Tillett v. Church Pension Group Services Corporation
- Robert Lehrburger
- 1:24-cv-05779
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Tillett v. Church Pension Group, Judge Engelmayer noted a settlement-related adjournment and invited consent to Magistrate Judge Lehrburger.
Vanessa Tillett and Church Pension Group Services Corp.; the order also concerns whether both parties will consent to further proceedings before Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger.
What happened
In Vanessa Tillett v. Church Pension Group Services Corp., the parties told the court they had reached a settlement in principle with help from Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger and requested more time to submit a written agreement for court approval.
Judge Lehrburger granted the request for an adjournment. The district court also invited both sides to consider consenting to have Judge Lehrburger handle all further proceedings, including approval of the settlement and any other legal questions.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer stated that the parties could withhold consent without negative consequences. The order did not approve a final settlement or decide the underlying dispute.
The detailed version
- Tillett v. Church Pension Group Services Corporation · No. 1:24-cv-05779
- Robert Lehrburger
- Dec. 30, 2024
Background
The parties notified the court that they had reached a settlement in principle. Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger had helped facilitate the settlement and had referred the case to the court’s mediation program. The parties requested an adjournment so they could submit a written settlement agreement for court approval under the procedure discussed in the cited Cheeks decision.
Order
Judge Lehrburger granted the request for an adjournment. The district court also encouraged the parties to discuss whether they would voluntarily consent under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) to have Judge Lehrburger conduct all further proceedings. If both parties consented, Judge Lehrburger would decide the settlement-approval application rather than issue a recommendation to the district court, and would also decide any additional legal questions that arose. Any appeal from rulings made after consent would go directly to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Effect of the Order
The order stated that the parties could withhold consent without negative consequences and explained that a party withholding consent would not be identified to a judge who might otherwise handle the case. The order did not approve a final settlement and did not decide the underlying claims. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer signed the order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.