Brown v. Master Barbers Barber Shop, Inc.
- Rochon
- 1:25-cv-01045
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Brown v. Master Barbers, Judge Rochon ordered settlement talks and a follow-up letter, while asking the parties to consider whether Brown has standing.
Altaune Brown, Master Barbers Barber Shop, Inc., and 1169 2nd Ave LLC must comply with the settlement-discussion and joint-letter requirements.
What happened
In Brown v. Master Barbers Barber Shop, Inc., the court ordered the parties to try to settle the case soon after the defendants are served with the summons and complaint.
Within 30 days of service, the parties must meet for at least one hour and discuss settlement in good faith. They must also consider whether Altaune Brown has standing, meaning the legal requirement that a person be entitled to bring the case, and whether court-connected mediation or a settlement conference with a magistrate judge would help.
Within 45 days of service, the parties must send a joint letter reporting whether they settled. If not, they must ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or a magistrate judge for settlement discussions, or to schedule an initial status conference. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon did not decide standing or the merits of the case in this order.
The detailed version
- Brown v. Master Barbers Barber Shop, Inc. · No. 1:25-cv-01045
- Rochon
- Feb. 10, 2025
Order
The court entered a case-management and settlement order involving Altaune Brown, Master Barbers Barber Shop, Inc., and 1169 2nd Ave LLC. The opinion does not identify the claims or decide whether any party is legally responsible.
Settlement Discussions
Within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint, the parties must meet and confer for at least one hour in a good-faith effort to settle the action. The parties must consider whether Brown has standing, which is the legal requirement that a plaintiff be entitled to bring the lawsuit. The order cites two Second Circuit decisions concerning that issue but does not decide whether Brown has standing.
If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must discuss whether additional settlement efforts through the district court's mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive at that time.
Required Joint Letter
Within 15 additional days—45 days after service of the summons and complaint—the parties must submit a joint letter stating whether they settled. If they did not settle, the letter must ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or to a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, while stating the parties' preference between those options, or to proceed with an initial status conference.
Disposition
The court issued these case-management directives. It did not rule on standing, the parties' claims, or the merits of the dispute.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.