Opinion
No. 2:08-cv-01096-PMP-PAL
01-11-2013
MOHAMED MAJED CHEHADE REFAI, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al., Defendants.
DANIEL G. BOGDEN United States Attorney Nevada Bar No.:2137 CARLOS A. GONZALEZ Assistant United States Attorney SARAH E. WHITMAN UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Attorneys for Defendants the United States and Peter Lazaro
DANIEL G. BOGDEN
United States Attorney
Nevada Bar No.:2137
CARLOS A. GONZALEZ
Assistant United States Attorney
SARAH E. WHITMAN
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Attorneys for Defendants the United States and Peter Lazaro
REQUEST FOR EXCEPTION
TO ORDER SCHEDULING A
SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
The United States and Peter Lazaro, by and through their counsel, respectfully request that they be exempted from the Court's requirements in its September 19, 2012 Order Scheduling a Settlement Conference that "[c]ounsel of record, individual parties, and a fully authorized representative shall appear in person" for the scheduled January 24, 2013 settlement conference and shall submit a confidential settlement conference statement in preparation for the conference. ECF No. 260 at 1,2; ECF No. 261. The claims against both Peter Lazaro and the United States have been dismissed from this case. It is unclear whether the Court's September 19, 2012 Order nonetheless applies to the United States, Peter Lazaro and their counsel. Because all claims against Peter Lazaro and the United States have been dismissed and they have no legal interest in the claims that will be adjudicated in the upcoming trial scheduled for March 12, 2013, they respectfully request that the Court exempt them from the requirement that they and their counsel participate in, and submit settlement statements in preparation for, the January 24, 2013 settlement conference.
On March 1, 2010, the district court granted the United States' motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment. ECF No. 133. The court's order disposed of all remaining claims asserted against the United States in this action. Id.; see also ECF No. 89 (Second Am. Compl.). On that same day, the district court granted Peter Lazaro's Motion to Dismiss. ECF No. 132. That order dismissed all claims asserted against Peter Lazaro in this action. Id.
The claims that remain for trial are those Plaintiff asserts against the City of North Las Vegas and the North Las Vegas Police Department. See ECF No. 249 (Pretrial Order) at 2. Following the issuance of the Pretrial Order on September 10, 2012, this case was referred to this Court for a settlement conference. ECF Nos. 249, 250. In this Court's September 19, 2012 Order Scheduling a Settlement Conference, this Court ordered all counsel of record "who will be participating in the trial ..., all parties appearing pro se, if any, and all individual parties must be present." ECF No. 260 at 1. Later in that same Order, the Court stated that unless the Court grants a request for exception, "[c]ounsel of record, individual parties, and a fully authorized representative shall appear in person" for the scheduled January 24, 2013 settlement conference and prepare settlement conference statements. Id. at 1-2. To the extent the Court's September 19, 2012 Order extends beyond the parties bound for trial, for the reasons articulated above, the United States, Peter Lazaro and their counsel respectfully request an exemption from it.
Respectfully submitted,
DANIEL G. BOGDEN
United States Attorney
_______________
CARLOS A. GONZALES
Assistant United States Attorney
333 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Suite 5000
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
Tel: 702-388-6336
carlos.gonzalez2@usdoj.gov
SARAH E. WHITMAN
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Civil Division, Torts Branch
P.O. Box 7146, Ben Franklin Station
Washington, D.C. 20044
Tel: 202-616-0089
Fax: 202-616-4314
sarah.whitman@usdoj.gov
Attorneys for Defendants the United States
and Peter Lazaro
IT IS SO ORDERED this 11th day of January, 2013.
_______________
Peggy A. Leen
United States Magistrate Judge
PROOF OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on January 9, 2013, I filed the foregoing electronically through the CM/ECF system, which caused the following parties or counsel to be served by electronic means, as more fully reflected on the Notice of Electronic Filing:
Rohit K. Singla
Email: rohit.singla@mto.com
Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
560 Mission Street, 27th Floor
San Francisco, California 94105
Audrey Daniel
Email: Adaniel@lccr.com
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area
131 Steuart St., Ste 400
San Francisco, California 94105
Peter L. Ashman
Email: pla@ashmanlaw.com
Law Offices of Peter L. Ashman
617 S. 8th St., Ste B
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101-7082
Attorneys for Plaintiff
Robert W Freeman, Jr.
Email: rwfreeman@cox.net
1060 Wigwam Parkway
Henderson, Nevada 89074
Attorney for City of North Las Vegas;
City of North Las Vegas Police Department
_______________
CARLOS A. GONZALES
Assistant United States Attorney