(PC) Felder v. Henson et al

Filing 61

ORDER DENYING Plaintiff's #60 Request to Schedule a Settlement Conference without Prejudice signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 1/10/2017. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ANTHONY E. FELDER,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

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HENSON, et al.,

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Case No. 1:13-cv-01622-AWI-JLT (PC)
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S REQUEST
TO SCHEDULE A SETTLEMENT
CONFERENCE WITHOUT PREJUDICE
(Doc. 60)

Defendants.

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Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint has been served on Defendants who filed their

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answer, denying liability. On December 12, 2016, the Discovery and Scheduling Order issued,

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providing a deadline for the filing of dispositive motions on or before July 13, 2017. (Doc. 58.)

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On January 3, 2017, Plaintiff filed a motion requesting that a settlement conference be set as he

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believes the evidence is “overwhelmingly in Plaintiff’s favor” and that a settlement conference

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would save “time and resources.” (Doc. 60.)

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However, the Court will not expend its limited resources on a settlement conference this

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early in an action unless both sides believe one would be beneficial. Seemingly, the defendants

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do not concur in the plaintiff’s opinion that there are no defenses to the action. Moreover, it

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would seem to beneficial to the plaintiff to conduct some discovery to determine whether the

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defenses have merit before deciding that his case cannot be lost. In any event, the plaintiff may

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serve Defendants with an offer of settlement at any time. Further, if both sides desire scheduling
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of a settlement conference, they may jointly request one. However, the Court will not schedule a

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settlement conference at this early stage absent such indication from all parties.

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Accordingly, the Court ORDERS that Plaintiff’s request for a settlement conference is
DENIED without prejudice.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

January 10, 2017

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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