DiMeglio v. Hi-Health-Rx, LLC
- Rochon
- 1:23-cv-08544
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In DiMeglio v. Hi-Health-Rx, LLC, Judge Rochon ordered settlement discussions and a joint status letter without deciding standing or the case’s merits.
Maria DiMeglio and Hi-Health-Rx, LLC, who must participate in the ordered settlement discussions and submit the required joint letter.
What happened
In DiMeglio v. Hi-Health-Rx, LLC, the court ordered the plaintiff and defendant to try to settle the case soon after the summons and complaint are served. Their discussions must include whether the plaintiff meets the legal requirement to bring the case, called standing.
Within 30 days after service, the parties must meet for at least one hour and make a good-faith effort to settle. Within 15 more days, they must jointly tell the court whether they settled. If they did not, they must ask either for mediation or a settlement conference with a magistrate judge, or for an initial status conference.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon entered this order on September 29, 2023. The order directed settlement and case-management steps; it did not decide whether the plaintiff has standing or who should win the underlying case.
The detailed version
- DiMeglio v. Hi-Health-Rx, LLC · No. 1:23-cv-08544
- Rochon
- Sept. 29, 2023
Order
The court ordered the parties to meet and confer within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint. The meeting must last at least one hour and must be a good-faith attempt to settle the action.
Standing Discussion
The court directed the parties to consider whether the plaintiff satisfied the threshold requirement of standing. Standing is the legal requirement that a person have the necessary connection to a dispute to bring it in federal court. The order cited two Second Circuit decisions concerning standing, but it did not decide whether Maria DiMeglio has standing.
Further Settlement Steps
If the parties cannot settle the case themselves, they must discuss whether additional settlement discussions through the court-annexed mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive at that time.
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 to a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, while stating a preference between those options, or an initial status conference.
Disposition
Judge Rochon issued a case-management and settlement order. The opinion does not resolve standing, liability, or any other underlying merits question.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.