Cale v. Mount Sinai Business Health
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:23-cv-03072
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Cale v. Mount Sinai Business Health, Judge Abrams ordered mediation and initial discovery procedures, and adjourned the initial pretrial conference.
Rehana Cale, Mount Sinai Business Health, Charles Psarreas, and their counsel are affected by the mediation referral, initial-discovery requirements, confidentiality procedures, and rescheduling of the initial pretrial conference.
What happened
In Cale v. Mount Sinai Business Health, the court designated the case for automatic referral to the Southern District of New York’s mediation program under the court’s procedures for employment-discrimination cases.
The court also ordered that initial discovery follow the Pilot Discovery Protocols for Counseled Employment Cases. Those protocols require early exchanges of specified documents and information, and the attached protective order governs confidential materials exchanged under them. The court adjourned the initial pretrial conference that had been scheduled for July 19, 2023.
Judge Ronnie Abrams issued the order on July 17, 2023. If mediation does not resolve the case, counsel must file a joint letter proposing dates for an initial pretrial conference no later than one week after the mediation conference.
The detailed version
- Cale v. Mount Sinai Business Health · No. 1:23-cv-03072
- Ronnie Abrams
- July 17, 2023
What the order does
Judge Ronnie Abrams ordered that the case be automatically referred to the Southern District of New York’s Alternative Dispute Resolution program for mediation. The order relies on the court’s Second Amended Standing Administrative Order concerning employment-discrimination cases.
The order further provides that initial discovery must follow the Pilot Discovery Protocols for Counseled Employment Cases. The protocols require early exchanges of targeted documents and information. They identify materials that Rehana Cale must produce to the defendants, including employment-related documents and information about alleged discriminatory comments or harassment and claimed damages. They also identify materials that the defendants must produce to Cale, including employment, personnel, performance, disciplinary, termination, accommodation, and workplace-policy records when relevant to the claims described in the protocols.
Confidentiality and mediation procedures
The attached protective order governs documents and information exchanged under the discovery protocols. It allows counsel to designate materials as confidential, limits their use to this litigation, restricts disclosure, and provides procedures for challenging confidentiality designations. The standing order states that the parties must participate in mediation within the specified time after an answer is filed unless the assigned judge orders otherwise, but this order itself does not state whether an answer had been filed or set a mediation date.
Pretrial conference
The court adjourned the initial pretrial conference previously scheduled for July 19, 2023. If mediation is unsuccessful, counsel must file a joint status letter proposing dates for an initial pretrial conference no later than one week after the mediation conference.
What the order does not decide
The order does not decide the merits of any claim or defense. It addresses mediation, initial discovery, confidentiality, and scheduling.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.