Daniels v. Arnold

Filing 35

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 10/9/2019 REFERRING CASE TO POST-SCREENING ADR PROJECT AND STAYING CASE FOR 120 DAYS. Plaintiff shall file the attached notice re settlement conference within 30 days of this order. Defendants to fi le any motion to opt out of the Post-Screening ADR Project no more than 60 days from the date of this order. Each party shall submit a confidential settlement conference statement at least 7 days prior to the conference. If settlement is reached, the parties shall file a Notice of Settlement. (Henshaw, R)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10
11

TED DARNELL DANIELS,

12

No. 2:16-cv-0551 KJM AC P

Plaintiff,

13

v.

14

ERIC ARNOLD,

15

ORDER REFERRING CASE TO POSTSCREENING ADR PROJECT AND
STAYING CASE FOR 120 DAYS
Defendant.

16
Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel. Defendant Lotersztain has waived

17
18

service of process under the court’s E-Service Pilot Program for prisoner civil rights cases.

19

The undersigned is referring all post-screening civil rights cases filed by pro se state

20

inmates to the Post-Screening ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Project in an effort to

21

resolve such cases more expeditiously and less expensively. No defenses or objections shall be

22

waived by participation.
As set forth in the screening order, plaintiff has stated a potentially cognizable civil rights

23
24

claim. Accordingly, the court stays this action for a period of 120 days to allow the parties to

25

investigate plaintiff’s claims, meet and confer, and then participate in a settlement conference.

26

////

27

////

28

////
1

1

There is a presumption that all post-screening prisoner civil rights cases assigned to the

2

undersigned will proceed to settlement conference.1 However, if after investigating plaintiff’s

3

claims and speaking with plaintiff, and after conferring with defense counsel’s supervisor,

4

defense counsel in good faith finds that a settlement conference would be a waste of resources,

5

defense counsel may move to opt out of this pilot project. A motion to opt out of the ADR

6

Project and a settlement conference must be filed by defendant within sixty (60) days of the

7

date of this order.

8

By filing the attached notice within thirty (30) days, plaintiff shall indicate his

9

preference to appear at the settlement conference in person or by videoconference, if

10

available. Failure to timely file such notice will result in the issuance of a writ for plaintiff’s

11

appearance in person. Once plaintiff has returned the notice or the time for doing so has passed,

12

the court will proceed to schedule the settlement conference.

13

Once the settlement conference is scheduled, at least seven (7) days prior to the

14

conference, each party shall submit to the settlement judge a confidential settlement conference

15

statement. The parties’ confidential settlement conference statements shall include the following:

16

(a) names and locations of the parties; (b) a short statement of the facts and alleged damages; (c) a

17

short procedural history; (d) an analysis of the risk of liability, including a discussion of the

18

efforts made to investigate the allegations; and (e) a discussion of the efforts that have been made

19

to settle the case. Defendant shall e-mail the settlement conference statement to the settlement

20

judge’s e-mail box for proposed orders, available on the court’s website. Plaintiff shall place his

21

settlement conference statement in the U.S. mail addressed to the settlement conference judge,

22

United States District Court, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Plaintiff shall mail his

23

settlement conference statement so that it is received by the court at least seven (7) days before

24

the settlement conference.

25

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

26

1. This action is stayed for 120 days to allow the parties an opportunity to settle their

27
28

1

If the case does not settle, the court will set a date for the filing of a responsive pleading.
2

1

dispute before the discovery process begins. Except as provided herein or by subsequent court

2

order, no other pleadings or other documents may be filed in this case during the stay of this

3

action. The parties shall not engage in formal discovery, but the parties may elect to engage in

4

informal discovery.

5

2. Within thirty (30) days from the date of this order, plaintiff shall file the attached

6

notice informing the court how he wishes to appear at the settlement conference. If plaintiff does

7

not file the notice, the court will issue a writ for plaintiff to appear in person.

8
9
10

3. Defendants shall file any motion to opt out of the Post-Screening ADR Project no
more than sixty (60) days from the date of this order.
4. At least seven (7) days prior to the settlement conference, each party shall submit a

11

confidential settlement conference statement, as described above, to the settlement judge.

12

Defendant shall e-mail the settlement conference statement to the settlement judge’s proposed

13

orders e-mail address. Plaintiff shall place his settlement conference statement in the U.S. mail

14

addressed to the settlement judge, United States District Court, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA

15

95814. Plaintiff shall mail his settlement conference statement so that it is received by the court

16

at least seven (7) days before the settlement conference.

17
18
19

5. If a settlement is reached at any point during the stay of this action, the parties shall
file a Notice of Settlement in accordance with Local Rule 160.
6. The parties remain obligated to keep the court informed of their current addresses at

20

all times during the stay and while the action is pending. Any change of address must be reported

21

promptly to the court in a separate document captioned for this case and entitled “Notice of

22

Change of Address.” See L.R. 182(f).

23

DATED: October 9, 2019

24
25
26
27
28
3

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10
11

TED DARNELL DANIELS,

12

No. 2:16-cv-0551 KJM AC P

Plaintiff,

13

v.

14

ERIC ARNOLD,

15

NOTICE RE: PLAINTIFF’S APPEARANCE
AT SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE (POSTSCREENING ADR PROJECT)
Defendant.

16
17

As required by court order, the plaintiff notifies the court of the following election:

18
19
20
21
22

_____ Plaintiff would like to participate in the settlement conference in person.
OR
_____ Plaintiff would like to participate in the settlement conference by video conference, if
available.

23
24
25
26

____________________________________
Date

____________________________________
Plaintiff

27
28
1