Toro v. Whirlpool Corporation
- Rochon
- 1:23-cv-00848
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
Toro v. Whirlpool Corporation: Judge Rochon ordered settlement discussions and a status update but did not decide the case’s merits.
Andrew Toro and Whirlpool Corporation, including the proposed class referenced in the complaint, are affected by the required settlement discussions and joint-letter deadlines.
What happened
In Toro v. Whirlpool Corporation, the court issued case-management instructions shortly after the lawsuit was filed. The opinion does not decide whether Andrew Toro or Whirlpool Corporation is legally right.
The parties must meet for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint and discuss settlement, including whether Toro has standing to sue. If they cannot settle, they must also discuss possible mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge.
Within 45 days after service, the parties must submit a joint letter stating whether they settled. If not, they must ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or a magistrate judge or to schedule an initial status conference. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon entered the order.
The detailed version
- Toro v. Whirlpool Corporation · No. 1:23-cv-00848
- Rochon
- Feb. 3, 2023
Order and background
Andrew Toro brought this putative class action against Whirlpool Corporation. The opinion is a case-management order and does not resolve the claims or decide whether the plaintiff has standing. The court noted standing as a threshold issue the parties should consider during settlement discussions, citing two Second Circuit decisions.
Required settlement discussions
Within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint, the parties must meet and confer for at least one hour in a good-faith attempt to settle the action. They must discuss whether Toro has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing. If they cannot settle on their own, they must also discuss whether further settlement discussions through the district court’s court-annexed mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive at that time.
Joint letter and disposition
Within 15 additional days—45 days after service of the summons and complaint—the parties must submit a joint letter telling the court 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 identified, or an initial status conference. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon entered these directives. The opinion does not state that any motion was granted or denied and does not reach the merits.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.