Hegazy v. The Halal Guys, Inc.

Background

The court stated that an initial pretrial conference was scheduled for May 4, 2022. The parties’ joint letter and proposed case-management plan did not raise significant issues.

Order

Judge Lorna G. Schofield canceled the May 4 initial pretrial conference. The parties could ask the court to reinstate the conference if they believed one would be useful. The court said that a case-management plan and scheduling order would issue separately.

The court ordered the parties to meet and confer and file a letter by May 4 stating whether they would stipulate to conditional certification and agreeing on the form of notice. Conditional certification is an early-stage determination that allows notice to be sent to potential similarly situated participants. The order reserved the defendants’ rights to object to final certification under the more demanding standard that would apply later. The court did not itself grant or deny conditional certification.

The court also directed the parties to file a joint letter requesting a referral if and when they were ready for a settlement conference with the assigned magistrate judge or for mediation through the court’s mediation program. It stated that deadlines for factual and expert discovery generally would not be extended without compelling circumstances. The court specifically highlighted provisions concerning periodic status letters and pre-motion letters, noting that failure to use the required pre-motion process could result in cancellation of the final conference and the setting of a trial date.