Brower et al v. The Northern Trust Company et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
CHRISTY BROWER, et al.,
on behalf of themselves and
others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
-against- 	1:25-CV-557 (LEK/PJE)
THE NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY, et al.,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER
I. 	INTRODUCTION
On May 2, 2025, Plaintiffs Christy Brower, Laura Truesdell and Marine Casserino
(collectively “Plaintiffs”) commenced this action on behalf of themselves and all other similarly
situated persons against Defendants Northern Trust Company (“Northern Trust”), Harold H.
Demarest Jr. and Franklin C. Demarest, as both co-personal representatives of the estate of Anne
D. Taft, and in their individual capacities (collectively “Defendants”). Dkt. No. 1 (“Complaint”).
Defendants filed a motion to dismiss on July 28, 2025, Dkt. No. 23 (“Motion”), Plaintiffs filed a
response, Dkt. No. 26 (“Response”), and Defendants replied, Dkt. No. 29 (“Reply”).
For the reasons that follow, Defendant’s Motion is granted.
II. 	BACKGROUND
A. Factual Background
The following facts are set forth as alleged in the Complaint.
Plaintiffs Brower, Truesdell and Casserino were employed by Defendants to provide care
for decedent Anne Demarest Taft (“Decedent”). Compl. ¶¶ 36–39. Brower was employed by
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Defendants from September 2019 until shortly after Decedent’s death on January 8, 2024. Id. ¶
36. Truesdell was employed by Defendants from September 2018 until shortly after Decedent’s
death on January 8, 2024. Id. ¶ 37. Casserino was employed by Defendants from
“October/November 2020 through December 23, 2023.” Id. ¶38.
Plaintiffs provided comprehensive caretaking services for Decedent including “taking the
car for maintenance, obtaining home maintenance quotes and services, grocery shopping, meal
preparation, pharmacy and other errands,” among other tasks. Id. ¶ 39. During the time they
worked for Defendants, “plaintiffs worked 24-hour live-in shifts.” Id. ¶ 64. They did not “receive
any uninterrupted meal breaks” and were not “paid overtime. . . for all hours worked in excess of
forty (40) for each work week.” Id. ¶¶ 66–67.
Plaintiffs worked for Defendants and provided the aforementioned services for Decedent
“at her home in Binghampton, Broome County, New York” until May 2023. Id. ¶ 43. “In early
2023, Decedent secured a short-term rental for a few months” in the State of Florida. Id. ¶ 49. “In
or around May 2023, Decedent purchased a home in Clermont, Florida.” Id. ¶ 52. During this
time, Plaintiffs continued providing services for Decedent in Florida until Decedent’s death in
January 2024. Id. ¶¶ 49, 53.
Defendants Harold and Franklin Demarest are the Decedent’ sbrothers. Id. ¶ 51. They
“became Power of Attorney over Decedent in or around March 2023.” Id. Harold Demarest “is a
resident of Corvallis in Benton County, Oregon.” Id. ¶ 18. Franklin Demarest “is a resident of
Pomfret Center in Windham, Connecticut.” Id. ¶ 19.
Defendant Northern Trust Company is headquartered in Chicago, IL, and “conducted
business related to this matter in Binghampton, Broome County, New York.” Id. ¶ 17.
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B. Statutory Background
Section 733.702 of the Florida Probate Code states in relevant part:
If not barred by Section 733.710, no claim or demand against the decedent’s estate that
arose before the death of the decedent, . . . and no claim for damages, including, but not
limited to, an action founded on fraud or another wrongful act or omission of the
decedent, is binding on the estate, on the personal representative, or on any beneficiary
unless filed in the probate proceeding on or before the latter of the date that is 3 months
after the time of the first publication of the notice to creditors or, as to any creditor
required to be served with a copy of the notice to creditors, 30 days after the date of
service on the creditor, even though the personal representative has recognized the claim
or demand by paying a part of it or interest on it or otherwise.
Fla. Stat. Ann. § 733.702.
