Martin Baylor v. Gary Public Library, et al

Filing 5

Notification of Circuit Rule 33 conference issued. The conference will be conducted by phone, Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. RJS [5] [6313911] [11-2184] (SM)

United States Court of Appeals
for the Seventh Circuit
Settlement Conference Office
219 S. Dearborn Street - Room 1120
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Joel N. Shapiro
Senior Conference Attorney

Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.ca7.uscourts.gov

[e-mail]

Rocco J. Spagna
Conference Attorney
[e-mail]

Jillisa Brittan
Conference Attorney
[e-mail]

NOTICE OF RULE 33 CONFERENCE
June 7, 2011

Bryan K. Bullock, Esq.
Suite 222
7863 Broadway
Merrillville, IN 46410

RE:

Michael E. Tolbert, Esq.
HOEPPNER WAGNER & EVANS LLP
6th Floor
1000 E. 80th Place
P.O. Box 10627
Merrillville, IN 46410

MARTIN BAYLOR v. GARY PUBLIC LIBRARY, et al. - 11-2184

Dear Counsel:
Pursuant to Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and Circuit Rule 33, an
appellate settlement conference has been scheduled in this case. The conference will be
conducted by telephone on Thursday, June 30, 2011, at 9:30 a.m. Central Time. The call
will be initiated by this office.
Each party must be represented at the conference by the lawyer or lawyers on whose
judgment the party will primarily rely in making settlement decisions. Clients as well as
counsel are required to attend this conference. (In the case of a corporation, association, or
public body, “client” means an officer or employee having the fullest possible settlement
discretion.) If a party is, or contends it is, insured for any of the claims at issue, an authorized
representative of the insurer must also attend. Since Rule 33 conferences often exceed two hours
in length, participants are to schedule no other activities for the remainder of the morning.
The conference is expected to take place at the scheduled date and time. It will not be

rescheduled unless an indispensable participant has an immovable preexisting commitment of
such importance that his or her attendance is impossible. You must notify the Settlement
Conference Office of such a conflict immediately. The conference will not be rescheduled on
short-notice.
At the conference, be prepared to discuss the case in depth – your client’s goals and
interests, the pivotal legal issues, the evidence of record, and the damages or other relief being
sought. In advance of the conference, you are expected to provide your client with a copy of this
notice and the accompanying information sheet, familiarize yourself and your client with
conference procedures, help your client realistically assess his or her interests and the prospects
of the case on appeal, and obtain as much settlement authority as feasible.
To encourage full and frank discussion, all communications during this conference, and
all further communications, oral and written, during the course of Rule 33 proceedings, are
strictly confidential. The content of Rule 33 communications is not to be disclosed to anyone
other than the litigants and their counsel. Nothing said by the participants, including the
conference attorney, will be placed in the record or disclosed by this office to the Court.
To enable counsel to devote their full attention to discussions of settlement, the briefing
schedule will be extended. An order setting forth the new briefing schedule will follow under
separate cover. The scheduling of a Rule 33 conference does not relieve the parties of their
obligation to comply in a timely manner with all other court filing requirements. Until Rule 33
proceedings are concluded, counsel are directed to send the Settlement Conference Office copies
of all papers they file with this Court.
We look forward to working with you and your clients.
The Settlement Conference Office

Stephanie Jackson,
Legal Assistant