Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Council of Human Services

Filing 25

ORDER REGARDING AGREEMENTS AND SETTING FURTHER SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE. Signed by Judge Beeler on 12/6/2011. (lblc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/6/2011)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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Northern District of California

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Oakland Division
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
COMMISSION,

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For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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Plaintiff,
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v.

No. C 10-03826 BZ (LB)
ORDER REGARDING
AGREEMENTS AND SETTING
FURTHER SETTLEMENT
CONFERENCE

UNITED COUNCIL OF HUMAN
SERVICES,

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Defendant.
_____________________________________/

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The court held a settlement conference on December 6, 2011. At that conference, the parties

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agreed to the following document exchange and meet-and-confer process (“the agreements”) and

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agreed that this court would issue this order directing the agreements and setting a further settlement

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conference.

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1. Ms. Gwendolyn Westbrook will coordinate the production of the documents set forth in

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subparagraphs a through c of this section. She will gather the documents by Friday, December 9,

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2011 and provide them to defense counsel Michael Farbstein, who will coordinate producing them

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to Intervenor-Plaintiff Tanya Thompson’s counsel and the EEOC by Monday, December 12, 2011.

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The parties will attempt to comply with these deadlines in good faith but may extend them by

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agreement. The court expects that the parties will accommodate reasonable requests based on

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reasonable delays, particularly given that counsel have previously-scheduled commitments in other

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cases, without needing to involve the court in disputes that the parties can resolve themselves.

C 10-03826 BZ (LB)
ORDER

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a. Source documents (such as requests for proposals, proposals, grant agreements, and grantee
contracts) establishing all current sources of funding for the current grant cycles and the
grant cycles beginning January 1, 2012, the amount of the funding by source, and the
restrictions if any on the use of the funds. It is the court’s expectation that this information
should provide a current financial snapshot that includes verifiable information, and it should
support the data compiled in the Statement of Activities Report (including the data for
Miscellaneous Revenue on line 1610).

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b. Current Form 990.

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c. The bylaws or other corporate governance documents establishing the governing structure of
United Council (and thus who has the settlement authority referenced in this court’s
settlement conference order at ECF No. 21 at 2, Section C1).

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2. Defendant’s counsel will coordinate establishing a telephone conference with Sam Lee to

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review any questions that the EEOC and Ms. Thompson’s counsel may have about the documents.

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Ms. Westbrook will advise Mr. Lee of this agreement by Friday, December 9, 2011, and the parties

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will have this conference by December 19, 2011, if their schedules and Mr. Lee’s schedule permit

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this date. The court directs the parties to meet and confer before the call to facilitate the orderly and

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productive exchange of information during the call. Providing Mr. Farbstein with a list of questions

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in advance, for example, might enable Mr. Lee to efficiently answer the EEOC’s and Ms.

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Thompson’s questions about the exchanged documents and the budget. The court emphasizes that

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this process is not meant to be adversarial but, instead, is an opportunity to answer questions in a

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cost-effective, efficient way to illuminate the financial issues at play.

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For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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3. The parties agreed that to the extent that the producing party (the defendant) believes that

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production of any of this material should be subject to a protective order, the defendant nonetheless

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will produce the information for purposes of this settlement conference without requiring a

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protective order first. Thereafter, the parties will sign an appropriate protective order or, if the need

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for a protective order is disputed, the parties will pursue that remedy before the assigned judge, and

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the receiving party (the EEOC and Ms. Thompson) will not use the material for any purpose other

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than settlement negotiations until the assigned judge rules on the request for a protective order.

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4. After the parties have produced the documents and calendared their telephone call with Mr.

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Lee, they shall contact courtroom deputy Lashanda Scott at 510-637-3525 for a further attorneys-

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only telephone settlement conference to take place by December 23, 2011. The parties should

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submit an updated, informal settlement conference email with only new information by 4 p.m. on the

C 10-03826 BZ (LB)
ORDER

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business day before the telephone conference to the court’s proposed orders box at

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[e-mail]. Ms. Thompson and Ms. Westbrook should be available by telephone

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should the court or their attorneys need to contact them to schedule a further in-person settlement

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conference.

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5. If the parties have any difficulties accomplishing the agreements, they may contact Ms. Scott
at 510-637-3525 or the court at 510-637-3324 to arrange an interim telephone call.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: December 6, 2011
_______________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge

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For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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C 10-03826 BZ (LB)
ORDER

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