Maddy v. Poughkeepsie Galleria, LLC
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:22-cv-05845
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Maddy v. Poughkeepsie Galleria, Judge Caproni dismissed the case with prejudice after an agreement in principle, without costs or binding absent class members.
The dismissal and any settlement affected Veronica Maddy and Poughkeepsie Galleria LLC. The order stated that absent putative class members were not bound.
What happened
In Maddy v. Poughkeepsie Galleria, LLC, the parties told the court they had reached an agreement in principle resolving all issues. The plaintiff had brought the case individually and on behalf of others similarly situated.
The court cancelled scheduled conferences and deadlines, terminated open motions, and closed the case. The dismissal was with prejudice and without costs, including attorneys’ fees, to either party.
Judge Valerie Caproni also ordered that the case would not bind absent putative class members because the parties had not told the court they intended to follow the federal rule governing class settlements. The parties had 30 days to ask to reopen the case for good cause or to ask the court to retain jurisdiction to enforce their settlement agreement.
The detailed version
- Maddy v. Poughkeepsie Galleria, LLC · No. 1:22-cv-05845
- Valerie Caproni
- Sept. 21, 2022
Background
Veronica Maddy sued Poughkeepsie Galleria LLC individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated. On September 20, 2022, the parties notified the court that they had reached an agreement in principle resolving all issues.
Ruling
The court cancelled all previously scheduled conferences and other deadlines. It dismissed the case with prejudice and without costs, including attorneys’ fees, to either party. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate all open motions and close the case.
The court allowed the parties 30 days to apply to reopen the case. Any such application had to show good cause for keeping the case open despite the parties’ settlement. The court also explained that, if the parties wanted it to retain jurisdiction to enforce their settlement agreement, they had to submit the agreement and request an order expressly retaining jurisdiction within the same 30-day period.
The court directed the Clerk to remove the words “individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated” from the caption. Because the parties had not notified the court that they intended to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e), the dismissal and any settlement operated only between Maddy and Poughkeepsie Galleria LLC. They did not bind absent putative class members.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.