Li v. Douglas A. Collins

Background

The court was advised at ECF No. 19 that all claims in the action had been settled in principle. The opinion does not describe the claims or provide the settlement’s terms.

Ruling

The court ordered that the action be dismissed and discontinued without costs, and without prejudice to the parties’ right to reopen the action within 60 days of the order if the settlement is not completed. Any request to reopen had to be filed by that deadline; the court stated that a later request could be denied solely because it was late. The court also stated that requests to extend the reopening deadline were unlikely to be granted.

If the parties wanted the court to retain jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement, they had to submit the agreement by the reopening deadline for the court to approve by order. The court stated that, unless it ordered otherwise, it would not retain jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement unless the agreement became part of the public record.

The court further ordered that, if judicial approval of the settlement was required—for example, for a class action, a settlement involving an infant or incompetent person, or claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act—the parties had to notify the court within three business days of the order and propose a schedule for seeking approval. Any pending motions were declared moot, all conferences were canceled, and the Clerk of Court was directed to close the case.

Effect

The order ended the action based on the reported settlement in principle rather than deciding the underlying claims. The action could be reopened within the stated 60-day period if the settlement was not consummated. The order did not state whether the settlement was ultimately completed.