III. 	LEGAL STANDARD
To survive a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a
“complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that
is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A court must accept as true the factual allegations
contained in a complaint and draw all inferences in favor of a plaintiff. See Allaire Corp. v.
Okumus, 433 F.3d 248, 249–50 (2d Cir. 2006). A complaint may be dismissed pursuant to Rule
12(b)(6) only where it appears that there are not “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is
plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. Plausibility requires “enough fact[s] to raise a
reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of [the alleged misconduct].” Id. at
556.
The plausibility standard “asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has
acted unlawfully.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). The Supreme Court
has stated that “the pleading standard Rule 8 announces does not require ‘detailed factual
allegations,’ but it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me
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accusation.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). “[W]here the well-pleaded facts do not
permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct,” the pleader has not
demonstrated that she is entitled to relief and the action is subject to dismissal. Id. at 679.
IV. 	DISCUSSION
Plaintiffs brought six Claims against the Defendants: (1) Unpaid Overtime in Violation of
the Fair Labor Standards Act against Northern Trust and the Demarest Defendants in their
capacities as co-personal representatives of the estate; (2) Unpaid Overtime in Violation of the
FLSA against Harold Demarest in his individual capacity; (3) Unpaid Overtime in Violation of
the FLSA against Franklin Demarest individually; (4) Unpaid Overtime in violation of the New
York Labor Law (“NYLL”) against Defendants as co-personal representatives of the Estate; (5)
Unpaid Overtime in Violation of the NYLL against Harold Demarest individually; and (6)
Unpaid overtime in Violation of the NYLL against Franklin Demarest individually. Compl. at
10–17. The Court will address each of these claims in turn.
A. Claims against the Estate
Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ claims against Northern Trust, and Harold and Franklin
Demarest (“Demarest Defendants”) as co-personal representatives of Decedent’s estate are time-
barred by Section 733.702 of Florida probate law. Mot. at 5–8. Plaintiffs in turn argue that the
Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) preempts Section 733.702. See Resp. at 10–13. The Court
agrees with Defendants for the reasons discussed below.
The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution states in relevant part that “the Laws of the
United States. . . made under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the
Land.” U.S. Const. Art. VI, Cl. 2. It is well settled that this language grants Congress “the power
to preempt state law.” Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. 387, 399 (2012) (collecting cases). The
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principal question in every preemption case is therefore whether Congress intended to exercise
its preemption powers. See in re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) Products Liability
Litigation, 725 F.3d 65, 96 (2d Cir. 2013) (“MTBE”).
There are two general categories of preemption: express and implied. See Gade v.
National Solid Waste Management Ass’n, 505 U.S. 88, 98 (1992). Express preemption occurs
when “Congress expressly provides that a federal statute overrides state law,” and the state law
“falls within the scope of Congress’s intent to preempt.” MTBE, 725 F.3d at 96–97. Implied
preemption, on the other hand, applies where Congress’s intent to preempt can be found in the
“structure and purpose” of the statute. Gade, 505 U.S. at 98 (citations omitted).
The Supreme Court has recognized two discrete situations where Courts can find that
Congress impliedly preempted state law: field preemption and conflict preemption. See Arizona,
567 U.S. at 399. First, federal law preempts any state law in those fields where “federal
regulation [is so] pervasive as to make reasonable the inference that Congress left no room for
the States to supplement it.” Fidelity Federal Sav. and Loan Ass’n v. de la Cuesta, 458 U.S. 141,
153 (1982) (quoting Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U.S. 218, 230 (1947)).
Second, the Supreme Court has instructed lower courts to find state laws impliedly
preempted where there is a conflict between the federal and state law. Arizona, 567 U.S. at 399.
While as the Supreme Court recognized in Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. Warren, 587 U.S. 761, 767,
the “Supreme Court has sometimes used different labels to describe the different ways in which
federal laws preempt state law,” it has recognized at least two branches of conflict preemption:
impossibility preemption, and obstacle preemption. MTBE, 725 F.3d at 97–104. Impossibility
preemption mandates that a court find a state law preempted where “compliance with both
federal and state regulations is a physical impossibility.” Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc.
