Opinion
20-cv-01109-MMA(BLM)
04-18-2022
ALIVER RAMIREZ, Plaintiff, v. R. GUTIERREZ, et al., Defendants.
ORDER CONVERTING MANDATORY SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE AND ISSUING UPDATED PROCEDURES
Hon. Barbara L. Major United States Magistrate Judge
On March 31, 2021, the Court scheduled a Mandatory Settlement Conference (“MSC”) for January 26, 2022 and ordered the personal attendance of all "parties, adjusters for insured defendants, and other representatives of a party having full and complete authority to enter into a binding settlement, as well as the principal attorneys responsible for the litigation." ECF No. 19 at 3-4. On September 29, 2021, the Court continued the MSC to May 4, 2022. ECF No. 43. After further consideration, the Court hereby CONVERTS the MSC to be via videoconference for all attendees. To facilitate this modification, the Court hereby ORDERS as follows:
1. The Court will use its official Zoom video conferencing account to hold the MSC. IF YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH ZOOM: Zoom is available on computers through a download on the Zoom website (https://zoom.us/meetings) or on mobile devices through the installation of a free app. Joining a Zoom conference does not require creating a Zoom account, but it does require downloading the .exe file (if using a computer) or the app (if using a mobile device). Participants are encouraged to create an account, install Zoom, and familiarize themselves with Zoom in advance of the MSC. There is a cost-free option for creating a Zoom account.
Participants should use a device with a camera to fully participate in the video conference. If possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, as mobile devices may offer inferior performance.
For help getting started with Zoom, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en- us/categories/200101697-Getting-Started
2. Prior to the start of the MSC, the Court will e-mail each MSC participant an invitation to join a Zoom video conference. Again, if possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance. Participants shall join the video conference by following the ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink in the invitation. Participants who do not have Zoom already installed on their device will be prompted to download and install Zoom before proceeding when they click on the ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink. Zoom may then prompt participants to enter the password included in the invitation. All participants will be placed in a waiting room until the MSC begins.
3. Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least five minutes before the start of the MSC to ensure that the MSC begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. The Zoom e-mail invitation may indicate an earlier start time, but the MSC will begin at the Court-scheduled time.
4. Zoom's functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the MSC as it ordinarily would conduct an in-person MSC. That is, the Court will begin the MSC with all participants joined together in a main session. After an initial discussion in the main session, the Court will divide participants into separate, confidential sessions, which Zoom calls Breakout Rooms. In a Breakout Room, the Court will be able to communicate with participants from a single party in confidence. Breakout Rooms will also allow parties and counsel to communicate confidentially without the Court.
For more information on what to expect when participating in a Zoom Breakout Room, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/1150057696468
5. No later than April 22, 2022, counsel for each party shall send an e-mail to the Court at efileMajor@casd.uscourts.gov containing the following:
a. The name and title of each participant, including all parties and party representatives with full settlement authority, claims adjusters for insured defendants, and the primary attorney(s) responsible for the litigation;
b. An e-mail address for each participant to receive the Zoom video conference invitation; and
c. A telephone number where each participant may be reached so that if technical difficulties arise, the Court will be in a position to proceed telephonically instead of by video conference. (If counsel prefers to have all participants of their party on a single conference call, counsel may provide a conference number and appropriate call-in information, including an access code, where all counsel and parties or party representatives for that side may be reached as an alternative to providing individual telephone numbers for each participant.)
6. No later than April 22, 2022, the parties shall submit directly to Magistrate Judge Major's chambers (efilemajor@casd.uscourts.gov) confidential settlement statements no more than ten (10) pages in length. These confidential statements shall not be filed or served on opposing counsel. Each party's confidential statement must set forth the party's statement of the case, identify controlling legal issues, concisely set out issues of liability and damages, and shall set forth the party's settlement position, including any previous settlement negotiations, mediation sessions, or mediation efforts, the last offer or demand made by that party, and a separate statement of the offer or demand the party is prepared to make at the settlement conference. If a specific demand or offer for settlement cannot be made at the time the brief is submitted, then the reasons therefore must be stated along with a statement as to when the party will be in a position to state a demand or make an offer.
General statements that a party will "negotiate in good faith" is not a specific demand or offer contemplated by this Order. It is assumed that all parties will negotiate in good faith.
7. All participants shall display the same level of professionalism during the MSC and be prepared to devote their full attention to the MSC as if they were attending in person. Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery of a participant's device, each participant should ensure that their device is plugged in or that a charging cable is readily available during the video conference.
8. Defense counsel must coordinate the appearance of Plaintiff at the MSC. Plaintiff may participate in the MSC by video or telephonically by calling the number provided in the Zoom invitation.
9. All dates, deadlines, procedures, and requirements set forth in the Court's Scheduling Order [ECF Nos. 19, 43] remain in place, except as explicitly modified by this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.