Bishop v. The College of Wooster
- Rochon
- 1:25-cv-01866
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Bishop v. The College of Wooster, Judge Rochon ordered settlement discussions and a joint status letter but decided no claims.
Cedric Bishop and The College of Wooster, including the proposed class of similarly situated persons identified in the complaint, are affected by the required settlement discussions and joint filing.
What happened
In Bishop v. The College of Wooster, the court ordered Cedric Bishop and The College of Wooster to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint. They must make a good-faith effort to settle the case.
The parties must discuss whether Bishop has met the legal requirement of having standing to sue. If they cannot settle, they must also discuss whether mediation or a settlement conference with a magistrate judge would be useful.
Within 45 days after service, the parties must file a joint letter stating whether they settled. If not, they must ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or a magistrate judge, or to schedule an initial status conference. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon did not decide the claims or the standing issue in this order.
The detailed version
- Bishop v. The College of Wooster · No. 1:25-cv-01866
- Rochon
- Mar. 31, 2025
Order
The court ordered the parties to meet and confer for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint. The meeting must be a good-faith attempt to settle the action.
Issues to Discuss
The parties must consider whether plaintiff Cedric Bishop has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning the legal requirement that a person have a sufficient connection to the dispute to bring it in court. The order cites Calcano v. Swarovski N. Am. Ltd. and Harty v. W. Point Realty, Inc. in connection with that issue. The parties must also discuss whether additional settlement discussions through the court-annexed mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive if they cannot settle on their own.
Required Filing and Disposition
Within 15 additional days—45 days after service of the summons and complaint—the parties must submit 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 stated between those options, or an initial status conference. The order does not decide standing, the merits of the claims, or any party's ultimate rights.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.