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v. Paul, 373 U.S. 132, 142–43 (1963). Obstacle preemption on the other hand, applies where the
state law “stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and
objectives of Congress.” Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, 530 U.S. 363, 372–73
(2000) (quoting Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U.S. 52, 67 (1941)).
While neither Plaintiffs’ Complaint nor their Response is a paragon of clarity with
regards to which preemption Congress allegedly contemplated, the Court understands them to be
arguing that the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) impliedly preempts Florida Section 733.702
through both subtypes of conflict preemption. See Resp. at 10–12. The Court will therefore
assess Plaintiffs’ arguments under those two preemption doctrines.
In impossibility preemption and obstacle preemption cases, Courts are to “start with the
assumption that the historic police powers of the States were not to be superseded by the Federal
Act unless that was the clear and manifest purpose of Congress.” Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U.S. 555,
565 (2009) (quoting Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518 U.S. 470, 485 (1996)) (internal quotes
omitted). This presumption is strengthened further when the federal act touches on areas that are
“traditionally the domain of state law.” Hillman v. Maretta, 569 U.S. 483, 490 (2013). “The
heavy burden of overcoming [that] presumption falls on the party alleging preemption.” New
York Pet Welfare Association, Inc. v. City of New York, 850 F.3d 79, 86 (2d Cir. 2017). To
successfully make an obstacle or impossibility preemption argument, therefore, a Plaintiff needs
to demonstrate that the “repugnance or conflict [between the laws is] so direct and positive that
the two acts cannot be reconciled.” Madeira v. Affordable Hous. Found., Inc., 469 F.3d 219, 241
(2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotes omitted).
Impossibility preemption applies where an absolute conflict exists between the federal
and state law such that compliance with both is impossible. See MTBE, 725 F.3d at 97;
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Noffsinger v. SSC Niantic Operating Company LLC, 273 F. Supp. 3d 326, 333 (D. Conn. 2017).
The Supreme Court has found state laws preempted under this doctrine where it is “impossible
for a private party to comply with both state and federal requirements.” Florida Lime & Avocado
Growers, 373 U.S. at 142–43 (“[A] holding of federal exclusion of state law is inescapable. . .
where compliance with both federal and state regulations is a physical impossibility.”).
In contrast, obstacle preemption applies when the state law “stands as an obstacle to the
accomplishment and execution of the full purpose and objectives of Congress.” Arizona, 567
U.S. at 406 (quoting Hines, 312 U.S. at 67)). The task of divining Congressional purpose in the
obstacle preemption context is ultimately one of statutory interpretation. New York Pet. Welfare
Ass’n, 850 F.3d at 87. To determine Congressional intent to preempt, the Supreme Court has
therefore instructed lower courts to look at the “federal [scheme] as a whole and identify its
purpose and intended effects.” Crosby, 530 U.S. at 373. As is generally true in the field of
statutory interpretation, in the obstacle preemption context, a Court can consult legislative
history as an aid to determine congressional intent. See MTBE, 725 F.3d at 102; Weyth, 555 U.S.
at 574–76; see also Auburn Housing Authority v. Martinez, 277 F.3d 138, 143–44 (2d Cir. 2002)
(“[a] Court may. . . look at legislative history to determine the intent of Congress.”) (citing
Barnhill v. Johnson, 503 U.S. 393, 401 (1992)).
1. 	The legislative intent behind the FLSA and Section 733.702.
The FLSA is a cornerstone of American employment law. See generally, Kati L. Griffith,
The Fair Labor Standards Act at 80: Everything Old Is New Again, 104 Cornell L. Rev. 557
(2019). Among other things, it granted workers a right to a minimum wage and overtime pay and
prohibited the employment of minors in “oppressive child labor.” 29 U.S.C. §§ 206, 207, 212.
