Dicks v. Rock Diamond, Corp.

What the order did

The case was reassigned to Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke. The order stated that all prior orders, dates, and deadlines would remain in effect unless the court later ordered otherwise. Any currently scheduled conference or oral argument was adjourned pending further order.

Required joint letter

The court ordered the parties to file a joint letter on the electronic docket no later than August 11, 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 counsel’s contact information, the nature and important issues of the case, the basis for federal jurisdiction and venue, existing deadlines, scheduled conferences, outstanding motions, pending appeals, completed and needed discovery, prior settlement discussions, possible alternative dispute-resolution methods, estimated trial length, and other information useful for moving the case toward settlement or trial.

If the case had already been settled or otherwise terminated, counsel did not have to submit the letter or appear if proof of termination was filed on the docket before the deadline. Requests to extend a deadline or postpone a conference had to be made by a letter-motion filed at least 48 hours beforehand and had to include specified information about the requested change, prior requests, the reason, the other side’s position, and any next scheduled court appearance.

Disposition and effect

This was a case-management and reassignment order. It did not decide the merits of Valerie Dicks’s claims or Rock Diamond, Corp.’s defenses, and it did not rule on a motion or terminate the case.