Acrisure of California, LLC v. Comfort Insurance Services, LLC

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 ACRISURE OF CALIFORNIA, LLC, Case No.: 3:20cv2224-JLS-AHG 13 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE EARLY 14 v. NEUTRAL EVALUATION 15 COMFORT INSURANCE SERVICES, CONFERENCE AND CASE LLC; LAUREN COMFORTI, and RAUL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE 16 QUINONES, 17 [ECF No. 21] Defendants. 18 19 20 By joint motion, the parties request that the Court continue the Early Neutral 21 Evaluation (“ENE”) and Case Management Conference (“CMC”) currently scheduled for 22 February 4, 2021, because Plaintiff’s counsel will be in trial in Pennsylvania on that date. 23 ECF No. 21. 24 Good cause appearing, the joint motion is GRANTED and the ENE and CMC are 25 CONTINUED to February 19, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. The attorneys-only status conference 26 scheduled for January 8, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. will remain as previously set. 27 /// 28 /// 1 The ENE will be via videoconference for all attendees. The following Mandatory 2 Procedures remain in effect and are to be followed in preparation for the ENE: 3 1. Purpose of the Conference: The purpose of the ENE is to permit an informal 4 discussion between the attorneys and the settlement judge of every aspect of the lawsuit in 5 an effort to achieve an early resolution of the case. All conference discussions will be 6 informal, off the record, and confidential. 7 2. Full Settlement Authority Required: A party or party representative with 8 full and complete authority to enter into a binding settlement must be present via 9 videoconference or immediately available to join. Full authority to settle means that a 10 person must be authorized to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to 11 any settlement terms acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat 12 Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion 13 and authority” to change the settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., 14 216 F.R.D. 481, 485–86 (D. Ariz. 2003). Limited or sum certain authority is not adequate. 15 Nick v. Morgan’s Foods, Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 595–97 (8th Cir. 2001). A person who needs 16 to call another person who is not present on the videoconference before agreeing to 17 any settlement does not have full authority. 18 3. Confidential ENE Statements Required: No later than February 16, 2021, 19 the parties shall submit confidential statements of five (5) pages or less directly to the 20 chambers of Magistrate Judge Goddard outlining the nature of the case, the claims, and the 21 defenses. These statements shall not be filed or served on opposing counsel. They shall 22 be lodged via email at efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov. The ENE statement is limited to 23 five (5) pages or less, and up to five (5) pages of exhibits or declarations. Each party’s 24 ENE statement must outline: 25 A. the nature of the case and the claims, 26 B. position on liability or defense, 27 28 1 C. position regarding settlement of the case with a specific 2 demand/offer for settlement,2 and 3 D. any previous settlement negotiations or mediation efforts. 4 4. Case Management Conference: In the event the case does not settle at the 5 ENE, the Court will immediately thereafter hold a Case Management Conference (“CMC”) 6 pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P 16(b). Appearance of the parties at the CMC is not required. The 7 Court orders the following to occur before the CMC: 8 A. The parties must meet and confer pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) no 9 later than February 10, 2021. 10 B. The parties must file a Joint Case Management Statement by 11 February 12, 2021. The Joint Case Management Statement must 12 address all points in the “Joint Case Management Statement 13 Requirements for Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard,” which can 14 be found at: 15 https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/Judges/goddard/docs/Goddard%20Join 16 t%20Case%20Management%20Statement%20Rules.pdf. 17 C. Initial disclosures pursuant to Rule 26(a)(1)(A-D) must occur by 18 February 10, 2021. 19 5. Appearances via Videoconference Required: All named parties, party 20 representatives, including claims adjusters for insured defendants, as well as principal 21 attorney(s) responsible for the litigation must attend the ENE via videoconference. All who 22 attend the ENE must be legally and factually prepared to discuss and resolve the case. 23

24 25 1 A general statement, such as that a party “will negotiate in good faith,” is a not a specific demand or offer. 26

