Stevenson v. Curnel et al

Filing 21

ORDER REFERRING Case to Post-Screening ADR and STAYING Case for 120 Days signed by Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone on 11/16/2017. Settlement Conference set for 2/28/2018 at 09:30 AM in Courtroom 8 (BAM) before Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe. (Sant Agata, S)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 GENGHIS KHAN ALI STEVENSON, 12 Plaintiff, 13 14 15 v. M. CURNEL, et al., Defendants. 16 17 18 19 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No.: 1:17-cv-00764-LJO-SAB (PC) ORDER REFERRING CASE TO POSTSCREENING ADR AND STAYING CASE FOR 120 DAYS Plaintiff Genghis Khan Ali Stevenson is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Because it takes years to get to trial, the Court has identified this case as an appropriate case 20 for post-screening ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution), which is an effort to resolve such cases 21 more expeditiously and less expensively. No claims, defenses, or objections shall be waived by the 22 parties’ participation. In appropriate cases, defense counsel from the California State Attorney 23 General’s Office has agreed to participate in these early settlements. 24 As set forth in the screening order and summarized above, Plaintiff has stated a cognizable 25 civil rights claim. But, stating a cognizable claim does not mean Plaintiff will prevail at trial. Thus, 26 the Court stays this action for a period of 120 days to allow the parties to investigate Plaintiff’s claims, 27 meet and confer, and then participate in a settlement conference. 28 1 1 Therefore, this case will be referred to Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe to conduct a 2 settlement conference at United States Courthouse in Fresno, California on February 28, 2018, at 3 9:30 a.m. The Court will issue the necessary transportation order in due course. 4 In issuing this order, there is a presumption that this case will proceed to a settlement 5 conference.1 However, if after investigating Plaintiff’s claims and speaking with Plaintiff, and after 6 conferring with others, defense counsel in good faith finds that a settlement conference would be a 7 waste of resources, defense counsel may move to opt out of this early settlement conference. A 8 written notice to opt out must be filed within thirty (30) days of the date of the issuance of this order. 9 The parties shall each submit to Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe a confidential 10 settlement conference statement, as described below, to arrive at least seven days (one week) prior to 11 the conference. The Court puts the parties on notice that if Plaintiff has any outstanding criminal restitution 12 13 obligation, fines and/or penalties, these settlement negotiations shall not be geared towards what the 14 restitution obligation is, but what the value the of the case itself is to each side, irrespective of any 15 outstanding restitution obligation. 16 In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 17 1. This action is STAYED for 120 days to allow the parties an opportunity to settle their 18 dispute before the discovery process begins. Except as provided herein or by subsequent 19 court order, no other pleadings or other documents may be filed in this case during the stay 20 of this action. The parties shall not engage in formal discovery, but may engage in 21 informal discovery to prepare for the settlement conference. 22 2. This case is set for a settlement conference before Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe 23 on February 28, 2018, at 9:30 a.m., at the United States Courthouse located at 2500 24 Tulare Street, Fresno, California. 3. A representative with full and unlimited authority to negotiate and enter into a binding 25 settlement shall attend in person. 26 27 28 1 If the case does not settle, the Court will then lift the stay of its Discovery and Scheduling Order. 2 1 4. Those in attendance must be prepared to discuss the claims, defenses and damages. The 2 failure of any counsel, party or authorized person subject to this order to appear in person 3 may result in the imposition of sanctions. In addition, the conference will not proceed and 4 may be reset to another date. 5 5. Defendants shall provide a confidential settlement statement to the following email 6 address: bamorders@caed.uscourts.gov. Plaintiff shall mail his confidential settlement 7 statement to U.S. District Court, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, California, 93721, 8 “Attention: Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe.” The envelope shall be marked 9 “Confidential Settlement Statement”. Settlement statements shall arrive no later than 10 February 21, 2018. Parties shall also file a Notice of Submission of Confidential 11 Settlement Statement. See Local Rule 270(d). Settlement statements should not be filed 12 with the Clerk of the Court nor served on any other party. Settlement statements shall be 13 clearly marked “confidential” with the date and time of the settlement conference indicated 14 prominently thereon. 15 16 6. The confidential settlement statement shall be no longer than five pages in length, typed or neatly printed, and include the following: 17 a. A brief statement of the facts of the case. 18 b. A brief statement of the claims and defenses, i.e., statutory or other grounds upon 19 which the claims are founded; a forthright evaluation of the parties’ likelihood of 20 prevailing on the claims and defenses; and a description of the major issues in 21 dispute. 22 23 24 25 26 c. An estimate of the cost and time to be expended for further discovery, pretrial, and trial. d. The party’s position on settlement, including present demands and offers and a history of past settlement discussions, offers, and demands. e. A brief statement of each party’s expectations and goals for the settlement 27 conference, including how much a party is willing to accept and/or willing to pay. 28 7. If a settlement is reached at any point during the stay of this action, the parties shall file a 3 Notice of Settlement in accordance with Local Rule 160. 1 8. If the defense counsel wishes to “opt- out” of this settlement for the reasons stated above, 2 3 counsel must do so within thirty (30) days of this order by filing a “Notice of Opt-Out and 4 Request to Vacate Settlement Conference.” 5 9. The parties remain obligated to keep the Court informed of their current address at all times 6 during the stay and while the action is pending. Any change of address must be reported 7 promptly to the Court in a separate document captioned for this case and entitled “Notice 8 of Change of Address.” See Local Rule 182(f). 10. A failure to follow these procedures may result in the imposition of sanctions by the court. 9 10 11 12 IT IS SO ORDERED. 13 Dated: 14 November 16, 2017 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4

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