Fernandez v. C P Shades, Inc.
- Garnett
- 1:25-cv-01819
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Fernandez v. C P Shades, Judge Garnett ordered settlement talks and paused the defendant’s response deadline.
Jacqueline Fernandez, C P Shades, Inc., and the parties and counsel involved in the action.
What happened
Jacqueline Fernandez brought this proposed group lawsuit against C P Shades, Inc. The order identifies issues involving the website at issue, standing, and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The parties must meet for at least one hour within 30 days after C P Shades is served, and they must discuss settlement and whether Fernandez has standing. They must then file a joint letter within 45 days after service stating whether they settled and, if not, whether they want mediation, a settlement conference, or an initial status conference.
Judge Margaret M. Garnett also paused C P Shades’s deadline to answer or otherwise respond. After the joint letter is filed, Judge Garnett will set either a response deadline or a schedule for a motion to dismiss.
The detailed version
- Fernandez v. C P Shades, Inc. · No. 1:25-cv-01819
- Garnett
- Mar. 6, 2025
Background
Jacqueline Fernandez filed this proposed group action against C P Shades, Inc. The order refers to the website involved in the action and potential issues under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal law addressing access to places of public accommodation for people with disabilities.
Settlement and Possible Issues
The court ordered the parties to meet and confer for at least one hour in a good-faith effort to settle the case. The meeting must occur within 30 days after C P Shades is served with the summons and complaint.
The parties must discuss whether Fernandez has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning a sufficient personal connection to bring the lawsuit. They must also discuss whether the website is a “standalone website”—a business website without a physical location—and whether such a website is a place of public accommodation under Title III. The order cites decisions from the Southern District of New York addressing those issues.
If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must discuss whether additional settlement efforts through the court’s mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive.
Required Joint Letter and Response Deadline
Within 15 additional days—45 days after service—the parties must file 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 C P Shades intends to answer or file a motion to dismiss. If it plans to file a motion to dismiss, the letter must briefly describe the anticipated basis in no more than one paragraph.
The deadline for C P Shades to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint is stayed, meaning paused, until the joint letter is submitted. The court will then set either a deadline for the answer or a briefing schedule for a motion to dismiss.
Disposition
Judge Margaret M. Garnett entered a case-management and settlement order. The order did not decide standing, whether the website is a place of public accommodation, whether the proposed group action may proceed, or the merits of any Americans with Disabilities Act claim.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.