Castro v. Do it Best Commerce Company, LLC
- Rochon
- 1:23-cv-07923
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Castro v. Do It Best, Judge Rochon ordered the parties to discuss settlement and standing, then report whether to settle, mediate, or hold a status conference.
Felix Castro and the other plaintiffs, and Do It Best Commerce Company, LLC, must follow the court's settlement-discussion and joint-letter requirements.
What happened
Castro v. Do It Best Commerce Company, LLC involves Felix Castro and other plaintiffs against Do It Best Commerce Company, LLC. The court ordered the parties to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after the summons and complaint are served, making a good-faith effort to settle.
The parties must also discuss whether the plaintiff has met the basic requirement of having standing to bring the case. If they cannot settle, they must consider whether mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge would be useful.
Within 15 more days, the parties must jointly tell the court whether they settled. If they did not, they must ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or a magistrate judge, or to schedule an initial status conference. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon issued this order; it did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Castro v. Do it Best Commerce Company, LLC · No. 1:23-cv-07923
- Rochon
- Oct. 2, 2023
Order
The court directed the parties to meet and confer for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint. The meeting must be a good-faith attempt to settle the action.
Standing and Settlement Discussions
During those discussions, the parties must consider whether the plaintiff has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing—the requirement that a party have the necessary connection to and stake in a dispute to bring it in federal court. The order cites Calcano v. Swarovski N. Am. Ltd. and Harty v. W. Point Realty, Inc. in connection with that issue. The order does not decide whether standing exists.
If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must also discuss whether further settlement efforts through the district's court-annexed mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive at that time.
Required Joint Letter
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 they did not settle, the letter must request either referral to mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge, with a stated preference between those options, or an initial status conference.
Disposition and Significance
This is a case-management and settlement order. It does not resolve the parties' underlying claims or determine the standing issue. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered the parties to follow the specified discussion and reporting schedule.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.