Norman v. Fordwash Partners LLC
- Rochon
- 1:22-cv-09881
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Norman v. Fordwash Partners LLC, Judge Rochon ordered the parties to discuss settlement and standing, then report whether to mediate or hold a status conference.
The plaintiffs and defendants in Norman v. Fordwash Partners LLC are required to participate in the ordered settlement discussions and submit the joint letter.
What happened
Norman v. Fordwash Partners LLC involves Kimmarie Norman and other plaintiffs and Fordwash Partners LLC, Benton Heights LLC, and D’Maritza Cake Shop Corp. The court issued a case-management order rather than deciding the dispute.
Within 30 days after the summons and complaint are served, the parties must meet for at least one hour and make a good-faith effort to settle. They must discuss whether the plaintiff has met the basic requirement of having standing to sue, and whether court-connected mediation or a settlement conference with a magistrate judge would help if they cannot settle themselves.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon also ordered the parties to submit a joint letter within 45 days after service stating whether they settled. If not, the letter must request either mediation or a settlement conference, with a preference between those options, or an initial status conference.
The detailed version
- Norman v. Fordwash Partners LLC · No. 1:22-cv-09881
- Rochon
- Nov. 29, 2022
Background
The opinion is an order in a case brought by Kimmarie Norman and other plaintiffs against Fordwash Partners LLC, Benton Heights LLC, and D’Maritza Cake Shop Corp. It states that Judge Rochon was assigned the case for all purposes.
Order
The court ordered the parties, within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint, to meet and confer for at least one hour in a good-faith attempt to settle the action. The parties were directed to consider whether the plaintiff had satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning an adequate legal basis to bring the lawsuit. The order also required them to discuss whether further settlement discussions through the court-annexed mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive if they could not settle on their own.
The court further ordered the parties to submit a joint letter within 15 additional days—45 days after service of the summons and complaint—stating whether they had settled. If they had not settled, the letter had to request either referral to mediation or a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, and state a preference between those options, or request that the court proceed with an initial status conference.
Disposition
This is a procedural case-management order. The court did not decide whether the plaintiff had standing or resolve the underlying claims. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered settlement discussions and a later joint status report.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.