Gold Medal Produce, Inc. v. Duong
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:19-cv-04043
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Gold Medal Produce v. Duong, Judge Schofield ordered the parties to report whether they would stipulate to a summary bench trial and further settlement discussions.
Gold Medal Produce, Inc., Hung Duong, and the other defendants were required to report whether they would agree to a summary bench trial and further settlement referrals.
What happened
Gold Medal Produce, Inc. v. Duong involved a case that was not scheduled for a jury trial. The court had previously directed the parties to discuss settlement before any summary-judgment motion, but the parties disagreed about whether more discussions would help.
After a case-management conference, Gold Medal Produce filed a motion for summary judgment. The court then asked the parties to consider resolving the case through a summary bench trial, meaning a trial decided by the judge based on the summary-judgment record.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield ordered the parties to file a letter by November 2, 2020, stating whether they would agree to that procedure and whether they would accept a settlement-conference referral. The order did not decide the summary-judgment motion.
The detailed version
- Gold Medal Produce, Inc. v. Duong · No. 1:19-cv-04043
- Lorna Schofield
- Oct. 30, 2020
Background
The amended case-management plan provided that the case would not be tried to a jury. In an earlier order, the court directed the parties to engage in good-faith settlement discussions before filing any summary-judgment motion. The defendants were willing to consider referral to the court-annexed mediation program, while Gold Medal Produce did not believe further settlement discussions would be productive.
After a case-management conference, Gold Medal Produce filed a motion for summary judgment.
Order
The court ordered the parties to file a letter by November 2, 2020, stating whether they would stipulate to a summary bench trial on the summary-judgment record under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a). A summary bench trial would allow the judge to decide the case based on that record without a jury, if the parties agreed. If they agreed, they were also required to attach their stipulation.
The parties were further ordered to state whether they were willing to have a settlement conference before the magistrate judge or through the Southern District of New York's mediation program.
Effect of the Order
This order addressed case management and possible settlement or trial procedures. It did not state a ruling on Gold Medal Produce's summary-judgment motion or decide the underlying dispute.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.