CCI Environmental, Inc. et al v. City of St Louis et al

Filing 44

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case is referred to mediation immediately, with mediation to be concluded by January 11, 2021.IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the motions for summary judgment 29 , 32 are denied without prejudice. Signed by District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on 9/14/2020. (KEK)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
ADVANCED ENVIRONMENTAL
SERVICES, INC., et al.,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
CITY OF ST. LOUIS, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 4:19 CV 3099 RWS

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
On September 1, 2020, I ordered the parties to inform the Court on their respective
positions regarding the propriety of mediation. The parties responded that they opposed
mediation, in part because the plaintiffs did not want to go through the certification procedure
using the City’s new rules. Despite this objection, the Court concludes that this case should be
referred immediately to mediation because it continues to believe that this case can, and should
be, resolved without continued litigation. The Court is not requiring plaintiffs to restart the
certification procedure. Instead, the Court’s observation that the rules were changing was meant
to indicate flexibility in the respective parties’ positions such that mediation would be beneficial
to both parties. To afford the parties the best opportunity to achieve a successful resolution of
the litigation, the pending cross-motions for summary judgment will be denied without prejudice
to being refiled only upon the conclusion of mediation if the case has not been successfully
settled. However, the Court would urge the parties to more thoroughly brief the dispositive issue
and provide relevant case law if they expect to achieve judgment as a matter of law.
Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case is referred to mediation immediately,
with mediation to be concluded by January 11, 2021.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the motions for summary judgment [29, 32] are
denied without prejudice.

______________________________
RODNEY W. SIPPEL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 14th day of September, 2020.

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