Miller v. Woodford et al

Filing 206

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 1/9/2012 ORDERING Settlement Conference set for 1/19/2012 at 02:00 PM in Courtroom 2 before Magistrate Judge Craig M. Kellison; each party shall provide confidential settlement statement to Sujean Park, ADR and Pro Bono Program Director, no later than 1/16/2012 and file a Notice of Submission of Confidential Settlement COnference Statement; defendant's lead counsel and a person with full and unlimited authority to negotiate and enter into a binding settlement on defendant's behalf shall attend in person; those in attendance must be prepared to discuss the claims, defenses and damages; failure to comply with this order may result in imposition of sanctions. (Waggoner, D)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10
11

GERALD L MILLER,
Plaintiff,

12
13
14

vs.
JANE WOODFORD, et al.,
ORDER SETTING
SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

Defendants.

15

/

16
17

No. CIV S-07-1646 LKK EFB P

Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This

18

case will be referred to Magistrate Judge Craig M. Kellison to conduct a settlement conference at

19

the U. S. District Court, 501 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814 in Courtroom No. 2 on

20

January 19, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.

21
22

A separate order and writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum will issue concurrently with
this order.

23

In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

24

1. This case is set for a settlement conference before Magistrate Judge Craig M. Kellison

25

on January 19, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. at the U. S. District Court, 501 I Street, Sacramento, California

26

95814 in Courtroom No. 2.
1

1

2. Each party shall provide a confidential settlement conference statement to Sujean

2

Park, ADR and Pro Bono Program Director, 501 I Street, Suite 4-200, Sacramento, California

3

95814, so they arrive no later than January 16, 2012 and file a Notice of Submission of

4

Confidential Settlement Conference Statement (See L.R. 270(d)).

5

Settlement statements should not be filed with the Clerk of the court nor served on any

6

other party. Settlement statements shall be clearly marked “confidential” with the date and

7

time of the settlement conference indicated prominently thereon.

8
9

The confidential settlement statement shall be no longer than five pages in length, typed
or neatly printed, and include the following:

10

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

11

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

12

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

13

prevailing on the claims and defenses; and a description of the major issues in dispute.

14

c. A summary of the proceedings to date.

15

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

16

and trial.

17

e. The relief sought.

18

f. The party’s position on settlement, including present demands and offers and a

19

history of past settlement discussions, offers, and demands.

20
21
22

g. A brief statement of each party’s expectations and goals for the settlement.
3. Defendants’ lead counsel and a person with full and unlimited authority to
negotiate and enter into a binding settlement on defendants’ behalf shall attend in person.1

23
1

24
25
26

The term “full authority to settle” means that the individuals attending the mediation
conference must be authorized to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any
settlement terms acceptable to the parties. G. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp.,
871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 1989), cited with approval in Official Airline Guides, Inc. v. Goss, 6
F. 3d 1385, 1396 (9th Cir. 1993). The individual with full authority to settle must also have
“unfettered discretion and authority” to change the settlement position of the party, if
2

1

4. Those in attendance must be prepared to discuss the claims, defenses and damages.

2

The 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 will

4

be reset to another date.

5

DATED: January 9, 2012.

6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

appropriate. Pittman v. Brinker Int’l., Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485-86 (D. Ariz. 2003), amended on
recon. in part, Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., 2003 WL 23353478 (D. Ariz. 2003). The purpose
behind requiring the attendance of a person with full settlement authority is that the parties’ view
of the case may be altered during the face to face conference. Pitman, 216 F.R.D. at 486. An
authorization to settle for a limited dollar amount or sum certain can be found not to comply with
the requirement of full authority to settle. Nick v. Morgan’s Foods, Inc., 270 F. 3d 590, 596-97
(8th Cir. 2001).
3