Cuaya v. VI Development Group, LLC

Background

The parties informed the court that mediation was unsuccessful. The court stated that, by a separate order, the case would be referred to Magistrate Judge James Cott for general pretrial matters.

Order

To conserve resources and promote efficiency, the court ordered the parties to discuss whether they would consent under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) to having Judge Cott conduct all further proceedings. If all parties consented, they had to submit a completed consent-and-reference form within two weeks of the order. If the court approved the form, Judge Cott would conduct all further proceedings instead of the district court judge, and any appeal would go directly to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

If any party withheld consent, the parties had to file a joint letter within two weeks stating that they did not consent, without identifying the party or parties who withheld consent. The order stated that withholding consent would not result in adverse consequences. Judge Ronnie Abrams also reminded the parties that settlements of claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act generally must be approved by the court. The order did not resolve the underlying claims.

Disposition

This was a procedural order concerning possible consent to magistrate-judge authority and pretrial administration. It did not grant or deny a merits motion and did not decide liability or any other underlying legal issue.