Norris v. PBNYC2 Corp.
- Rochon
- 1:23-cv-08950
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Norris v. PBNYC2 Corp., Judge Rochon ordered settlement discussions and a joint status letter, without deciding the case’s merits.
Namel Norris, PBNYC2 Corp., and the other defendants must participate in the required settlement discussions and submit the joint letter within the specified deadlines.
What happened
Namel Norris sued PBNYC2 Corp. and other defendants in the Southern District of New York. The order required the parties to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after the summons and complaint were served and make a good-faith effort to settle.
The parties were also told to discuss whether Norris had met the basic requirement of having standing to sue. If they could not settle, they had to consider whether court-connected mediation or a settlement conference with a magistrate judge would be useful.
Within 45 days after service, the parties must file a joint letter stating whether they settled and, if not, requesting mediation or a magistrate-judge settlement conference or asking to proceed with an initial status conference. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon did not decide standing or the merits of the claims.
The detailed version
- Norris v. PBNYC2 Corp. · No. 1:23-cv-08950
- Rochon
- Oct. 13, 2023
Order
The court ordered the parties to meet and confer for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint. They must make a good-faith effort to settle the action.
Standing Discussion
The parties must discuss whether the plaintiff has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning the legal requirement that a person have a sufficient connection to the dispute to bring the case. The order cited decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit but did not decide whether the plaintiff has standing.
Further Settlement Procedures
If the parties cannot settle the case themselves, they must discuss whether additional settlement discussions through the district court’s 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 informing the court whether they settled. If they did not settle, the letter must request either referral to mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge, while stating a preference between those options, or an initial status conference.
Disposition
The order established settlement and case-management requirements. It did not rule on the merits, standing, or any claim.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.