A Manhattan Supreme Court justice on Thursday ruled that New York’s family court support magistrates have discretion over the timelines of child support cases, dealing a major blow to a proposed class action lawsuit brought by Rene Kathawala, lead pro bono counsel at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Kathawala sued state court system leaders, including Court of Appeals Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks, in 2017 on behalf of several custodial parents, mostly low-income mothers, who waited months or even years for the court to enforce final child support orders against their children’s noncustodial parents.