360 Mortgage Group, LLC v. Fortress Investment Group LLC

Nature of the Order

This is a case-management and scheduling order, not a decision on the parties’ underlying claims. The court stated that the case had been reassigned to Judge Jesse M. Furman. Unless the court ordered otherwise, all prior orders, dates, and deadlines would remain in effect. Any currently scheduled conference or oral argument before the court was postponed pending further order.

Conference and Joint Letter

The court ordered counsel for all parties to appear for an in-person conference on March 8, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. in Courtroom 1105 of the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse. Unless the court granted permission through a letter-motion filed before the conference, each pretrial conference had to be attended by the attorney who would serve as principal trial counsel.

The parties also had to file a joint letter on the electronic docket no later than Thursday of the week before the conference. The letter could not exceed five pages and had to address:

- counsel’s names and current contact information; - the nature of the case and principal defenses; - why federal jurisdiction and venue were proper, including citizenship information required for diversity jurisdiction; - existing deadlines and cutoff dates; - previously scheduled conferences that had not occurred; - outstanding motions and the relief sought; - pending appeals; - discovery completed and discovery still needed for meaningful settlement discussions; - prior settlement discussions; - possible alternative dispute-resolution procedures; - estimated trial length; and - other information that could help move the case toward settlement or trial.

Other Procedures

If the case had already been settled or otherwise terminated, counsel did not have to file the joint letter or appear, provided proof of termination was filed on the docket before the deadline. Requests to extend a deadline or postpone the conference had to be made by letter-motion filed at least 48 hours beforehand and had to include the information specified by the court’s rules.

Disposition and Effect

The court did not grant or deny a merits motion, enter judgment, or resolve any claim. It issued scheduling and case-management directives affecting the parties’ counsel. Judge Furman signed the order on February 21, 2023.