Delacruz v. Texas Lutheran University
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:24-cv-03418
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Delacruz v. Texas Lutheran University, Judge Caproni dismissed the settled case with prejudice, without costs, and without binding absent putative class members.
Emanuel Delacruz and Texas Lutheran University were bound by the dismissal and any settlement; absent putative class members were not bound.
What happened
In Delacruz v. Texas Lutheran University, the parties told the court they had reached an agreement in principle resolving all issues. The opinion does not describe the settlement’s terms.
The court canceled scheduled conferences and deadlines, dismissed the case with prejudice and without costs, including attorneys’ fees, terminated open motions, and directed the Clerk to close the case. The parties could ask to reopen the case within 30 days if they showed good cause.
Judge Caproni also directed the Clerk to remove the class-action language from the caption. Because the parties had not told the court they intended to follow the federal rule governing class settlements, the dismissal and any settlement applied only between Emanuel Delacruz and Texas Lutheran University and did not bind absent putative class members.
The detailed version
- Delacruz v. Texas Lutheran University · No. 1:24-cv-03418
- Valerie Caproni
- Aug. 7, 2024
Background
Emanuel Delacruz brought the case on behalf of himself and other similarly situated persons against Texas Lutheran University. On August 5, 2024, the parties notified the court that they had reached an agreement in principle resolving all issues. The opinion does not disclose the agreement’s terms.
Court’s Orders
The court canceled all previously scheduled conferences and other deadlines. It dismissed the case with prejudice and without costs, including attorneys’ fees, to either party. The Clerk was directed to terminate all open motions and close the case.
The parties could apply to reopen the case within 30 days. Any application had to show good cause for keeping the case open despite the settlement and had to be filed within that period. The court also stated that, if the parties wanted it to retain jurisdiction—the power to enforce the settlement—they had to submit the settlement agreement and ask the court to expressly retain jurisdiction within the same 30-day period.
Putative Class Members
The court directed the Clerk to remove the language “individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated” from the caption. The parties had not notified the court that they intended to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e), which governs court approval and notice procedures for certain class settlements. As a result, the dismissal and any settlement were operative only between Delacruz and Texas Lutheran University and did not bind absent putative class members.
Disposition
Judge Valerie Caproni dismissed the case with prejudice and without costs, canceled the scheduled proceedings, terminated the open motions, and closed the case. The order allowed a possible application to reopen within 30 days but did not disclose the settlement terms.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.