Toro v. GHP Group, Inc.
- Rochon
- 1:23-cv-02132
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Toro v. GHP Group, Inc., Judge Rochon ordered the parties to discuss settlement, standing, and possible mediation before submitting a joint update.
Andrew Toro and the other plaintiffs, and GHP Group, Inc.
What happened
In Toro v. GHP Group, Inc., the court ordered the plaintiffs and GHP Group, Inc. to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after the summons and complaint were served. They must make a good-faith effort to settle and discuss whether the plaintiffs meet the legal requirement of standing to sue.
If they cannot settle, the parties must also discuss whether further settlement efforts through court-connected mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge would be useful. Within 45 days after service, they must send the court a joint letter stating whether they settled.
If the case was not settled, the joint letter must ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or a magistrate judge, identifying a preference, or to schedule an initial status conference. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon issued this order on March 20, 2023; the order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Toro v. GHP Group, Inc. · No. 1:23-cv-02132
- Rochon
- Mar. 20, 2023
Order
The court entered a case-management and settlement order involving Andrew Toro and the other plaintiffs and GHP Group, Inc. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
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. During those discussions, they must consider whether the plaintiff has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing—the legal requirement that a party have a sufficient connection to the dispute to bring the case. The order cites Calcano v. Swarovski North America Ltd. and Harty v. West Point Realty, Inc. in connection with that issue.
If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must also discuss whether additional settlement discussions through the court’s mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive at that time.
Joint letter and next steps
Within 15 additional days—45 days after service of the summons and complaint—the parties must submit a joint letter stating 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 between those options, or an initial status conference.
Disposition
This is a procedural order directing settlement discussions and a joint status update. It does not decide the standing issue or the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.