Lazaar v. The Anthem Companies, Inc.
- Clarke
- 1:22-cv-03075
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Lazaar v. The Anthem Companies, Judge Clarke reassigned the case and ordered a joint status letter by July 31, 2023.
The parties and their counsel in Lazaar v. The Anthem Companies, Inc.; the order required them to provide a joint case-status update and follow the court’s procedures for extensions or adjournments.
What happened
In Lazaar v. The Anthem Companies, Inc., the court announced that the case had been reassigned to a new judge. It stated that all earlier orders, dates, and deadlines—including Docket 52—would remain in effect unless the court ordered otherwise.
The court ordered the parties to file a joint letter through the court’s electronic filing system by July 31, 2023. The letter, limited to five pages, had to update the court on counsel’s contact information, the case’s issues, jurisdiction and venue, deadlines, conferences, motions, appeals, discovery, settlement discussions, possible mediation, and the expected trial length.
Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke also explained procedures for requesting extensions or adjournments. If the case had already ended, the parties did not have to file the letter or appear if they filed proof of termination before the deadline. The order did not decide the dispute’s merits.
The detailed version
- Lazaar v. The Anthem Companies, Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-03075
- Clarke
- July 18, 2023
Nature of the Order
This is a notice of reassignment and case-management order. Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke stated that the case had been reassigned to her. Unless the court ordered otherwise, all prior orders, dates, and deadlines remained in effect, including Docket 52.
Required Joint Status Letter
The court ordered the parties to file a joint letter through the court’s electronic filing system no later than July 31, 2023. The letter could not exceed five pages, except that lengthy information about the citizenship of certain entities could be placed in an appendix outside the page limit.
The letter had to address twelve subjects:
- The names and current contact information of counsel;
- The nature of the case, principal defenses, and major legal and factual issues;
- The basis for federal jurisdiction and venue, including the required citizenship information if jurisdiction rested on diversity of citizenship;
- Existing deadlines and cutoff dates;
- Previously scheduled court conferences that had not occurred;
- Outstanding motions and the relief sought;
- Pending appeals;
- Discovery completed and any discovery still needed for meaningful settlement discussions;
- The status of settlement discussions without exact offers or demands;
- Whether the parties had considered a settlement conference, the district’s mediation program, or a private mediator;
- An estimate of the trial length; and
- Other information that could help move the case toward settlement or trial, including dispositive or novel issues.
Other Procedures and Disposition
The order stated that, if the case had been settled or otherwise terminated, counsel did not have to file the joint letter or appear if a stipulation of discontinuance, voluntary dismissal, or other proof of termination was filed before the deadline. It also required requests for extensions or adjournments to be made by a letter-motion filed through the electronic filing system at least 48 hours before the applicable deadline or conference, with specified information about the requested change, prior requests, the reason, the opposing party’s position, and any next scheduled appearance.
Judge Clarke did not rule on the underlying claims or defenses. The order addressed reassignment and case administration.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.