Sookul v. 40s And Shorties LLC
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:24-cv-00670
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Sookul v. 40s and Shorties LLC, Judge Tarnofsky ordered the parties to discuss settlement and standing, then jointly report their choice of next steps.
Sanjay Sookul and 40s and Shorties LLC, who must meet and confer, discuss settlement and standing, and submit a joint letter to the court.
What happened
In Sookul v. 40s and Shorties LLC, Sanjay Sookul sued on behalf of himself and others described as similarly situated. The opinion does not describe the claims.
The court ordered the parties to meet for at least one hour within 30 days after the summons and complaint are served and to make a good-faith effort to settle. They must discuss whether Sookul has legal standing, meaning a sufficient connection to pursue the case, and whether court-connected mediation or a settlement conference would help.
Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky also ordered the parties to submit a joint letter within 45 days after service stating whether they settled. If they did not, they must ask the court to refer the case to mediation, schedule a settlement conference, or hold an initial case-management conference.
The detailed version
- Sookul v. 40s And Shorties LLC · No. 1:24-cv-00670
- Paul Engelmayer
- Feb. 1, 2024
Order
The court issued a case-management and settlement order in an action brought by Sanjay Sookul on behalf of himself and others described as similarly situated. The opinion does not identify the underlying claims.
Required settlement discussions
Within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint, the parties must meet and confer for at least one hour in a good-faith effort to settle the action. During those discussions, they must consider whether the plaintiff has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning the legal requirement that a plaintiff have a sufficient connection to the dispute to pursue it in court. The order cites decisions discussing standing in similar circumstances.
If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must also discuss whether additional settlement discussions through the court's mediation program or before Magistrate Judge Tarnofsky would be productive at that time.
Joint letter and next steps
Within 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 one of three options: referral to mediation, a date for a settlement conference, or an initial case-management conference.
Disposition
The court ordered the parties to follow these settlement-discussion and reporting requirements. The order did not decide the merits of the underlying dispute.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.