Fernandez Martinez v. Tenchi, LLC
- Garnett
- 1:25-cv-04028
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Fernandez Martinez v. Tenchi, Judge Garnett ordered settlement discussions, required a joint status letter, and stayed Tenchi’s response deadline.
Judith Adela Fernandez Martinez, Tenchi, LLC, and counsel or parties responsible for receiving and serving the court’s order.
What happened
In Fernandez Martinez v. Tenchi, LLC, the court ordered the parties to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after Tenchi, LLC is served with the summons and complaint. They must make a good-faith effort to settle the case.
The parties must discuss whether Fernandez Martinez has legal standing to bring the case and whether the website involved is a standalone website that may not qualify as a public accommodation under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The order does not decide either issue.
Within 45 days after service, the parties must file a joint letter reporting whether they settled and, if not, requesting mediation, a settlement conference before a magistrate judge, or an initial status conference. Judge Margaret M. Garnett also stayed Tenchi, LLC’s deadline to answer or otherwise respond until after that letter is filed.
The detailed version
- Fernandez Martinez v. Tenchi, LLC · No. 1:25-cv-04028
- Garnett
- May 15, 2025
Order and required discussions
Judge Margaret M. Garnett ordered the parties to meet and confer for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint on Tenchi, LLC. The parties must make a good-faith effort to settle the action.
The parties must discuss whether Plaintiff has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing—that is, whether she has a sufficient legal connection to bring the lawsuit. They must also discuss whether the website involved is a “standalone website,” meaning a business website without a physical location, and whether such a website qualifies as a “place of public accommodation” under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court cited decisions from the Southern District of New York holding that some standalone websites do not qualify. The order does not resolve standing or the website issue.
Joint letter and response deadline
Within 15 additional days, or 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 a preference stated, or an initial status conference. The letter must also state whether Tenchi, LLC intends to answer or move to dismiss the complaint. If Tenchi, LLC anticipates moving to dismiss, the letter must briefly state the basis for that motion in no more than one paragraph.
The deadline for Tenchi, LLC to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint is stayed pending submission of the joint letter. After the letter is filed, the court will set either a deadline for an answer or a briefing schedule for a motion to dismiss.
Notice requirements
Counsel who had appeared by the date of the order must promptly serve the order and Judge Garnett’s Individual Rules and Practices on counsel for parties who had not appeared, or personally on a party if the recipient’s counsel is unknown. The serving counsel must file proof of that notice with the court.
Disposition
This is a case-management and settlement order. It does not grant or deny a motion, dismiss any claim, decide standing, or decide the merits of the Americans with Disabilities Act claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.