Jones v. Gordon Companies, Inc.
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:23-cv-11029
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Jones v. Gordon Companies, Judge Caproni dismissed the settled case with prejudice and said the settlement did not bind absent putative class members.
Damon Jones and Gordon Companies, Inc. were affected by the dismissal and settlement. Absent putative class members were not bound by them.
What happened
In Jones v. Gordon Companies, Inc., Damon Jones and Gordon Companies, Inc. told the court they had reached an agreement in principle resolving all issues. The court canceled scheduled conferences and deadlines.
The court dismissed the case with prejudice and ordered that neither party receive costs or attorneys’ fees. It closed the case but allowed the parties to seek reopening within 30 days for good cause and to request that the court retain authority to enforce their settlement.
Judge Valerie Caproni also removed the class-action language from the caption. Because the parties had not indicated that they would follow the court-approval procedure for class settlements, the dismissal and settlement applied only between Jones and Gordon Companies and did not bind absent putative class members.
The detailed version
- Jones v. Gordon Companies, Inc. · No. 1:23-cv-11029
- Valerie Caproni
- Apr. 16, 2024
Background
On April 15, 2024, the parties notified the court that they had reached an agreement in principle resolving all issues. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims or the settlement’s terms.
Rulings
The court canceled all previously scheduled conferences and other deadlines. It dismissed the case with prejudice and without costs, including attorneys’ fees, to either party. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate all open motions and close the case.
The parties were permitted to apply within 30 days to reopen the case. Any such application had to show good cause for keeping the case open despite the settlement. The court also stated that, if the parties wanted the court to retain jurisdiction—that is, authority—to enforce the settlement agreement, they had to submit the agreement and request an order expressly retaining that authority within the same 30-day period.
Class allegations
The court directed the Clerk to remove the caption language stating that Damon Jones sued individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated. Because the parties had not notified the court that they intended to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e), which governs approval of class settlements, the dismissal and any settlement applied only between Jones and Gordon Companies. They did not bind absent putative class members.
Judge
Judge Valerie Caproni entered the order on April 16, 2024. The order resolved the case based on the parties’ reported agreement and did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.