Velazquez v. City Plumbing & Electric Supply Co.

Order

The court ordered the parties to meet and confer for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint. The parties must make a good-faith attempt to settle the action.

The court directed the parties to discuss whether the plaintiff satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning the legal requirement that a party have a sufficient connection to the dispute to bring the case. The order cited two Second Circuit decisions concerning standing but did not decide whether standing exists here.

If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must discuss whether additional settlement efforts through the district’s court-annexed mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive. 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 the case was not settled, the joint letter must ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or to a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, and state the parties’ preference, or to proceed with an initial status conference. The order did not rule on the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims or the defendant’s defenses. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon entered the order on June 30, 2023.