Reid v. Retro Snacks, Inc.

Order and required steps

The court ordered the parties to meet and confer for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint on Retro Snacks, Inc. The meeting must be a good-faith attempt to settle the action. During those discussions, the parties should consider whether Nadreca Reid satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning the legal requirement that a plaintiff be entitled to bring the case in federal court.

If the parties could not settle on their own, they also had to discuss whether additional settlement discussions through the district court’s mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive at that time.

Joint letter and notice requirements

Within 15 additional days—45 days after service of the summons and complaint—the parties must file a joint letter stating whether they settled. If they did not settle, the letter must request either referral to mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge, while indicating which option the parties preferred, or an initial status conference.

Counsel who had entered an appearance when the order was issued must promptly notify counsel for other parties who had not appeared by serving them with the order and the court’s Individual Rules and Practices. Counsel must file proof of that notice. If counsel did not know the identity of another party’s counsel, the order required counsel to send the materials directly to that party.

Disposition and scope

This was a case-management and settlement order. The court did not decide whether Reid had standing, whether the claims were legally valid, or whether the proposed class should be certified. The opinion does not state that the case was dismissed, resolved, or decided on the merits.