Opinion
00 Civ. 8577 (LAK).
October 16, 2002
ORDER
The Court will conduct a pretrial conference on November 1, 2002 at 3 p.m. in Courtroom 12D. Settlement will be a principal subject of the conference. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(c)(9). In order to facilitate a productive conference:
1. On or before October 22, 2002, plaintiff shall make a written settlement demand on defendants' counsel by letter. The letter shall contain not only a dollar amount that plaintiff would accept in settlement of the action, but an explanation of the manner in which the amount was determined. A copy of the letter shall be sent to the Court in chambers.
2. On or before October 28, 2002, defendants shall respond in writing to plaintiff's settlement demand. The response shall contain an explanation of the manner in which any offer made in settlement was determined. A copy of the letter shall be sent to the Court in chambers.
3. The plaintiff and a corporate officer of Hartford with authority to settle the case at any amount he or she deems appropriate, up to and including the amount of plaintiff's demand, shall attend the November 1, 2002 conference. The object of requiring the presence of a fully authorized corporate officer of course is not to insist that defendants pay the amount of plaintiff's demand, but to ensure that a binding decision with respect to settlement may be made at the conference without further recourse to others in the corporate structure. Defendants are cautioned that attendance by anyone other than a corporate officer with such authority may be regarded as a willful violation of this order and result in the imposition of sanctions, which may be case dispositive. See, e.g., Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(c).
SO ORDERED.