Stewart for Southern New York in Manhattan grudgingly granted the joint letter motion of Verizon and the town of Saugerties, New York, to set an Aug. 18 deadline for filing motions of summary judgment, said his text order Wednesday (docket 1:22-cv-00107). The parties’ June 23 motion said they needed the seven-week deadline extension to accommodate their “continued good faith efforts to resolve this matter" via settlement (see 2306260027). Though Stewart granted the extension, his order suggested his patience was running thin. “Representations have been made to the Court that the case is on the cusp of settlement,” but “similar representations” have been made at least five times in the past, it said. His order granted “one final extension,” and made clear that “no further extensions will be granted.” Verizon and co-plaintiff Tarpon Towers allege Saugerties unlawfully refused to act on a cell tower application before the shot clock’s expiration, in violation of the Telecommunications Act (see 2301190046).