This column addresses recent decisions of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. This installment discusses a case evaluating when a settlement is final for enforcement, and a decision exploring how service of process affects the timeliness of removal of a case to federal court.
‘Coffee Mania’
In Coffee Mania v. Coffeemania Bryant Park, 2017 WL 3396534 (N.D.N.Y. Aug. 8, 2017), Senior District Judge Fredrick J. Scullin Jr. explained the parameters of when a settlement is final and binding on the parties. Like many courts, the Northern District promotes negotiated settlements through an early mandatory mediation program. As this case illustrates, even through those efforts, litigation is not over until it is finally over.
