(PC) Harris v. Valladolid et al

Filing 16

ORDER Regarding Early Settlement Conference; ORDER Directing Clerk to Serve Supervising Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Bragg with a Copy of Plaintiff's Complaint, the Screening Order, and this Order, signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 09/24/2024. Forty-Five Day Deadline. (Maldonado, C)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MUJAAHID F. HARRIS,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
VALLADOLID et al.,

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Defendant(s).
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Case No. 1:23-cv-01502-EPG (PC)
ORDER REGARDING EARLY
SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
ORDER DIRECTING CLERK TO SERVE
SUPERVISING DEPUTY ATTORNEY
GENERAL LAWRENCE BRAGG WITH A
COPY OF: 1) PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT
(ECF NO. 8); 2) THE SCREENING ORDER
(ECF NO. 9); AND 3) THIS ORDER

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Plaintiff Mujaahid F. Harris is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis

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in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court has screened Plaintiff’s

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complaint and allowed at least one claim to proceed past screening. At least one defendant has

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waived service of process.

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The Court now directs the parties to participate in a settlement conference before a

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Magistrate Judge to see if the case can reach an early settlement. Neither side is waiving any

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claims, defenses, or objections by participating in this settlement conference.
Defense counsel is directed to consider Plaintiff’s claim(s) and to speak with Plaintiff

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following this order.1 If, after investigating Plaintiff’s claim(s) and speaking with Plaintiff, and

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conferring with defense counsel’s supervisor, defense counsel in good faith finds that a

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settlement conference would not be productive at this time, defense counsel may opt out of this

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settlement conference by filing a notice (a motion is unnecessary) with the Court, in which case

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the matter will proceed without an early settlement conference.

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If defense counsel opts out of the settlement conference, or if the case does not settle at
the conference, the case will proceed to litigation.2

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If defense counsel does not opt out, the Court will issue separate order(s) setting the

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settlement conference and detailing the pre-settlement conference procedures in due course.

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Within fourteen days after the issuance of the order setting the settlement conference, in

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order to better inform all parties and have a meaningful conference, the Court is requiring that

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both parties disclose certain documents to each other about the case, as listed below. These

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documents are relevant to the case and will most likely be disclosed in discovery shortly if this

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case proceeds to litigation.3

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Within forty-five days from the date of service of this order, the assigned

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Deputy Attorney General shall either: (1) file a notice stating that Defendant(s)

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opt out of the settlement conference; or (2) contact ADR Coordinator Sujean

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Park ([e-mail]) to schedule the settlement conference. If the

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assigned Deputy Attorney General does not opt out of the settlement conference,

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the Court will issue an order setting a settlement conference. That order will

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include the date of the conference and the Magistrate Judge who will oversee the

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conference, and may also include procedures required by that Judge.4

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The parties may confer by letter.
If the case proceeds to a settlement conference, the Court will not schedule the case until after the
settlement conference is held. Nothing in this order extends Defendant(s)’ deadline to file a responsive pleading,
but Defendant(s) may file a motion to extend the deadline to respond to the complaint.
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If any party has a legal objection to providing a particular document, that party shall file and serve a
notice describing its objection.
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The undersigned will not be the Magistrate Judge overseeing the settlement conference.
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2. If a settlement conference is set, no later than fourteen days after the date of

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service of the order setting the settlement conference, each party shall send the

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other parties, or their attorneys (if represented), the documents listed below.

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The parties only need to provide documents related to the claim(s) that the Court

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allowed to proceed past the screening stage. Additionally, defense counsel does

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not need to include any documents that defense counsel believes are confidential

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or subject to the official information privilege. Plaintiff does not need to request

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any documents from the institution at this time. Plaintiff only needs to provide

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these documents if Plaintiff already has them in his or her possession.

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a. Documents regarding exhaustion of Plaintiff’s claims, including 602s,
Form 22s, and responses from the appeals office;

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b. All non-confidential documents regarding Rules Violation Reports, if

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any exist, associated with the incident(s) alleged in the complaint,

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including disciplinary charges and findings;

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c. All of Plaintiff’s medical records related to the incident and/or condition
at issue in the case, if any exist;
d. Chronos for transfer or Administrative Segregation placement related to
the incident(s) alleged in the complaint, if any exist; and
e. Non-confidential incident reports regarding the use of force incident(s)
alleged in the complaint, if any exist;

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Additionally, the parties may send any other documents related to the case that

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the parties believe will assist in the settlement conference. However, the parties

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may not request any other documents until discovery has been opened.

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3. The parties are reminded to keep the Court informed of their current address.

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Any change of address must be reported promptly to the Court in a separate

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document captioned for this case and entitled “Notice of Change of Address.”

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See L.R. 182(f).

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4. The Clerk of Court shall serve Supervising Deputy Attorney General Lawrence
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Bragg with a copy of: (1) Plaintiff’s complaint (ECF No. 8); (2) the screening

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order (ECF No. 9); and (3) this order.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

September 24, 2024

/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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