Horton v. Whole Foods Market, Inc.
- Clarke
- 1:22-cv-00772
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Horton v. Whole Foods Market Group, Inc., Judge Clarke reassigned the case, rescheduled a status conference, and ordered a joint case-update letter.
The parties and their counsel are affected by the reassignment, the rescheduled status conference, the joint-letter requirement, and the procedures for requesting extensions or postponements.
What happened
In Horton v. Whole Foods Market Group, Inc., the case was reassigned to Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke. The court kept all earlier orders, dates, and deadlines in effect, but moved the August 15, 2023 status conference from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and set it to occur remotely.
The parties must file a joint letter no later than one week before the conference. The letter must describe the case, jurisdiction and venue, deadlines, motions, appeals, discovery, settlement discussions, possible alternative dispute resolution, estimated trial length, and other information that could help move the case toward settlement or trial.
Judge Clarke also explained the requirements for requests to extend deadlines or postpone the conference. Those requests must be made by letter-motion at least 48 hours beforehand and must include specified information, including the requested dates, prior requests, reasons, and the other side’s position. This order did not decide the parties’ underlying legal claims.
The detailed version
- Horton v. Whole Foods Market, Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-00772
- Clarke
- July 19, 2023
Nature of the Order
This is a case-management and reassignment order, not a decision on the merits of the dispute. The opinion states that the case was reassigned to Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke. Unless the court orders otherwise, all prior orders, dates, and deadlines remain in effect.
Status Conference
The court rescheduled the status conference set for August 15, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The conference will be held remotely through Microsoft Teams before Judge Clarke.
Joint Status Letter
The parties were ordered to file a joint letter on the electronic court filing system no later than one week before the status conference. The letter may not exceed five pages, except that lengthy information about the citizenship of certain business entities may be placed in an appendix outside the page limit.
The letter must separately address counsel’s names and contact information; the nature of the case and principal defenses; the major legal and factual issues; the basis for federal jurisdiction and venue; existing deadlines; scheduled conferences; outstanding motions; pending appeals; completed and remaining discovery; prior settlement discussions without exact offers or demands; possible alternative dispute resolution; estimated trial length; and other information that could assist the court in advancing the case toward settlement or trial.
If the case has been settled or otherwise terminated, counsel do not have to submit the letter or appear, as long as proof of termination is filed on the docket before the deadline using the appropriate filing event.
Extensions and Adjournments
The court stated that requests to extend deadlines or postpone the conference may be made only by letter-motion filed electronically at least 48 hours before the deadline or conference. The submission must state the original and requested new dates, the number and results of earlier requests, the reason for the request, whether the opposing party consents and, if not, that party’s reasons, and any applicable future court appearance. Unless counsel are told that the conference has been postponed, it will occur as scheduled.
Disposition
Judge Clarke entered the reassignment and case-management directions described above. The opinion does not resolve any underlying claims or defenses.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.