The FLSA was passed by the New Deal Congress in 1938 during the depths of the Great
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Depression, in “response to a national concern that the price of American development was the
exploitation of an entire class of low-income workers.” Marsh v. J. Alexander’s LLC, 905 F.3d
610, 615 (9th Cir. 2018) (en banc); Griffith, at 557–60. It was an act aimed at protecting “the
rights of those who toil, of those who sacrifice a full measure of their freedom and talents to the
use and profits of others.” Tennessee Coal, Iron & R. Co. v. Muscoda Local No. 123, 321 U.S.
590, 597 (1944).
Congress’s purpose in enacting the FLSA, as recognized by the Supreme Court and
evident in the legislative history of the act, was “to aid the unprotected, unorganized and lowest
paid of the nation’s working population . . . those employees who lacked sufficient bargaining
power to secure for themselves a minimum subsistence wage.” Brooklyn Sav. Bank v. O’Neil,
324 U.S. 697, 707 n.18 (1945). The Supreme Court has also recognized that Congress’s intent in
passing the FLSA was broadly “remedial and humanitarian” and that Congress sought “to
guarantee eigher [sic] regular or overtime compensation for all actual work or employment.”
Tennessee Coal, Iron & R. Co., 321 U.S. at 597.
Section 733.702 has a decidedly different purpose. It provides a statute of limitations for
claims filed against a decedent’s estates being probated in the State of Florida. May v. Illinois
Na. Ins. Co., 771 So.2d 1143, 1150 (Fla. 2000). This has the effect of “bar[ring] untimely claims
even if ‘no objection to the claim is filed.’” Tsuji v. Fleet, 366 So.3d 1020, 1026 (Fla. 2023)
(quoting Fla. Stat. § 733.702(2)). “The primary purpose of section 733.702 is [thus] to promote
an early determination of claims against an estate in order that the claims may be paid and the
remaining assets distributed to the beneficiaries in an expeditious manner.” Spohr v. Berryman,
589 So.2d 225, 229 (Fla. 1991).
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Having analyzed both the FLSA and the Florida Probate Code, the Court cannot find an
intent (express or implied) by Congress to preempt Section 733.702.
2. 	Section 733.702 is not in conflict with the FLSA.
The Court finds that compliance with both statutes is indeed possible. The provision in
the Florida nonclaim statute, Section 733.702, which establishes a definite window for claimants
to file claims against the Decedent’s estate, and the FLSA’s statute of limitations are not
mutually exclusive. 29 U.S.C. § 255(a); Fla. Stat. Ann. § 733.702. Under Section 733.702 as
interpreted by the Florida Courts, Plaintiffs could have timely presented a claim to the executor
of the estate and then sued the estate in federal court under the FLSA if the executor rejected the
claim. Fla. Stat. Ann. § 733.702; see Comfort Line Products v. Oceantis LLC, No. 17-CV-198,
2017 WL 3582695, at *3 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 18, 2017) (describing how claims are made against an
estate under § 733.702).
There is also nothing in the text of either statute that would suggest that compliance with
both would be a “physical impossibility.” Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc., 373 U.S. at
142–43. Rather, just as the Middle District of Florida recognized, “the Florida Probate Code’s
statute of limitations has a minimal effect on [the FLSA], . . . [and] it does not affect the
substantive right to [seek damages]. . . merely the time period in which [they] must be sought.”
Admin. Comm. of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Associates’ Health & Welfare Plan v. Mooradian, No.
05-CV-1228, 2006 WL 2194176, at *3 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 2, 2006).
Accordingly, the Court finds that Section 733.702 is not impossibility preempted by the
FLSA.
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3. 	Section 733.702 does not stand as an obstacle to congressional intent.
