Bullock v. Off Hours Spirits, Inc.
- Rochon
- 1:24-cv-00305
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Bullock v. Off Hours Spirits, Judge Rochon ordered settlement discussions and a joint status letter without deciding the case’s merits.
Justin Bullock and Off Hours Spirits, Inc., who must participate in the ordered settlement discussions and submit the required joint letter.
What happened
In Bullock v. Off Hours Spirits, the court ordered Justin Bullock and Off Hours Spirits, Inc. to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after the summons and complaint are served. They must make a good-faith effort to settle and discuss whether Bullock meets the legal requirement of standing.
If the parties cannot settle, they must also discuss whether further settlement efforts through court-connected mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge would be useful.
Within 45 days after service, the parties must file a joint letter reporting whether they settled. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered that, if they did not settle, the letter must request either mediation or a magistrate-judge settlement conference, with a preference stated, or an initial status conference.
The detailed version
- Bullock v. Off Hours Spirits, Inc. · No. 1:24-cv-00305
- Rochon
- Jan. 17, 2024
What the court ordered
The court ordered Justin Bullock and Off Hours Spirits, Inc. to meet and confer—that is, discuss the case directly—for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint. The discussions must be a good-faith attempt to settle the action.
The parties must consider whether Bullock has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning whether he is legally entitled to bring the case. The order cites Second Circuit decisions concerning standing. The parties must also discuss whether additional settlement discussions through the district’s court-annexed mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive if they cannot settle the case themselves.
Reporting deadline and next steps
Within 15 additional days, or 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 ask the court either to refer the case to mediation or to a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, and state which option the parties prefer, or to proceed with an initial status conference.
Effect of the order
The order establishes settlement and case-management requirements. It does not decide the standing issue, any claim, or the merits of the case.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.