Kenneth Petty better get comfortable in a Brooklyn courtroom, because nobody is settling Jennifer Hough’s $20 million case anytime soon.

Magistrate Judge James R. Cho held the status conference on August 11 in the Eastern District of New York, certified discovery complete and set new deadlines in the five-year fight.

The judge found that the “parties do not believe settlement discussions would be productive at this time.”

Both sides told Cho they had wrapped up everything in discovery, and he locked that finding into the record. That means the evidence-gathering phase of the case is finally closed after years of depositions and disputes.

Cho also gave Hough until August 12 to confirm in writing her withdrawal as an expert witness. That withdrawal comes with prejudice, so Hough cannot bring that expert back into the case later on.

Petty was convicted in 1995 of first-degree attempted rape over a September 1994 incident in Queens involving Hough. He served roughly four years in prison and has carried sex offender status ever since his release.

Hough sued Petty and Nicki Minaj in 2021, alleging harassment, witness intimidation and emotional distress.

She says the couple pressured her to recant so Petty could exit the sex offender registry. Nicki Minaj was dismissed from the suit in 2022, leaving Petty as the only remaining defendant in the matter.

Hough’s attorney Tyrone Blackburn has spent years accusing Petty of stonewalling the discovery process that just wrapped up. Blackburn told the court that Petty’s “refusal to produce tax returns and financial records” violated a direct order, according to AllHipHop’s reporting on the sanctions push.

Petty has denied Hough’s allegations throughout the case and has fought to keep his finances out of it.

The parties must submit a joint pretrial order by October 12, another standard step on the road toward trial.