Coleman v. Virga et al

Filing 30

ORDER REFERRING CASE TO POST-SCREENING ADR PROJECT AND STAYING CASE FOR 120 DAYS. The parties shall file the attached notice re settlement conference within 30 days of this order. The assigned DAG shall contact Courtroom Deputy within 30 days to sch edule a settlement conference. 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. The Clerk shall serve copies of (a) plaintiff's complaint, (b) the screening order, and (c) the instant order, on Supervising DAG Christopher Becker. (cc: Christopher Becker) signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 06/05/18. (Plummer, M)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ROBERT COLEMAN, 12 No. 2:17-cv-0851 KJN P Plaintiff, 13 v. 14 T. VIRGA, et al., 15 ORDER REFERRING CASE TO POSTSCREENING ADR PROJECT AND STAYING CASE FOR 120 DAYS Defendants. 16 Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding without counsel. The U.S. Marshal has 17 18 accomplished service of process on defendants Lynch1, Haring, Hinrich, Virga, Walcott and 19 Wright.2 The undersigned is referring all post-screening civil rights cases filed by pro se inmates to 20 21 the Post-Screening ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Project in an effort to resolve such 22 cases more expeditiously and less expensively. Defense counsel from the Office of the California 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 The returned waiver for defendant Lynch was filed separately from the returned waivers for defendants Haring, Hinrich, Virga, Walcott and Wright. (ECF Nos. 25, 27.) Defendant Lynch, himself, signed the returned waiver. Defendants Haring, Hinrich, Virga, Walcott and Wright are represented by the Office of the Attorney General. Before responding to the instant order, the Office of the Attorney General shall determine whether defendant Lynch is represented by separate counsel and inform the court regarding this issue. 2 Process served on defendant Curren was returned unexecuted. The undersigned has separately ordered plaintiff to provide more information regarding the location of defendant Curren. 1 1 Attorney General has agreed to participate in this pilot project. No defenses or objections shall be 2 waived by their participation. 3 As set forth in the screening order, plaintiff has stated a potentially cognizable civil rights 4 claim. Thus, the court stays this action for a period of 120 days to allow the parties to investigate 5 plaintiff’s claims, meet and confer, and then participate in a settlement conference. 6 There is a presumption that all post-screening civil rights cases assigned to the 7 undersigned will proceed to settlement conference.3 However, if after investigating plaintiff’s 8 claims and speaking with plaintiff, and after conferring with defense counsel’s supervisor, 9 defense counsel in good faith finds that a settlement conference would be a waste of resources, 10 defense counsel may move to opt out of this pilot project. 11 By filing the attached notice within thirty days, the parties shall notify the court whether 12 they waive disqualification for the undersigned to hold the settlement conference or whether they 13 request a different judge. Plaintiff shall also indicate his preference to appear in person or by 14 videoconference, if available. Failure to timely file such notice will result in the case being set 15 for settlement conference before a different judge. 16 Within thirty days, the assigned Deputy Attorney General shall contact the Courtroom 17 Deputy, Alexandra Waldrop, at (916) 930-4187, to schedule the settlement conference. If 18 difficulties arise in scheduling the settlement conference due to the court’s calendar, the parties 19 may seek an extension of the initial 120 day stay. 20 Once the settlement conference is scheduled, at least seven days prior to conference, the 21 parties shall submit to the assigned settlement judge a confidential settlement conference 22 statement. The parties’ confidential settlement conference statement shall include the following: 23 (a) names and locations of the parties; (b) a short statement of the facts and alleged damages; (c) a 24 short procedural history; (d) an analysis of the risk of liability, including a discussion of the 25 efforts made to investigate the allegations; and (e) a discussion of the efforts that have been made 26 to settle the case. 27 28 3 If the case does not settle, the court will set a date for the filing of a responsive pleading at the conference. 2 1 In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 2 1. This action is stayed for 120 days to allow the parties an opportunity to settle their 3 dispute before a responsive pleading is filed, or the discovery process begins. Except as provided 4 herein or by subsequent court order, no other pleadings or other documents may be filed in this 5 case during the stay of this action. The parties shall not engage in formal discovery, but the 6 parties may elect to engage in informal discovery. 7 2. Within thirty days from the date of this order, the parties shall file the attached notice, 8 informing the court whether they waive disqualification for the undersigned to hold the settlement 9 conference, or whether they choose to have the settlement conference held by a different judge. 10 3. Within thirty days from the date of this order, the assigned Deputy Attorney General 11 shall contact this court’s Courtroom Deputy, Alexandra Waldrop, at (916) 930-4187, to schedule 12 the settlement conference. 13 4. At least seven days prior to the settlement conference, each party shall submit a 14 confidential settlement conference statement, as described above, to the judge assigned for 15 settlement. 16 17 18 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 Clerk of the Court shall serve copies of (a) plaintiff’s complaint (ECF No. 13), (b) 19 the screening order (ECF No. 17), and (c) the instant order, on Supervising Deputy Attorney 20 General Christopher Becker. 21 7. The parties remain obligated to keep the court informed of their current address at all 22 times during the stay and while the action is pending. Any change of address must be reported 23 promptly to the court in a separate document captioned for this case and entitled “Notice of 24 Change of Address.” See L.R. 182(f). 25 Dated: June 5, 2018 26 27 28 cole0851.adr.post.usm.kjn 3 1 2 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 6 ROBERT COLEMAN, 7 No. 2:17-cv-0851 KJM KJN P Plaintiff, 8 v. 9 T. VIRGA, et al., 10 NOTICE RE: JUDGE ELECTION FOR SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE (POSTSCREENING ADR PROJECT) Defendants. 11 12 13 1. As required by court order, the parties notify the court of the following election: ____ Pursuant to Local Rule 270(b) of the Eastern District of California, the party signing 14 below affirmatively requests that the assigned Magistrate Judge participate in the settlement 15 conference and, further, waives any claim of disqualification of the assigned Magistrate Judge on 16 that basis thereafter. This waiver is not to be construed as consent to the Magistrate Judge’s 17 jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1). 18 19 20 21 OR ____ The party signing below requests that a different judge hold the settlement conference. AND 2. Plaintiff indicates his preference by checking one: 22 _____ Plaintiff would like to participate in the settlement conference in person. 23 OR 24 _____ Plaintiff would like to participate in the settlement conference by video conference. 25 26 DATED: 27 ________________________________ Plaintiff or Counsel for Defendants 28 1

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