Millennium Trust Company, LLC v. 944-948 Realty Corp.
- Clarke
- 1:23-cv-04657
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Millennium Trust v. 944-948 Realty, Judge Clarke reassigned the case and ordered a joint status letter before the initial conference.
The parties and their counsel were required to comply with the existing schedule, file the joint status letter by August 31, 2023, and prepare for the September 7, 2023 initial pretrial conference unless the court ordered otherwise.
What happened
Millennium Trust Company, LLC v. 944-948 Realty Corp. was reassigned to a new judge, while all existing orders, deadlines, and the September 7, 2023 initial conference remained in place unless changed by the court.
The parties were ordered to file a joint letter by August 31, 2023, describing the case, jurisdiction and venue, deadlines, motions, appeals, discovery, settlement discussions, possible alternative dispute resolution, and estimated trial length. The letter could not exceed five pages, except that certain citizenship information could be placed in an appendix.
Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke also stated that extension or postponement requests had to be filed by letter at least 48 hours before the relevant deadline or conference. This notice did not decide the parties’ underlying dispute.
The detailed version
- Millennium Trust Company, LLC v. 944-948 Realty Corp. · No. 1:23-cv-04657
- Clarke
- June 27, 2023
What the order did
The court issued a notice that the case had been reassigned to Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke. The court directed that all prior orders, dates, and deadlines would remain effective unless the court later ordered otherwise. This included an initial pretrial conference scheduled for September 7, 2023, at 9:00 a.m., to be held through Microsoft Teams.
Required joint letter
The parties had to file a joint letter through the court’s electronic filing system by August 31, 2023. The letter could not exceed five pages and had to address:
- Counsel’s names and current contact information; - The nature of the case, principal defenses, and major legal and factual issues; - Why federal jurisdiction and venue were proper, including required citizenship information for the entities involved if jurisdiction was based on diversity of citizenship; - Existing deadlines and previously scheduled conferences; - Outstanding motions and any pending appeals; - Discovery already completed and discovery still needed for meaningful settlement discussions; - The status of settlement discussions without stating exact offers or demands; - Whether alternative dispute resolution might be appropriate; - The estimated trial length; and - Any other information that could help move the case toward settlement or trial.
If the case had already been settled or otherwise terminated, the parties did not have to file the letter or appear at the conference if proof of termination was filed before the deadline.
Requests to change deadlines or conferences
The court stated that requests to extend deadlines or postpone conferences could be made only through a letter-motion filed electronically. The request had to arrive at least 48 hours before the deadline or conference and had to identify the original and requested new dates, prior extension requests, the reason for the request, the opposing party’s position, and other specified scheduling information. Unless the court notified counsel that a conference had been postponed, the conference would take place as scheduled.
Disposition
This was a case-management order, not a decision on the claims or defenses. Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke reassigned the case, kept existing dates and orders in effect, required the joint status letter, and set procedures for requesting scheduling changes.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.