(PC) Salcido v. Warden

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 PAUL SALCIDO, CDCR #J-81054, Case No.: 19CV1420-LAB(DEB)

12 Plaintiff, ORDER FOLLOWING DISCOVERY 13 v. CONFERENCE; DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO QUASH 14 WARDEN PARAMO; CHIEF MEDICAL AND/OR MODIFY SUBPOENA OFFICER; PUGA; C/O SANCHEZ; 15 [DKT. NO. 46]; AND RESETTING UNITED RENTALS ATV; SGT. MANDATORY SETTLEMENT 16 ALVAREZ; CDCR APPEALS CONFERENCE COORDINATOR; C/O CRAWFORD, 17 Defendants. 18

19 On May 27, 2021, the Court held Discovery Conference with Plaintiff Paul Salcido 20 and defense counsel Lisa Freund. After conferring with the parties, the Court orders: 21 1. Plaintiff’s Motion to Quash and/or Modify Defendant’s Subpoena of 22 Plaintiff’s Privileged Medical Records is denied as moot and without prejudice based on 23 his oral request to withdraw the Motion. Dkt. No. 46. Defendants must provide Plaintiff 24 with a full and complete copy of all medical records received in response to their subpoenas 25 on or before June 11, 2021. 26 2. The Mandatory Settlement Conference on June 21, 2021 is continued to July 27 14, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. Defense counsel must coordinate Plaintiff’s appearance with 28 1 California Medical Facility. 2 3. The purpose of the MSC is to permit an informal discussion between the 3 attorneys, parties, and the Magistrate Judge of every aspect of the lawsuit in an effort to 4 achieve an early resolution of the case. Counsel and Plaintiff are expected to have a 5 command of the facts and applicable law; be prepared to engage in a detailed discussion of 6 the merits of their respective cases; and engage in good faith settlement discussions. All 7 discussions during the MSC are informal, off the record, privileged and confidential. 8 4. Full Settlement Authority Is Required: Pursuant to Local Rule 16.3.b., all 9 parties, party representatives, including claims adjusters for insured parties, and the 10 principal attorney(s) responsible for the litigation must participate in the MSC.1 This 11 appearance must be made with full and unlimited authority to negotiate and enter into a 12 binding settlement.2 The purpose of this requirement is to have representatives present who 13 can settle the case during the course of the conference without consulting a superior. 14 Defendants may be excused from this requirement so long as the defense counsel (1) 15 has primary responsibility for handling the case; and (2) may negotiate settlement offers 16 that the attorney is willing to recommend to the government official having ultimate 17 settlement authority. 18 19 20 1 The attendance requirement includes parties that are indemnified by others. Any 21 deviation from this Order requires prior Court approval.

22 2 Full authority to settle means that the individuals at the MSC are authorized to fully 23 explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 24 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the 25 settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485-486 (D. Ariz. 2003). One of the purposes of requiring a person with unlimited settlement authority 26 to attend the conference is that the person’s view of the case may be altered during the 27 face-to-face conference. Pitman, 216 F.R.D. at 486. Limited or sum certain authority is not adequate. Nick v. Morgan’s Foods, Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 595-597 (8th Cir. 2001). 28 1 6. Procedure for Zoom Videoconference Appearance: Although the Court 2 typically requires personal attendance of all participants, due to the COVID-19 public 3 emergency, the Court will use its Zoom video conferencing account to hold the MSC. 4 Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least five minutes before 5 the start of the MSC to ensure that the conference begins on time. 6 Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the MSC as it ordinarily 7 would conduct an in-person one. The Court will divide participants into separate, 8 confidential sessions, which Zoom calls Breakout Rooms.3 In a Breakout Room, the Court 9 will be able to communicate with participants from a single party in confidence. Breakout 10 Rooms will also allow parties and counsel to communicate confidentially outside the 11 presence of the Court. 12 All participants shall display the same level of professionalism during the MSC and 13 be prepared to devote their full attention to the MSC as if they were attending in person 14 (e.g., not be driving while speaking to the Court, or otherwise distracted). Because Zoom 15 may quickly deplete the battery of a participant’s device, each participant should ensure 16 that their device is plugged in or that a charging cable is readily available during the video 17 conference. 18 7. Confidential MSC Statements Required: Each party must lodge a 19 Confidential MSC Statement on or before July 7, 2021. The Confidential MSC Statement 20 may not exceed ten (10) pages excluding exhibits. All Confidential MSC Statements must 21 include the following: 22 a. the party’s position on liability and damages supported by relevant facts, a 23 discussion of the significant facts established during discovery, and legal 24 analysis with citations to controlling legal authority. The parties are also 25 encouraged to attach a chronology setting forth a timeline of the events at 26

27 3 For more information on what to expect when participating in a Zoom Breakout 28 1 issue. If submitted, the chronology should be in a chart or column format with 2 the column headings “DATE” and “EVENT.” The chronology is not counted 3 against the page limits; 4 b. for plaintiffs, a specific and current settkement demand addressing all relief 5 sought and an itemization of the damages sought, and, for defendants, a 6 specific and current offer and the bases for that offer. (Note: a general 7 statement that a party will “negotiate in good faith,” “offer a nominal cash 8 sum,” or “be prepared to make a demand or offer at the conference” is not a 9 specific demand or offer. If a specific offer or demand cannot be made at the 10 MSC or settlement conference, state the reasons why and explain what 11 additional information is required to make a settlement demand or offer.); 12 C. a brief description of any previous settlement negotiations or mediations; and 13 d. the names of attorney(s) and non-attorney(s) who will attend the conference, 14 including the name(s) and _ title(s)/position(s) of the party/party 15 representative(s). 16 IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 18 || Dated: May 27, 2021 — ‘ 9 Dando oa 20 Honorable Daniel E. Butcher United States Magistrate Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28