Opinion
ORDER SETTING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE AND REQUIRING PARTIES TO SUBMIT CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENTS DIRECTLY TO CHAMBERS
BARBARA A. McAULIFFE, Magistrate Judge.
Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This action proceeds against Defendants Munoz, Clausing, and Omos for excessive force in pepper spraying Plaintiff in violation of the Eighth Amendment; against Defendants Hutchins, Reynoso, Hacker, and Roberson for ordering that Plaintiff's property be removed from his cell and that Plaintiff be placed back into a contaminated cell without means to decontaminate from the pepper spray in violation of the Eighth Amendment; and against Defendants Morse and Paz for placing Plaintiff in the contaminated cell in violation of the Eighth Amendment. This matter is set for trial on April 15, 2014.
The parties have represented that a settlement conference would be beneficial in this matter. Therefore, a settlement conference shall be scheduled before the undersigned on January 30, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 8.
Unless otherwise permitted in advance by the Court, the attorney(s) who will try the case shall appear at the mandatory settlement conference with the person or persons having full authority to negotiate and settle the case, on any terms, at the conference.
Plaintiff shall be made available via telephone and video conference to participate in the settlement conference. Defendants shall be responsible for coordinating the video conference. To facilitate scheduling, a separate order and writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum will issue concurrently with this order.
On or before January 23, 2014, the parties shall submit directly to the settlement conference judge's chambers a confidential settlement conference statement. This statement should not be filed with the Clerk's Office and should not be served on the other party. It should be mailed directly to chambers at the following address:
Each statement shall be clearly marked "CONFIDENTIAL" with the date and time of the mandatory settlement conference indicated prominently. The parties are urged to request the return of their statements. If such request is not made, the Court will dispose of the statements.
The Confidential Settlement Conference Statement shall include the following:
Defendants shall include an estimate of the cost and time to be expended for further pretrial and trial matters.
Based upon the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
A. A brief statement of the facts of the case;
B. The relief sought; and
C. The party's position on settlement, including realistic settlement expectations, present demands and offers, and a history of past settlement discussions, offers, and demands.
1. A settlement conference is set for January 30, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. before the undersigned;
2. Counsel for Defendants is required to arrange for the participation of Plaintiff by video conference and shall contact the Courtroom Deputy at (559) 499-5788 to coordinate the video conference no later than January 16, 2014.
3. The parties shall submit confidential settlement statements as described in this order on or before January 23, 2014.
IT IS SO ORDERED.