Ford v. WSP USA, Inc.

Opinion

USONUITTEHDE RSTNA DTIESST RDIICSTT ROIFC TN ECWOU YROTR K -------------------------------------------------------------X : HAROLD FORD, : : 19 Civ. 11705 (LGS) Plaintiff : : ORDER -against- : : WSP USA, INC., : : Defendant. : -------------------------------------------------------------: X

LORNA G. SCHOFIELD, District Judge: WHEREAS, on September 25, 2020, the parties filed a joint status letter pursuant to the Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order (“Case Management Plan”) at Docket No. 36 (Dkt. No. 43); WHEREAS, the September 25, 2020, joint status letter indicates that there are ongoing discovery disputes between the parties (see Dkt. No. 43); WHEREAS, the September 25, 2020, joint status letter indicates that Plaintiff anticipates filing a pre-motion letter regarding conditional certification of a Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) collective (see Dkt. No. 43); WHEREAS, pursuant to the Case Management Plan, the parties’ deadline for the completion of all fact discovery was September 11, 2020, (Dkt. No. 36); WHEREAS, no timely extension of the time for the completion of all fact discovery was requested; it is hereby ORDERED, that no additional fact discovery will be permitted and the parties are reminded of the October 26, 2020, deadline for the completion of all expert discovery, set forth in the Case Management Plan (Dkt. No. 36). It is further ORDERED that by October 5, 2020, given the lenient standard for conditional certification, see Varghese v. JP Morgan Chase & Co., Nos. 14 Civ. 1718, 15 Civ. 3023, 2016 WL 4718413, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 9, 2016) (“Plaintiff’s burden is minimal because the determination that the parties are similarly situated is merely a preliminary one... .” (quoting Lee v. ABC Carpet & Home, 236 F.R.D. 193, 197 (S.D.N.Y. 2006))), the parties are directed to meet and confer regarding the possibility of stipulating to conditional certification and the form of notice, reserving all of Defendant’s rights to object to any final certification under the more rigorous standard that applies at that stage. It is further ORDERED that Plaintiff shall file any pre-motion letter in anticipation of a motion for conditional certification by October 5, 2020, and Defendant shall file any response letter by October 8, 2020. A conference will be held on October 15, 2020, at 10:40 a.m. to discuss Plaintiffs proposed motion. The conference will be cancelled if no pre-motion letter is filed.

Dated: September 30, 2020 LA Let New York, New York LORNA G. SCHOFIEL UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE