McCoy v. Holguin et al

Filing 173

ORDER DENYING 170 Plaintiff's Motion for Sanctions, signed by Magistrate Judge Helena M. Barch-Kuchta on 11/23/2021. (Maldonado, C)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LAKEITH MCCOY,

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Plaintiff,

Case No. 1:15-cv-768-DAD-HBK
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION
FOR SANCTIONS

v.
(Doc. No. 170)
A. HOLGUIN, ET. AL.,
Defendants.

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions filed November 19, 2021.

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(Doc. No. 170). Plaintiff requests unspecified sanctions in relation to a prior settlement

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conference conducted by the undersigned via Zoom. (Id. at 1). Plaintiff states he never saw

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defendants on the Zoom call and therefore posits Defendants did not participate in good faith to

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settle the case. (Id. at 3).

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Plaintiff, who is proceeding pro se, is currently incarcerated at Kern Valley State Prison

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and proceeding on his Second Amended Complaint filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 raising Eighth

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Amendment violations stemming from an alleged excessive use of force and failure to intervene

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claims. (Doc. No. 15). The undersigned conducted a Zoom settlement conference on February

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26, 2021. (See Doc. No. 142). Both Plaintiff and Defendants appeared by Zoom. (Id.).

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Although Plaintiff may not have seen Defendants on the Zoom video conference, as explained by

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the undersigned during the introductory explanation, separate caucusing in separate Zoom rooms

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during settlement conferences is common practice depending on the facts and circumstances of

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each case. Therefore, the sanctions Plaintiff seeks against Defendants in this case in relation to

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the February 26, 2021 settlement conference is not appropriate here. See Manago v. Davey, 2018

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WL 6788041 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 26, 2018) (denying a plaintiff’s motion for Rule 11 sanctions in

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relation to a settlement conference).

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Accordingly, it is ORDERED:

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Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions (Doc. No. 170) is DENIED.

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Dated:

November 23, 2021
HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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