Opinion
No. 04 Civ. 7171 (BSJ) (DFE), This is an ECF case.
May 19, 2005
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
1. On October 20, 2004, Judge Jones referred this case to me for general pretrial supervision.
2. On December 14, 2004, I held a telephone conference. Plaintiff and Geopharma agreed to appear before me for a settlement conference to be held on January 28, 2005. Plaintiff is located in California and Geopharma is located in Florida, but they agreed that their principals would attend in person — Plaintiff by its General Counsel Steve Brunette and Geopharma by its Chief Financial Officer. On January 19, 2005, Plaintiff requested an adjournment for Mr. Brunette's convenience. I rescheduled for February 28 at 2:00 P.M.
3. On the morning of February 28, counsel for both Plaintiff and Geopharma contacted my chambers. They said the parties had nearly reached a settlement on their own, and they requested that I adjourn the settlement conference without date. I granted their request.
4. Several months passed without any party contacting my chambers. On May 19, 2005, my law clerk spoke to Plaintiff's counsel, who said it was still very close to a settlement with Geopharma.
5. I will give Plaintiff and Geopharma until June 9, 2005 to settle on their own and to submit a stipulation of discontinuance. If they fail to meet this deadline, then their attorneys must place a conference telephone call to my deputy Helen Lewis on June 10 at 10:00 A.M. and schedule a firm date for a conference before me. This conference must take place on or before June 30, 2005; Mr. Brunette or a higher ranking officer must appear in person for Plaintiff, and Geopharma's Chief Financial Officer or a higher ranking officer must appear in person for Geopharma. This conference will proceed initially as a settlement conference; if Plaintiff and Geopharma do not reach a settlement, then I will convert the conference into a case management conference.