Campbell v. Dynamic Color Images, Inc.
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:22-cv-09945
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Campbell v. Dynamic Color Images, Judge Caproni dismissed the settled case with prejudice, but the settlement did not bind absent putative class members.
Jovan Campbell and Dynamic Color Images, Inc. were bound by the dismissal and any settlement between them. Absent putative class members were not bound.
What happened
In Campbell v. Dynamic Color Images, Inc., the parties told the court they had reached an agreement in principle resolving all issues. The case involved Jovan Campbell’s claims on behalf of herself and others similarly situated.
The court cancelled all scheduled conferences and deadlines, dismissed the case with prejudice and without costs or attorneys’ fees to either party, terminated the pending motions, and closed the case. The parties could ask to reopen the case within 30 days by showing good cause.
Judge Valerie Caproni also ordered that the caption no longer describe Campbell as representing a class. Because the parties had not told the court they intended to follow the required class-settlement procedures, the dismissal and settlement applied only between Campbell and Dynamic Color Images and did not bind absent putative class members.
The detailed version
- Campbell v. Dynamic Color Images, Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-09945
- Valerie Caproni
- Mar. 20, 2023
Background
On March 17, 2023, the parties notified the court that they had reached an agreement in principle resolving all issues. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims or the settlement’s terms.
Court’s Orders
The court cancelled all previously scheduled conferences and other deadlines. It dismissed the case with prejudice and without costs, including attorneys’ fees, to either party. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate all open motions and close the case.
The parties were permitted to apply to reopen the case within 30 days. Any such application had to show good cause for keeping the case open despite the settlement. The court warned that a request filed after 30 days or without a showing of good cause could be denied solely on that basis.
The court also explained that, if the parties wanted it to retain jurisdiction to enforce their settlement agreement, they had to submit the agreement and request an order expressly retaining jurisdiction within the same 30-day period.
Class-Related Effect
The court directed the Clerk to remove the language stating that Jovan Campbell sued “individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated” from the caption. The parties had not notified the court that they intended to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e), which governs certain class settlements and dismissals. As a result, the dismissal and any settlement were operative only between Campbell and Dynamic Color Images. They did not bind absent putative class members.
Disposition
Judge Valerie Caproni dismissed the case with prejudice and without costs to either party, closed the case, and issued the related caption and settlement-jurisdiction instructions. The order did not adjudicate the merits of the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.