Trippett v. Esqueleto Home, LLC
- Rochon
- 1:25-cv-01200
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Trippett v. Esqueleto Home, LLC, Judge Rochon ordered settlement discussions and a joint status letter, without deciding the case’s merits.
The order affects Alfred Trippett and Esqueleto Home, LLC by requiring them to participate in settlement discussions and submit a joint letter to the court.
What happened
Trippett v. Esqueleto Home, LLC is a proposed class action brought by Alfred Trippett against Esqueleto Home, LLC. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
The court ordered the parties to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint and to make a good-faith effort to settle. They must discuss whether Trippett has standing and whether court-connected mediation or a settlement conference with a magistrate judge would be useful if they cannot settle themselves.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon also ordered the parties to file a joint letter within 45 days after service stating whether they settled. If they did not, the letter must ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, or to schedule an initial status conference. The order did not decide standing or the merits.
The detailed version
- Trippett v. Esqueleto Home, LLC · No. 1:25-cv-01200
- Rochon
- Feb. 12, 2025
Order
The court entered a case-management and settlement order. The opinion identifies Alfred Trippett as suing on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, and identifies Esqueleto Home, LLC as the defendant, but it does not describe the underlying claims.
Required 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. As part of those discussions, they should consider whether the plaintiff has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning a sufficient personal connection to pursue the claims in federal court. The court cited Calcano v. Swarovski North America, Ltd. and Harty v. West Point Realty, Inc. in connection with that issue.
If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must also discuss whether additional settlement efforts through the 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 request either referral to mediation or to a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, with the parties’ preference identified, or an initial status conference.
What the order decided
The court directed the parties to pursue settlement discussions and report their status. It did not decide standing, the underlying claims, or any other merits issue.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.