Norris v. UP 51 LLC
- Rochon
- 1:23-cv-08952
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Norris v. UP 51 LLC, Judge Rochon ordered settlement discussions and a joint letter, while directing the parties to consider standing.
Plaintiff Namel Norris and defendants UP 51 LLC, doing business as Upside Pizza-Nolita, and 51 Spring Owner LLC, who must follow the court's settlement-discussion and joint-letter requirements.
What happened
In Norris v. UP 51 LLC, the court ordered the parties to try in good faith to settle the case after the summons and complaint are served.
Within 30 days of service, the parties must meet for at least one hour and discuss whether the plaintiff meets the legal requirement of standing, meaning a sufficient connection to bring the case. They must also consider whether court-connected mediation or a settlement conference with a magistrate judge would help.
Within 45 days of service, the parties must file a joint letter reporting whether they settled and, if not, asking either for mediation or a magistrate-judge settlement conference or for an initial status conference. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon did not decide the standing issue or the merits of the case.
The detailed version
- Norris v. UP 51 LLC · No. 1:23-cv-08952
- Rochon
- Oct. 16, 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 effort to settle the action.
During those discussions, the parties must consider whether the plaintiff has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing. Standing is the legal requirement that a plaintiff have a sufficient connection to the dispute to bring it in court. The parties must also discuss whether additional settlement efforts through the district's court-annexed mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive if they cannot settle the case themselves.
Required Joint Letter
Within 15 additional days—within 45 days of 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 ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or to a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, identifying the parties' preference, or to proceed with an initial status conference.
What the Court Decided
This order set settlement and case-management requirements. It did not decide whether the plaintiff has standing, resolve any claim, or rule on the merits of the dispute. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon issued the order on October 16, 2023.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.