27 2 If a specific demand or offer cannot be made at the time the ENE statement is submitted, then the reasons as to why a demand or offer cannot be made must be stated. Further, the 28 1 Counsel appearing without their clients (whether or not counsel has been given settlement 2 authority) will be subject to immediate imposition of sanctions. To facilitate the 3 videoconference ENE, the Court hereby orders as follows: 4 A. The Court will use its official Zoom video conferencing account to hold 5 the ENE. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom: Zoom is available on 6 computers through a download on the Zoom website 7 (https://zoom.us/meetings) or on mobile devices through the 8 installation of a free app.3 Joining a Zoom conference does not require 9 creating a Zoom account, but it does require downloading the .exe file 10 (if using a computer) or the app (if using a mobile device). Participants 11 are encouraged to create an account, install Zoom and familiarize 12 themselves with Zoom in advance of the ENE.4 There is a cost-free 13 option for creating a Zoom account. 14 B. Prior to the start of the ENE, the Court will email each participant an 15 invitation to join a Zoom video conference. Again, if possible, 16 participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the 17 video conference, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance. 18 Participants shall join the video conference by following the ZoomGov 19 Meeting hyperlink in the invitation. Participants who do not have 20 Zoom already installed on their device when they click on the 21 ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink will be prompted to download and 22 install Zoom before proceeding. Zoom may then prompt participants 23

24 25 3 If possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, rather than mobile devices. 26

27 4 For help getting started with Zoom, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en- us/categories/200101697-Getting-Started 28 1 to enter the password included in the invitation. All participants will be 2 placed in a waiting room until the ENE begins. 3 C. Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least 4 five minutes before the start of the ENE to ensure that the conference 5 begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. The Zoom e-mail invitation may 6 indicate an earlier start time, but the ENE will begin at the Court- 7 scheduled time. 8 D. Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the ENE as it 9 ordinarily would conduct an in-person one. The Court will divide 10 participants into separate, confidential sessions, which Zoom calls 11 Breakout Rooms.5 In a Breakout Room, the Court will be able to 12 communicate with participants from a single party in confidence. 13 Breakout Rooms will also allow parties and counsel to communicate 14 confidentially without the Court. 15 E. No later than February 16, 2021, counsel for each party shall send an 16 e-mail to the Court at efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov containing the 17 following: 18 i. The name and title of each participant, including all parties 19 and party representatives with full settlement authority, claims 20 adjusters for insured defendants, and the primary attorney(s) 21 responsible for the litigation; 22 ii. An e-mail address for each participant to receive the Zoom 23 video conference invitation; and 24 iii. A telephone number where each participant may be reached 25 so that if technical difficulties arise, the Court will be in a 26

27 5 For more information on what to expect when participating in a Zoom Breakout 28 1 position to proceed telephonically instead of by video 2 conference. (If counsel prefers to have all participants of their 3 party on a single conference call, counsel may provide a 4 conference number and appropriate call-in information, 5 including an access code, where all counsel and parties or party 6 representatives for that side may be reached as an alternative to 7 providing individual telephone numbers for each participant.) 8 iv. A cell phone number for that party’s preferred point of 9 contact (and the name of the individual whose cell phone it is) 10 for the Court to use during the ENE to alert counsel via text 11 message that the Court will soon return to that party’s Breakout 12 Room, to avoid any unexpected interruptions of confidential 13 discussions. 14 F. All participants shall display the same level of professionalism during 15 the ENE and be prepared to devote their full attention to the ENE as if 16 they were attending in person, i.e., cannot be driving while speaking to 17 the Court. Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery of a 18 participant’s device, each participant should ensure that their device is 19 plugged in or that a charging cable is readily available during the video 20 conference. 21 G. If the case does not settle during the ENE, the Court will hold the CMC 22 immediately following the ENE with counsel only in the main session. 23 6. Requests for Continuances: Local Rule 16.1(c) requires that an ENE take 24 place within forty-five (45) days of the filing of the first answer. Requests to continue ENEs 25 are rarely granted. An ENE may be rescheduled only upon a showing of good cause and 26 adequate notice to the Court. Absent extraordinary circumstances, requests for 27 continuances will not be considered unless submitted in writing no less than seven (7) days 28 before the ENE. All requests for continuances must be made by a joint motion. The request 1 || must state: 2 A. — The original date; 3 B. The number of previous requests for continuances; 4 C. | A showing of good cause for the request; 5 D. | Whether the request is opposed and why; 6 E. | Whether the requested continuance will affect other case management 7 dates; and 8 F. A declaration from the counsel seeking the continuance that describes 9 the steps taken to comply with the existing deadlines, and the specific 10 reasons why the deadlines cannot be met. 1] 7. The failure of any party to follow these mandatory procedures shall result 12 ||in the imposition of sanctions. 13 8. Questions regarding this case or these mandatory guidelines may be directed 14 Judge Goddard’s law clerks at (619) 557-6162. Lodged statements should be emailed to 15 || efile_goddard @casd.uscourts.gov. 16 IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 ||Dated: January 4, 2021 ig _ □□ pbiormH. □□□ Honorable Allison H. Goddard 19 United States Magistrate Judge 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28