Obstacle preemption is similarly inapplicable. Generally, courts are to start with a strong
presumption against preemption in the areas of law traditionally delegated to the States. See
English v. General Electric, 496 U.S. 72, 79 (1990) (“[C]congressional intent to supersede state
law must be clear and manifest” where the area of state law to be preempted has been
“traditionally occupied by the States.”). “Probate law . . . has traditionally been within the
province of the individual states.” Witco Corp. v. Beekhuis, 38 F.3d 682, 689 (3d Cir. 1994). It is
also well settled that that “federal claims against decedents estates are subject to state probate
laws and procedures unless federal law specifically provides otherwise.” Id. (citing Pufahl v.
Estate of Parks, 299 U.S. 217, 225 (1936); Forrest v. Jack, 294 U.S. 158, 162–63 (1935)).
Here too, Plaintiffs have not presented any case law on the issue of obstacle preemption
that persuades the Court that Congress intended to preempt Florida’s Probate Law. The cases
cited by Plaintiffs merely support the general principle that federal law is supreme to state law,
but they do not demonstrate that Section 733.702 is preempted by the FLSA. See Resp. at 10–11;
see, e.g., McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819) (holding that the supremacy clause
prevented the State of Maryland from taxing the Second Bank of the United States); United
States v. California, 921 F.3d 865, 881 (9th Cir. 2019) (finding certain California laws enacted
for the purposes of protecting migrants did not unconstitutionally conflict with federal
immigration law). Rather, Plaintiff, without citing to any authority, states that “Courts have
recognized that federal statutory claims such as those under the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA) are not necessarily bound by state probate deadlines.” Resp. at 11. This is not enough to
convince the Court that Plaintiffs have carried their burden in demonstrating Congressional
intent to preempt.
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The Court therefore finds that Section 733.702’s statute of limitations applies in this case
and Plaintiffs’ claims against the Demarest Defendants in their capacity as co-personal
representatives of the estate and the Northern Trust company are time-barred. Fla. Stat. Ann. §
733.702. Accordingly, the Court grants Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the FLSA claims against
the Northern Trust, and the Demerest Defendants in their capacities as co-representatives of the
Estate.
B. Personal Jurisdiction
Defendants also argue that Plaintiffs’ claims against the Demarest Defendants, in their
personal capacities, should be dismissed on personal jurisdiction grounds. Mot. at 11–15. The
Court agrees.
There are two types of personal jurisdiction: general and specific. Goodyear Dunlop
Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown, 564 U.S. 915, 919 (2011). A court can exercise specific
jurisdiction when the instant suit “arises out of or relates to the defendant’s contacts with the
forum.” Daimler A.G. v. Bauman, 571 U.S. 117, 137 (2014) (citation modified) (quoting
Helicopteros Natcionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414, n. 8 (1984)).
The burden of proving that it would be proper for the court to exercise personal
jurisdiction falls on the Plaintiff. See Bank Brussels Lambert v. Fiddler Gonzalez & Rodriguez,
171 F.3d 779, 784–85 (2d Cir. 1999). “To allege personal jurisdiction over a defendant, group
pleading is not permitted. Instead a plaintiff is required to establish personal jurisdiction
separately over each defendant.” In re Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc. Securities
Litigation, 529 F. Supp. 3d 111, 135 (S.D.N.Y. 2021). A plaintiff also must “establish the court’s
jurisdiction with respect to each claim asserted.” Sunward Elecs., Inc. v. McDonald, 362 F.3d 17,
24 (2d Cir. 2004) (emphasis in original). Moreover, “[a] plaintiff may not rely on ‘conclusory
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statements’ and must offer ‘factual specificity’ in order to establish personal jurisdiction.”
Moussaoui v. Bank of Beirut & the Arab Countries, No. 23-7332, 2024 WL 4615732, at *1 (2d
Cir. 2024) (citing Jazini v. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., 148 F.3d 181, 185 (2d Cir. 1998)).
“Where the underlying action is based on a federal statute, [courts] are to apply state
personal jurisdiction rules if the federal statute does not specifically provide for national service
of process.” Mareno v. Rowe, 910 F.2d 1043, 1046 (2d Cir. 1990); see F.R.C.P. 4(k)(1)(A). The
FLSA does not provide for nationwide service of process. Henao v. Parts Auth., LLC, 557 F.
