Hernandez v. UnderSports, Inc.
- Rochon
- 1:23-cv-08365
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Hernandez v. UnderSports, Inc., Judge Rochon ordered settlement discussions and a joint status letter without deciding standing.
Marlelis Hernandez and UnderSports, Inc., who must participate in settlement discussions and jointly report to the court on settlement or the next case-management step.
What happened
In Hernandez v. UnderSports, Inc., the court ordered Marlelis Hernandez and UnderSports, Inc. to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint. They must make a good-faith effort to settle and discuss whether Hernandez has met the legal requirement of standing.
If the parties cannot settle, they must also discuss whether court-connected mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge would be useful. Within 15 more days, they must file a joint letter stating whether they settled.
The joint letter must ask Judge Jennifer L. Rochon either to refer the case to mediation or a magistrate judge for settlement discussions, or to schedule an initial status conference. The order did not decide whether Hernandez has standing or resolve the underlying case.
The detailed version
- Hernandez v. UnderSports, Inc. · No. 1:23-cv-08365
- Rochon
- Sept. 22, 2023
What the Court Ordered
The court ordered 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.
During those discussions, the parties must consider whether Marlelis Hernandez has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning whether she is legally entitled to bring the case in federal court. The court cited two Second Circuit decisions concerning standing but did not decide the standing issue.
If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must discuss whether additional settlement efforts through the district court’s 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 telling the court whether they settled. If they did not settle, the letter must request either referral to mediation or a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, and state which option the parties prefer, or an initial status conference.
Disposition
This order addressed settlement procedures and case management. It did not rule on standing, the merits of the claims, or any motion.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.