Norris v. Only Hearts, LTD.
- Rochon
- 1:24-cv-03014
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Norris v. Only Hearts, LTD., Judge Rochon ordered settlement talks and a joint status letter without deciding standing or the case’s merits.
The plaintiff and defendants in Norris v. Only Hearts, LTD., who must comply with the settlement-meeting and joint-letter deadlines.
What happened
In Norris v. Only Hearts, LTD., the court ordered the parties 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 the plaintiff has met the basic requirement of having standing to bring the case.
If the parties cannot settle, they must also discuss whether court-connected mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge would be useful. The order does not decide whether the plaintiff has standing or who is right on the underlying claims.
Within 45 days after service, the parties must file a joint letter stating whether they settled. If they did not, the letter must ask the court either to send the case to mediation or a magistrate judge for settlement discussions, or to schedule an initial status conference, as ordered by Judge Jennifer L. Rochon.
The detailed version
- Norris v. Only Hearts, LTD. · No. 1:24-cv-03014
- Rochon
- Apr. 22, 2024
Order
The court ordered the parties to meet and confer for at least one hour within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint. The meeting must be a good-faith attempt to settle the action.
The parties must discuss whether the plaintiff has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning the legal requirement that a plaintiff be entitled to bring the case in federal court. The order cites Second Circuit decisions concerning standing but does not decide the standing issue.
If the parties cannot settle on their own, they must discuss whether additional settlement discussions through the district court’s mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive.
Required Joint Letter
Within 15 additional days—45 days after 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 request either referral to mediation or to a magistrate judge for a settlement conference, while stating the parties’ preference between those options, or an initial status conference.
The order is a case-management and settlement directive. It does not resolve standing, liability, or the merits of the plaintiff’s claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.