Doncouse v. Juststeven LLC
- Rochon
- 1:24-cv-03886
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Doncouse v. Juststeven LLC, Judge Rochon ordered settlement discussions addressing standing, followed by a joint report and a request for mediation or a status conference.
Graciela Doncouse and the defendants, Juststeven LLC and the other defendants identified in the complaint, must comply with the settlement-discussion and joint-letter deadlines.
What happened
In Doncouse v. Juststeven LLC, the court ordered Graciela Doncouse and the defendants to meet and discuss settling the case.
The parties must meet within 30 days after the summons and complaint are served, talk for at least one hour, and consider whether Doncouse has met the legal requirement of standing. If they do not settle, they must also discuss whether mediation or a settlement conference with a magistrate judge would be useful.
Within 45 days after service, the parties must submit a joint letter stating whether they settled. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered that, if they did not settle, the letter must request mediation or a magistrate-judge settlement conference, or ask the court to hold an initial status conference.
The detailed version
- Doncouse v. Juststeven LLC · No. 1:24-cv-03886
- Rochon
- May 21, 2024
Order
The court ordered the parties to meet and confer—that is, meet and discuss the case—in a good-faith attempt to settle the action. The meeting must occur within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint and must last at least one hour.
Standing Discussion
The parties were instructed to consider whether the plaintiff has satisfied the threshold requirement of standing, meaning the legal requirement that she is entitled to bring the case in federal court. The order cited decisions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concerning standing.
Further Deadlines
If the parties cannot settle the case themselves, they must also discuss whether further settlement efforts through the court-annexed mediation program or before a magistrate judge would be productive. 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 mediation or a settlement conference before a magistrate judge, while stating a preference between those options, or an initial status conference.
Disposition
This order addresses settlement discussions and case-management steps. It does not state that the court decided the standing issue or the merits of the underlying claims. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon issued the order on May 21, 2024.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.