Volfman v. Peprico Inc.
- Garnett
- 1:24-cv-04682
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Volfman v. Peprico Inc., Judge Garnett ordered settlement talks, required a joint update, and paused defendants’ response deadline.
Plaintiff Joseph Volfman, defendants Peprico Inc. d/b/a Cacio E Pepe and 182 Second Avenue LLC, and counsel who have appeared or later appear in the action.
What happened
In Volfman v. Peprico Inc., the court ordered Joseph Volfman and the defendants to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after each defendant is served with the summons and complaint. They must make a good-faith effort to settle and discuss whether Volfman meets the legal requirement of standing.
Within 15 more days, the parties must jointly tell the court whether they settled. If not, they must request mediation, a settlement conference with a magistrate judge, or an initial status conference, and defendants must state whether they plan to answer or ask the court to dismiss the complaint.
Judge Margaret M. Garnett paused the deadline for defendants to answer or otherwise respond until the joint letter is filed. Counsel who have appeared must send the order and the judge’s rules to other parties’ counsel or, if necessary, directly to the parties, and file proof of that notice.
The detailed version
- Volfman v. Peprico Inc. · No. 1:24-cv-04682
- Garnett
- June 26, 2024
Order
The opinion is a case-management order. It does not decide the claims in the complaint or determine whether the plaintiff has standing.
Settlement Discussions
The court ordered the parties, within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint on each defendant, to meet and confer for at least one hour in a good-faith effort to settle the action. The parties must discuss whether Plaintiff Joseph Volfman has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing.
If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must also discuss whether additional settlement discussions through the court’s mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive at that time.
Joint Letter and Response Deadline
Within 15 additional days—45 days after service of the summons and complaint—the parties must submit a joint letter telling the court whether they settled. If they did not settle, the letter must request either referral to mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge, with a preference between those options, or an initial status conference.
The letter must also state whether the defendants intend to answer or move to dismiss the complaint. If they anticipate a motion to dismiss, the letter must briefly state the basis for that motion in no more than one paragraph.
The court stayed the deadline for defendants to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint until the joint letter is submitted. After the letter is filed, the court will set either a deadline for an answer or a briefing schedule for a motion to dismiss.
Notice to Counsel
Counsel who had filed notices of appearance when the order issued must promptly serve the order and the court’s Individual Rules and Practices on counsel for parties who had not appeared. If counsel do not know the identity of another party’s counsel, they must send the materials directly to that party. Counsel must file proof of the notice with the court.
Disposition
Judge Margaret M. Garnett entered the settlement, reporting, notice, and deadline-stay requirements described above. The order does not rule on a motion to dismiss or resolve the merits of the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.