Cowell v. Target
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:21-cv-08289
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Cowell v. Target, Judge Abrams discontinued the settled case without costs, allowing restoration within 30 days.
Gernette Cowell and Target Corporation, whose settled action was discontinued and closed, subject to the stated 30-day restoration period.
What happened
Gernette Cowell and Target Corporation reported to the court that their case had been settled.
The court discontinued the action without costs to either party and without prejudice to restoring it to the court’s docket if an application was made within 30 days. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
Judge Ronnie Abrams stated that any request to reopen filed after 30 days could be denied on that basis alone. If the parties wanted the court to retain authority to enforce their settlement, they had to place the settlement terms on the public record and obtain the court’s approval within the same 30-day period.
The detailed version
- Cowell v. Target · No. 1:21-cv-08289
- Ronnie Abrams
- July 26, 2022
Background
The opinion states that the court was informed that Gernette Cowell’s action against Target Corporation had been settled. It does not describe the claims or the settlement’s terms.
Court’s Action
The court ordered that the action be discontinued without costs to any party and without prejudice to restoring the action to the court’s docket if an application to restore it was made within 30 days. It further stated that any application to reopen filed after that period could be denied solely because it was late. The Clerk of Court was directed to close the case.
The court also explained that, if the parties wanted it to retain jurisdiction—that is, authority to enforce the settlement agreement—the settlement terms had to be placed on the public record and approved by the court within the same 30-day period. The opinion cites Hendrickson v. United States, 791 F.3d 354, 358 (2d Cir. 2015).
Disposition
Judge Ronnie Abrams discontinued the action without costs and without prejudice to restoration within 30 days, and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.