Masters v. Urban Outfitters, Inc.

Filing 16

ORDER: The parties shall file a designation of mediator by 6/4/2018. Signed by District Judge Martin Reidinger on 5/21/2018. (maf)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
ASHEVILLE DIVISION
CIVIL CASE NO. 1:17-cv-00333-MR-DLH

LESLIE MASTERS,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
vs.
)
)
URBAN OUTFITTERS, INC.,
)
)
Defendant.
)
_______________________________ )

ORDER

THIS MATTER is before the Court on the Supplemental Report of the
Parties Concerning Mediation [Doc. 15].
On March 12, 2018, the parties submitted a Report of their Rule 26(f)
conference. [Doc. 9]. In that Rule 26(f) Report, the parties advised that the
Plaintiff was an opt-in plaintiff in a now decertified FLSA collective action in
the Eastern District of New York, and that the parties were discussing a
global settlement of all 44 individual cases in that decertified collective action.
The parties further advised that that they planned to participate in a global
settlement mediation on March 23, 2018. [Id.]. The day after the parties filed
their Rule 26(f) Report, the Court entered a Pretrial Order and Case
Management Plan in the present case, ordering the parties to select and

agree upon a mediator and to file with the Court a report identifying their
selected mediator by April 3, 2018. [Doc. 10].
When no mediator designation was forthcoming, the Court entered an
Order directing the parties to file a report advising of the outcome of the
March 23, 2018 global settlement mediation and, if such mediation did not
result in a settlement of the Plaintiff’s claims, identifying their selected
mediator for the present action. [Doc. 13]. On April 11, 2018, the parties
filed their first Supplemental Report. While not making reference to any
March 23, 2018 global settlement mediation, the parties advised that they
had agreed to attend another global settlement conference on April 16, 2018.
[Doc. 14]. The parties requested that this April 16, 2018 global settlement
conference be deemed as satisfying their mediation obligations in this matter
or, alternatively, that they be required to appoint a mediator only if they were
unable to resolve this case in the global settlement conference. [Id.].
On May 1, 2018, the parties filed their second Supplemental Report.
[Doc. 15]. In this report, the parties advise that they were unable to reach a
resolution of this matter at the April 16, 2018 global settlement conference
but would continue their efforts in a continuation of the global settlement

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conference scheduled for April 30, 2018.1 The parties renewed their request
that these global settlement discussions be deemed as satisfying their
mediation obligations in this matter or, alternatively, that they be required to
appoint a mediator only if they are unable to resolve this case through the
global settlement process. [Id.].
The Plaintiff in this action was an opt-in party in a Fair Labor Standards
Act collective action that has been decertified. While the parties’ efforts at a
global settlement of the claims previously asserted in that decertified
collective action are laudable, the parties have made no showing that any
real efforts have been made to mediate the particular disputes presented in
this case. As such, the Court will not relieve the parties of their obligations
to engage in mediation. The parties shall designate a mediator for this action
within fourteen (14) days of the entry of this Order.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the parties shall file a designation
of mediator within fourteen (14) days of the entry of this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

Signed: May 21, 2018

1

The Court notes, however, that this second report was filed on May 1, 2018, the day
after the global settlement conference was to take place.

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