Uriarte v. Piedmont Airlines, Inc.

Filing 8

ORDER SETTING Settlement Conference for 2/2/2017 at 01:00 PM in Courtroom 10 (EPG) before Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean. Order signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 10/21/2017. (Rooney, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MARIA URIARTE,

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No. 1:16-CV-01107-SMM

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER REGARDING SETTLEMENT
CONFERENCE PROCEDURES

PIEDMONT AIRLINES, INC.,

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Defendant.

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The Court sets a settlement conference for February 2, 2017, at 1:00 p.m., before

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Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean. Despite the provisions of Local Rule 270(b), the settlement

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conference will be conducted by the undersigned Magistrate Judge. If any party prefers that the

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settlement conference be conducted by a judicial officer not regularly assigned to this matter, that

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party is directed to notify the Court no later than 60 days in advance of the scheduled settlement

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conference to allow sufficient time for another judicial officer to be assigned to handle the

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conference.

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Unless otherwise permitted in advance by the Court, the attorneys who will try the case

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shall appear at the Settlement Conference. Pertinent evidence to be offered at trial, documents or

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otherwise, should be brought to the settlement conference for presentation to the settlement judge.

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Neither the settlement conference statements nor communications during the settlement

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conference with the settlement judge can be used by either party in the trial of this case.

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Absent permission from the Court, in addition to counsel who will try the case being
present, in addition to counsel who will try the case being present, the individual parties shall also
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be present, and in the case of corporate parties, associations or other entities, and insurance

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carriers, a representative executive with unrestricted authority to discuss, consider, propose and

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agree, or disagree, to any settlement proposal or offer shall also be present. If for any reason the

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representative with unlimited authority cannot attend, such a person must be available by phone

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throughout the conference. In other words, having settlement authority “up to a certain amount”

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is not acceptable.

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In the event settlement authority delegated to any defense representative appearing at the

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settlement conference has been set by a committee and such authority may not be unilaterally

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exceeded in any amount by the representative designated to attend the settlement conference, then

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the entire committee must be fully identified in the defense settlement statement (name, position,

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work address for each member) AND the entire committee or a quorum thereof empowered to

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enter into any agreement to settle the case MUST be available in person or by phone, unless the

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Court grants permission otherwise. Failure to follow this directive may result in a re-scheduled

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settlement conference AND payment of attorney's fees, expenses and other costs incurred by any

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other party during preparation for the settlement conference and attendance at the conference.

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Additional sanctions, including default, may be appropriate.

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IF ANY PARTY BELIEVES THAT A SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE WOULD

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BE FUTILE, THEN THAT PARTY SHALL CONTACT THE COURT NOT LATER

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THAN SEVENTY-TWO HOURS PRECEDING THE SCHEDULED SETTLEMENT

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CONFERENCE.

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Confidential Settlement Statements

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At least five (5) court days prior to the settlement conference, each party shall submit a

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Confidential Settlement Conference Statement in Word format directly to Judge Grosjean’s

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Chambers at [e-mail]. The statement shall not be filed on the docket or

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served on any other party. Each statement shall be clearly marked "confidential" with the date

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and time of the settlement conference clearly noted on the first page. The Confidential Settlement

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Conference Statement shall include the following:

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A. A brief statement of the facts of the case.

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B. A brief statement of the claims and defenses, i.e., statutory or other grounds

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upon which the claims are founded; a forthright evaluation of the parties'

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likelihood of prevailing on the claims and defenses; and a description of the major

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issues in dispute.

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C. A summary of the proceedings to date.

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D. An estimate of the cost and time to be expended for further discovery, pretrial

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and trial.

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E. The relief sought.

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F. The party's position on settlement, including present demands and offers and a

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history of past settlement discussions, offers and demands.

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The parties shall contact that the designated settlement conference judge’s chambers to
ascertain whether additional settlement conference procedures are required.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

October 21, 2016

/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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