Opinion
Civil No. 12-cv-3057-JLS (DHB)
08-19-2014
MICHAEL MONTGOMERY, Plaintiff, v. WAL-MART STORES, INC.; KINDERHOOK INDUSTRIES II, L.P.; KINDERHOOK INDUSTRIES, L.L.C.; KINDERHOOK CAPITAL FUND II, L.P.; CRESTWOOD HOLDINGS, INC; BERGAN, L.L.C.; JOHN ELMBURG; ROBERT ELMBURG; ERIC ELMBURG; ROCKY FLICK; HOME DEPOT U.S.A.; DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, Defendants.
ORDER SCHEDULING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
On August 19, 2014, the Court held a telephonic Status Conference in this matter. Having been apprised of the status of the case, and good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
A Settlement Conference shall be conducted on October 1, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. in the chambers of Magistrate Judge David H. Bartick. The parties shall submit settlement statements directly to Magistrate Judge Bartick's chambers no later than September 24, 2014. The parties may either submit confidential settlement statements or may exchange their settlement statements. All named parties, all counsel, and any other person(s) whose authority is required to negotiate and enter into settlement shall appear in person at the conference. The individual(s) present at the Settlement Conference with settlement authority must have the unfettered discretion and authority on behalf of the party to: 1) fully explore all settlement options and to agree during the Settlement Conference to any settlement terms acceptable to the party (G. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp, 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 1989)), 2) change the settlement position of a party during the course of the Settlement Conference (Pitman v. Brinker Int'l, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485-86 (D. Ariz. 2003)), and 3) negotiate a settlement without being restricted by any predetermined level of authority (Nick v. Morgan's Foods, Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 596 (8th Cir. 2001)).
Statements under 20 pages in length, including attachments and exhibits, shall be e-mailed to chambers at efile_Bartick@casd.uscourts.gov. Statements exceeding 20 pages in length, including attachments and exhibits, must be delivered directly to chambers.
Governmental entities may appear through litigation counsel only. As to all other parties, appearance by litigation counsel only is not acceptable. Retained outside corporate counsel shall not appear on behalf of a corporation as the party who has the authority to negotiate and enter into a settlement. The failure of any counsel, party or authorized person to appear at the Settlement Conference as required shall be cause for the immediate imposition of sanctions. All conference discussions will be informal, off the record, privileged, and confidential.
IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: August 19, 2014
/s/________
DAVID H. BARTICK
United States Magistrate Judge