Opinion
2:22-cv-1670 WBS DB P
09-29-2023
ANTOINE LAMAR BAILEY, Plaintiff, v. J. CLASON, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
DEBORAH BARNES UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff claims that defendants violated his rights under the First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Presently before the court is defendants' motion to remove the settlement conference from the calendar. (ECF No. 25.)
By order dated June 15, 2023, the court referred this action to the court's Post-Screening ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Project. (ECF No. 17.) The order stated that if after investigating plaintiff's claim, defense counsel determined that a settlement conference would be a waste of resources, a motion to opt out of the ADR Project should be submitted within sixty days. (Id.) Thereafter, defendants sought and obtained an extension of time to file a motion to opt out. (ECF Nos. 20, 21.) Defendants did not file a motion to opt out, and a settlement conference was set for October 12, 2023, before Magistrate Judge Peterson. (ECF No. 25.)
Defendants have submitted a request to vacate the settlement conference set for October 12, 2023. In support of their request counsel for defendants states that they recently discoveredthat plaintiff previously filed a state case based on the same incident at issue in the instant case. Counsel argues that the settlement conference would be a wase of resources because the parties are unlikely to come to an agreement regarding settlement. In light of counsel's indication that the settlement conference would be a waste of resources, the court will grant the motion.
Counsel has not provided any reason why this information was not discovered during the opt out period.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. Defendants' motion to vacate the settlement conference (ECF No. 25) is granted;
2. The settlement set for October 12, 2023, is vacated;
3. The ADR stay is lifted; and
4. Defendants shall file a responsive pleading within thirty days of the date of this order.