Doncouse v. Gotham Elite Inc.
- Jesse Furman
- 1:26-cv-01880
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Counsel of record per CourtListener. Firm names are approximate.
In Graciela Doncouse v. Gotham Elite, Judge Furman dismissed the case after notice that all claims had settled in principle, allowing reopening within 60 days.
The dismissal affected Graciela Doncouse and the defendants. The parties retained the stated 60-day opportunity to reopen if the settlement was not consummated, subject to the court's deadline and conditions. Pending motions became moot, conferences were canceled, and the plaintiff was ordered to serve the order on Defendant 767 8th Avenue LLC.
What happened
Graciela Doncouse v. Gotham Elite Inc. et al. was dismissed after the court was told that all claims had settled in principle. The dismissal was without costs and did not prevent reopening within 60 days if the settlement was not completed.
The court said any request to reopen had to be filed by that deadline, and requests to extend it were unlikely to be granted. The parties could ask the court to retain authority to enforce a settlement by submitting the agreement by the deadline, but any settlement requiring judicial approval had to be brought to the court's attention within three business days.
Judge Jesse M. Furman also ruled that pending motions were moot, canceled all conferences, ordered the plaintiff to serve the order on Defendant 767 8th Avenue LLC, and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
The detailed version
- Doncouse v. Gotham Elite Inc. · No. 1:26-cv-01880
- Jesse Furman
- Aug. 20, 2026
Disposition
The court stated that it had been advised that all claims in the action had been settled in principle. It therefore ordered that the action be dismissed and discontinued without costs, while preserving the right to reopen the action within 60 days of the order if the settlement was not consummated.
Settlement and Reopening Deadline
The court clarified that an application to reopen had to be filed by the 60-day deadline. An application filed later 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—that is, continuing authority—to enforce a settlement agreement, they had to submit the agreement to the court by the reopening deadline so that the court could make it an official court order. The court stated that it generally would not retain jurisdiction to enforce a settlement unless the agreement was made part of the public record, unless the court ordered otherwise.
The court separately directed the parties to notify it within three business days if the settlement required judicial approval, including approval potentially required for a class action, a settlement involving an infant or incompetent person, or claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The parties were also directed to propose a schedule for seeking any required approval.
Other Orders
The court ruled that any pending motions were moot, meaning no ruling on them was necessary because of the dismissal. It canceled all conferences, ordered Graciela Doncouse to serve a copy of the order on Defendant 767 8th Avenue LLC, and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.