Hedges v. Pioneer & Co., Inc.
- Rochon
- 1:24-cv-04030
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Hedges v. Pioneer, Judge Rochon ordered settlement talks and a joint update, while directing the parties to discuss standing and possible mediation.
Donna Hedges, Pioneer & Co., Inc., and the other similarly situated people identified in the complaint are affected by the required settlement discussions and joint status letter.
What happened
In Hedges v. Pioneer & Co., Inc., Donna Hedges brought an action on behalf of herself and other similarly situated people against Pioneer & Co., Inc. The order did not decide the claims or whether the case could proceed as a group action.
The court ordered the parties to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint, or within 30 days after a waiver of service. They must make a good-faith effort to settle and discuss whether Hedges has legal standing to bring the case. If they cannot settle, they must also discuss whether court-connected mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge would be useful.
Within 45 days after service or waiver of service, the parties must submit a joint letter stating whether they settled. If they did not settle, the letter must request mediation or a magistrate-judge settlement conference, or ask the court to schedule an initial status conference. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon issued this procedural order on May 28, 2024.
The detailed version
- Hedges v. Pioneer & Co., Inc. · No. 1:24-cv-04030
- Rochon
- May 28, 2024
Background
Donna Hedges filed an action on behalf of herself and all other persons similarly situated against Pioneer & Co., Inc. The opinion is an order directing early settlement-related discussions. It does not decide the merits of Hedges’s claims, the defendant’s liability, or whether the action may proceed as a class or collective case.
Court’s Orders
The parties must meet and confer for at least one hour in a good-faith effort to settle the action. This meeting must occur within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint, or within 30 days after waiver of service. During the discussions, the parties must consider whether Hedges has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning the legal requirement that she is entitled to bring the case. If they cannot settle, they must also discuss whether further settlement discussions through the court-annexed mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive at that time.
Within 15 additional days—45 days after service or waiver of service—the parties must submit a joint letter telling the court whether they settled. If they did not settle, the joint letter must request either referral to mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge, while stating a preference between those options, or an initial status conference.
Disposition
The court entered these settlement and case-management directives. It did not rule on standing, dismiss the case, or decide the underlying claims. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon signed the order.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.