Norris v. Joey Bats Cafe NYC LLC

Order

The court ordered the parties to meet and confer for at least one hour within 30 days of the order, in a good-faith attempt to settle the action. During those discussions, the parties were directed to consider whether Plaintiff Namel Norris satisfied the threshold requirement of standing. Standing is the legal requirement that a plaintiff have a sufficient connection to the dispute to invoke the court’s authority. The order cited decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concerning standing.

If the parties could not settle the case themselves, they were also required to discuss whether additional settlement discussions through the court’s mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive at that time.

Required filing and possible default judgment

The parties must submit a joint letter within 15 additional days—45 days from the date of the order—stating whether they settled. If they did not settle, the letter must request either referral to mediation or to a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, with a preference between those options, or an initial status conference.

The court separately ordered that, if Defendant 129 H&H Realty LLC did not appear, Norris must file any motion for default judgment no later than 45 days from the date of the order. Default judgment is a judgment that may be sought when a defendant does not appear or otherwise defend the case.

What the order decided

This order addressed settlement and case-management steps. It did not decide whether Norris had standing, whether any defendant was liable, or the merits of the underlying claims. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon issued the order.