Trinidad v. 62 Realty, LLC

Background

The parties jointly asked the court for extensions concerning a proposed settlement and the plaintiffs’ anticipated application for attorney’s fees and costs. The request sought to extend the deadline for a joint letter asking the court to approve the settlement under the process described in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc. It also sought extensions for the plaintiffs’ fee application, the defendants’ opposition, the plaintiffs’ reply, and delivery of plaintiffs’ counsel’s billing history.

The parties stated that they had been negotiating a full written settlement agreement and that the holidays had made it more difficult to complete the agreement and meet the fee-application deadlines. They also stated that the request was joint, that all parties consented, that there had been no prior extension requests, and that the request would not affect other scheduled deadlines or appearances. A footnote states that the defendants reserved the right to challenge the accuracy and contemporaneousness of plaintiffs’ counsel’s time records.

Ruling

The court extended the deadline for the attorney’s-fees application to January 19, 2023, with later briefing to follow paragraph 2.B of the court’s individual practices. The court also extended the deadline for submitting the consent form to January 13, 2023. If the parties had not consented to having the magistrate judge decide either or both motions, they were required to file a joint letter by that date stating that fact without identifying the non-consenting party or parties.

The text provided includes the parties’ requested settlement-approval deadline, but the operative ruling does not clearly state whether that requested deadline was granted. It also contains inconsistent year references in some proposed dates, so those dates are not treated as part of the court’s clearly stated disposition.