Villasenor v. McNett

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ALEJANDRO VILLASENOR, Case No.: 21-cv-848-GPC-DEB

12 Plaintiff, ORDER VACATING STATUS 13 v. CONFERENE AND SETTING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE 14 IAN T. McNETT,

15 Defendant. 16 17 18 The Status Conference on November 5, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. is vacated. Instead, the 19 Court will conduct a Settlement Conference on December 1, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. 20 1. Purpose of the Settlement Conference: The purpose of the Settlement 21 Conference is to permit an informal discussion between the attorneys, parties, and the 22 Magistrate Judge of every aspect of the lawsuit in an effort to achieve an early resolution 23 of the case. Counsel1 attending the Settlement Conference are expected to have a command 24 of the facts and applicable law and must be prepared to engage in a detailed discussion of 25 the merits of their respective cases and good faith settlement discussions. All discussions 26 27 28 1 during the Settlement Conference are informal, off the record, privileged and 2 confidential. 3 2. Full Settlement Authority Is Required: Pursuant to Local Rule 16.3.b., all 4 parties, party representatives, including claims adjusters for insured parties, and the 5 principal attorney(s) responsible for the litigation must participate in the Settlement 6 Conference.2 This appearance must be made with full and unlimited authority to negotiate 7 and enter into a binding settlement.3 The purpose of this requirement is to have 8 representatives present who can settle the case during the course of the conference without 9 consulting a superior. 10 Counsel for a government entity may be excused from this requirement so long as 11 the government attorney who participates in the Settlement Conference (1) has primary 12 responsibility for handling the case; and (2) may negotiate settlement offers that the 13 attorney is willing to recommend to the government official having ultimate settlement 14 authority. 15 3. Procedure for Zoom Videoconference Appearance: Although the Court 16 typically requires personal attendance of all participants, due to the COVID-19 public 17 18

19 20 2 The attendance requirement includes parties that are indemnified by others. Any deviation from this Order requires prior Court approval. 21 3 Full authority to settle means that the individuals at the Settlement Conference are 22 authorized to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement 23 terms acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion and authority” 24 to change the settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 25 485-486 (D. Ariz. 2003). One of the purposes of requiring a person with unlimited settlement authority to attend the conference is that the person’s view of the case may be 26 altered during the face-to-face conference. Pitman, 216 F.R.D. at 486. Limited or sum 27 certain authority is not adequate. Nick v. Morgan’s Foods, Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 595-597 (8th Cir. 2001). 28 1 emergency, the Court will use its Zoom video conferencing account to hold the Settlement 2 Conference. 3 Prior to the start of the Settlement Conference, the Court will email each participant 4 an invitation to join a Zoom video conference. Participants must join the video conference 5 by following the ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink in the invitation. Each participant should 6 plan to join the Zoom video conference at least five minutes before the start of the 7 Settlement Conference to ensure that the conference begins on time. 8 Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the Settlement Conference as 9 it ordinarily would conduct an in-person one. The Court will divide participants into 10 separate, confidential sessions, which Zoom calls Breakout Rooms. In a Breakout Room, 11 the Court will be able to communicate with participants from a single party in confidence. 12 Breakout Rooms will also allow parties and counsel to communicate confidentially outside 13 the presence of the Court. 14 All participants must display the same level of professionalism during the Settlement 15 Conference and be prepared to devote their full attention to the Settlement Conference as 16 if they were attending in person (e.g., not be driving while speaking to the Court, or 17 otherwise distracted). 18 4. Confidential Settlement Conference Statements Required: No later than 19 November 24, 2021, each party must lodge a Confidential Settlement Conference 20 Statement. The Settlement Conference statement may be lodged by email to 21 efile_butcher@casd.uscourts.gov or U.S. mail and must not exceed ten (10) pages, 22 excluding exhibits. If exhibits are attached, the parties are encouraged to highlight the 23 relevant portions. The Court does not require Settlement Conference Statements to be 24 served on other parties; however, the parties may elect to share their Settlement Conference 25 Statements at their discretion. These statements are not to be filed on the CM/ECF system. 26 All confidential Settlement Conference Statements must include: 27 a. the party’s position on liability and damages supported by relevant facts, a 28 discussion of the significant facts established during discovery, and legal 1 analysis with citations to controlling legal authority. The parties are also 2 encouraged to attach a chronology setting forth a timeline of the events at 3 issue. If submitted, the chronology should be in a chart or column format with 4 the column headings “DATE” and “EVENT.” The chronology is not counted 5 against the page limits; 6 b. for plaintiff(s), a specific and current settlement demand addressing all relief 7 sought and an itemization of the damages sought, and, for defendant(s), a 8 specific and current offer and the bases for that offer. (Note: a general 9 statement that a party will “negotiate in good faith,” “offer a nominal cash 10 sum,” or “be prepared to make a demand or offer at the conference” is not a 11 specific demand or offer. If a specific offer or demand cannot be made at the 12 Settlement Conference, state the reasons why and explain what additional 13 information is required to make a settlement demand or offer.); 14 c. a brief description of any previous settlement negotiations or mediations; and 15 d. the names of attorney(s) and non-attorney(s) who will attend the conference, 16 including the name(s) and _ title(s)/position(s) of the party/party 17 representative(s). 18 6. Requests _to Continue Settlement Conference: Any request for a 19 ||continuance must be made as soon as counsel is aware of the circumstances that warrant 20 rescheduling the conference. 21 Questions regarding this case or the mandatory guidelines set forth herein may be 22 || directed to the Magistrate Judge’s law clerks at (619) 446-3704. 23 IT IS SO ORDERED. 24 Dated: November 1, 2021 — Dando oa 6 Honorable Daniel E. Butcher United States Magistrate Judge 27 28