Opinion
1:17-cv-00865-NONE-JLT (PC)
12-02-2021
RICHARD GARCIA, Plaintiff, v. R. PEREZ, et al., Defendants.
ORDER SETTING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
JENNIFER L. THURSTON, CHIEF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
The Court has determined this case will benefit from a settlement conference. Therefore, this case will be referred to Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney to conduct a settlement conference via Zoom videoconference. The Court will issue a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum in due course. Accordingly, the Court ORDERS:
1. This case is set for a settlement conference before Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney on January 11, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. The settlement conference will be conducted via Zoom videoconference.
2. The parties are instructed to have a principal with full settlement authority present at the settlement conference or to be fully authorized to settle the matter on any terms. The individual with full authority to settle must also have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the settlement position of the party, if appropriate. The purpose behind requiring the attendance of a person with full settlement authority is that the parties' view of the case may be altered during the face-to-face conference.
“[T]he district court has the authority to order parties, including the federal government, to participate in mandatory settlement conferences. . .” United States v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for N. Mariana Islands, 694 F.3d 1051, 1053 (9th Cir. 2012). The term “full authority to settle” means that the individuals attending the conference must be authorized to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable to the parties. G. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 1989), cited with approval in Official Airline Guides, Inc. v. Goss, 6 F.3d 1385, 1396 (9th Cir. 1993). The individual with full authority to settle must also have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the settlement position of the party, if appropriate. Pitman v. Brinker Int'l., Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485-86 (D. Ariz. 2003). An authorization to settle for a limited dollar amount or sum certain can be found not to comply with the requirement of full authority to settle. Nick v. Morgan's Foods, Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 596-97 (8th Cir. 2001).
3. The parties are directed to submit confidential settlement conference statements no later than January 4, 2022. Defendants shall email their statement to ckdorders@caed.uscourts.gov. Plaintiff shall mail his statement to “Attn: Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney, U.S. District Court, 501 I Street, Suite 4-200, Sacramento, CA 95814, ” so that it arrives no later than January 4, 2022. The envelope shall be marked “Confidential Settlement Conference Statement.” The statements shall be clearly marked “confidential” with the date and time of the settlement conference indicated prominently thereon.
The parties shall also file a “Notice of Submission of Confidential Settlement Conference Statement.” See L.R. 270(d). The conference statements themselves should not be filed with the Clerk of the Court nor served on any other party.
4. The confidential settlement conference statements shall be no longer than five pages in length, typed or neatly printed, and include the following:
a. A brief statement of the facts of the case.
b. A brief statement of the claims and defenses, i.e., the statutory or other grounds upon which the claims are founded; a forthright evaluation of the parties' likelihood of prevailing on the claims and defenses; and a description of the major issues in dispute.
c. A summary of the proceedings to date.
d. An estimate of the cost and time to be expended for further discovery, pretrial matters, and trial.
e. The relief sought.
f. The party's position on settlement, including present demands and offers and a history of past settlement discussions, offers, and demands.
g. A brief statement of each party's expectations and goals for the settlement conference, including how much a party is willing to accept and/or willing to pay.
h. If the parties intend to discuss the joint settlement of any other actions or claims not in this suit, a brief description of each action or claim as set forth above, including case number(s) if applicable. 5. The Clerk of the Court is directed to serve a copy of this order on the Litigation Coordinator for the Hawaii Department of Corrections via facsimile at (808) 837-8026 or via email.
IT IS SO ORDERED.