Supp. 3d 490, 495 (S.D.N.Y. 2021) (quoting Pettenato v. Beacon Health Options, Inc., 425 F.
Supp. 3d 264, 273 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 25, 2019)). Therefore, in this case, Plaintiffs need to
demonstrate that their allegations satisfy the “specific provisions of New York law [that]
determine whether . . . the exercise of jurisdiction over a given defendant” is proper. Moussaoui,
2024 WL 4615732, at *2.
New York’s long-arm statute permits specific personal jurisdiction to be established over
a non-domiciliary where “the entity transacts any business within the state or contracts anywhere
to supply goods or services in the state” and the “cause of action aris[es] from [those] acts.” New
York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 302 (“CPLR § 302”).
Here, the allegations in the Complaint against the Demarest Defendants, in their personal
capacities, are not sufficiently plead to establish personal jurisdiction pursuant to CPLR § 302.
Specifically, Plaintiffs have failed to sufficiently plead that the Demarest Defendants: (1)
individually engaged in any misconduct; and (2) that any of their conduct occurred in New York
State.
First, Plaintiffs fail to specifically allege how the Demarest Defendants were individually
involved in the alleged misconduct at issue here. In the Complaint, Plaintiffs only specific
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allegations against the Demarest Defendants, in their individual capacities, is that they held
power of attorney over Decedents estate and were employers under the New York State labor
law. Compl. ¶¶ 28–31, 51. Plaintiffs in fact do not allege that the Defendants were individually
engaged in the conduct that gives rise to these claims. See generally Compl. Instead, they
engaged in group pleading, which is “plainly not permitted. . . to establish personal jurisdiction.”
See In re Ageane Marine Petroleum Network, Inc. Securities Litigation, 529 F. Supp. 3d at 135;
see, e.g., Am. Compl. at 35 (“Defendants failed to pay Plaintiffs. . . overtime premium); Am.
Compl. at 66 (“Through their employment with Defendants, Plaintiffs did not receive any
uninterrupted meal break”).
Second, even apart from the group pleading deficiencies, Plaintiffs have also not alleged
that the Demarest Defendants, acting in their individual capacities, transacted business in New
York. In the Complaint Plaintiffs allege that the Demarest Defendants became “Power of
Attorney over Decedent in or around March 2023.” Compl. ¶ 51. They also allege that in “early
2023. . . for a few months[] Plaintiff[s]. . . provid[ed] services to Decedent in the State of
Florida.” Id. ¶ 49. And, “[i]n or around May 2023, Decedent Purchased a home in Clermont
Florida. . . and Plaintiffs continued their employment. . . [in Florida] until Decedent passed
away.” Compl. 52–53. However, Plaintiffs do not allege with factual specificity that the
Demarest Defendants, acting as powers of attorney, transacted business in New York. See
generally Compl. Indeed, the aforementioned allegations are, at best, unclear as to whether the
Demarest Defendants had become Power of Attorney prior to Decedents move to Florida. See
Compl. ¶¶ 49–51. Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have not made allegations with
sufficient factual specificity regarding Defendants conducting business in the State of New York,
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and that they have thus failed to meet their burden of establishing that personal jurisdiction
would be proper under CPLR § 302.
Accordingly, the Court finds that under CPLR § 302 the exercise of personal jurisdiction
over the Demarest Defendants would be improper. The Court thus dismisses Plaintiffs’ claims
against the Demarest Defendants.
V. 	CONCLUSION
Accordingly, it is hereby:
ORDERED, that Defendants’ motion to dismiss, Dkt. No. 23, is GRANTED; and
Plaintiffs’ claims against Defendants are DISMISSED without prejudice; and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk close this action; and it is further
ORDERED, that the Clerk serve a copy of this Memorandum-Decision and Order on all
parties in accordance with the Local Rules.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: 	March 9, 2026
Albany, New York
LAWRENCE E. KAHN
United States District Judge
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