Sial v. Unifund CCR Partners et al

Filing 20

ORDER denying 19 ex parte request to appear telephonically for a Mandatory Settlement Conference on 2/20/09. Signed by Magistrate Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo on 2/5/09. (tkl)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 On October 23, 2008, this Court ordered a Mandatory Settlement Conference to be held on February 20, 2009. The Order required the parties, or a party representative with full settlement authority, to appear personally. On February 4, 2009, Defendant filed an ex parte request for its party representative to appear telephonically. Defendant acknowledges it filed a similar motion in regards to the Early Neutral Evaluation, which the Court denied. Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, persons required to attend the conference shall not be excused from personal attendance. As in the previous motion, Defendant claims "[i]t would place an extraordinary burden on Unifund, both in terms of time and expense, for Unifund's representative to travel across the country to attend the conference in person." [Doc. No. 19 at 3.] However, in and of itself, having to travel a long distance to appear in person is not extraordinary. Furthermore, while Defendant claims "[v]ery little has occurred in this case since [the ENE]," it fails to note its /// v. UNIFUND CCR PARTNERS; and DOES 1 through 10 inclusive, Defendants. ASIF A. SIAL, an individual, Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING EX PARTE REQUEST TO APPEAR TELEPHONICALLY [Doc. No. 19.] Civil No. 08cv905 JM (CAB) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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motion for judgment on the pleadings was denied in the intervening period. Accordingly, because Defendant has failed to demonstrate extraordinary circumstances, the ex parte request is DENIED. IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: February 5, 2009

CATHY ANN BENCIVENGO United States Magistrate Judge

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08cv905