(PC) Merced v. Covello et al

Filing 49

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Jeremy D. Peterson on 2/5/2024 REFERRING CASE TO POST-SCREENING ADR PROJECT AND STAYING CASE FOR 120 DAYS. Within 60 days from the date of this order, defendant shall file any motion to opt out of Post-screening Early ADR. 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.(Yin, K)

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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 JUAN AUTILANO MERCED, Jr., 12 13 14 Plaintiff, v. PATRICK COVELLO, et al., 15 Case No. 2:21-cv-01405-WBS-JDP (PC) ORDER REFERRING CASE TO POST-SCREENING EARLY ADR AND STAYING CASE FOR 120 DAYS Defendants. 16 17 18 19 Plaintiff, a state prisoner, is proceeding without counsel. Defendant has waived service of process. The undersigned is referring all post-screening civil rights cases filed by pro se state 20 inmates to Post-Screening Early ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) in an effort to resolve 21 such cases more expeditiously and less expensively. Defense counsel from the Office of the 22 California Attorney General has agreed to participate in Early ADR. No defenses or objections 23 shall be waived by their participation. 24 As set forth in the screening order, plaintiff has stated a potentially cognizable civil rights 25 claim. Thus, the court stays this action for a period of 120 days to allow the parties to investigate 26 plaintiff’s claims, meet and confer, and then participate in a settlement conference. 27 There is a presumption that all post-screening prisoner civil rights cases assigned to the 28 1 1 undersigned will proceed to settlement conference.1 However, if after investigating plaintiff’s 2 claims and speaking with plaintiff, and after conferring with defense counsel’s supervisor, 3 defense counsel in good faith finds that a settlement conference would be a waste of resources, 4 defense counsel may move to opt out of Early ADR. A motion to opt out must be filed within 5 sixty days of the date of this order. 6 Once the settlement conference is scheduled, at least seven days prior to the conference, 7 the parties shall submit to the settlement judge a confidential settlement conference statement. 8 The parties’ confidential settlement conference statements shall include the following: (a) names 9 and locations of the parties; (b) a short statement of the facts and alleged damages; (c) a short 10 procedural history; (d) an analysis of the risk of liability, including a discussion of the efforts 11 made to investigate the allegations; and (e) a discussion of the efforts that have been made to 12 settle the case. Defendant shall e-mail the settlement conference statement to the settlement 13 judge’s e-mail box for proposed orders, available on the court’s website. Plaintiff shall place his 14 settlement conference statement in the U.S. mail addressed to the settlement conference judge, 15 United States District Court, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Plaintiff shall mail his 16 settlement conference statement so that it is received by the court at least seven days before the 17 settlement conference. 18 In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 19 1. This action is stayed for 120 days to allow the parties an opportunity to settle their 20 dispute before the discovery process begins. Except as provided herein or by subsequent court 21 order, no other pleadings or other documents may be filed in this case during the stay of this 22 action. The parties shall not engage in formal discovery, but the parties may elect to engage in 23 informal discovery. 24 25 26 2. Within sixty days from the date of this order, defendant shall file any motion to opt out of Post-screening Early ADR. 3. At least seven days prior to the settlement conference, each party shall submit a 27 28 1 If the case does not settle, the court will set a date for the filing of a responsive pleading. 2 1 confidential settlement conference statement, as described above, to the settlement judge. 2 Defendant shall e-mail the settlement conference statement to the settlement judge’s proposed 3 orders e-mail address. Plaintiff shall place his settlement conference statement in the U.S. mail 4 addressed to the settlement judge, United States District Court, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 5 95814. Plaintiff shall mail his settlement conference statement so that it is received by the court 6 at least seven days before the settlement conference. 7 8 4. 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. 9 5. The parties remain obligated to keep the court informed of their current addresses at all 10 times during the stay and while the action is pending. Any change of address must be reported 11 promptly to the court in a separate document captioned for this case and entitled “Notice of 12 Change of Address.” See L.R. 182(f). 13 14 IT IS SO ORDERED. 15 Dated: February 5, 2024 16 JEREMY D. PETERSON UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3

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