Fernandes v. Herjo
- Sarah Cave
- 1:23-cv-03078
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Fernandes v. Herjo, Judge Cave extended discovery deadlines and required domicile information to address subject-matter jurisdiction.
Alexandria Fernandes and Gary A. Herjo, who must follow the revised discovery and settlement-reporting schedule; the defendant must also provide the required domicile information.
What happened
In Fernandes v. Herjo, the court extended the schedule for the parties’ fact and expert discovery. The order followed a telephone conference held on February 7, 2024.
Fact discovery must be completed by March 15, 2024, and expert discovery by April 16, 2024. The parties must file joint letters confirming completion of each stage by March 22 and April 23, respectively. They must also report by February 14 whether they plan to pursue settlement and, if so, how.
Judge Sarah L. Cave also ordered the defendant to state each party’s domicile—the person’s true fixed home and principal establishment—in the settlement letter. The court said the defendant’s earlier statements about residence were not enough to establish subject-matter jurisdiction. The order does not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Fernandes v. Herjo · No. 1:23-cv-03078
- Sarah Cave
- Feb. 7, 2024
Nature of the Order
This is a case-management order issued after a telephone conference. It addresses the discovery schedule, settlement discussions, and information concerning subject-matter jurisdiction, meaning the court’s authority to hear the case. It does not resolve the merits of the parties’ claims.
Discovery Schedule
The court extended the discovery deadlines as follows:
- Fact discovery must be completed by March 15, 2024. - By March 22, 2024, the parties must file a joint letter certifying that fact discovery is complete. - Expert discovery must be completed by April 16, 2024. - By April 23, 2024, the parties must file a joint letter certifying that expert discovery is complete.
Settlement Discussions
The parties must promptly meet and confer and file a joint letter by February 14, 2024. The letter must state whether they intend to pursue settlement and, if so, whether they plan to negotiate directly or request a referral to the Court-annexed Mediation Program or another magistrate judge for a settlement conference.
Domicile Information and Jurisdiction
The court also ordered the defendant to state each party’s domicile in the joint letter. The order defines domicile as a person’s true fixed home and principal establishment, to which the person intends to return when absent. The court determined that the defendant’s prior representations about the parties’ places of residence were insufficient to establish subject-matter jurisdiction because residence alone does not establish domicile for jurisdictional purposes.
Disposition
The court extended the discovery schedule and imposed the stated reporting requirements. The order does not state the parties’ underlying claims or decide them.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.