Scott v. Knights of Columbus
Filing
24
SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE ORDER & CALENDAR: A settlement conference is scheduled for 7/13/2011 at 1:00 PM in Chambers Room 262, 450 Main St., Hartford, CT before Judge Donna F. Martinez. See attached order for important instructions. (Constantine, A.)
CALENDAR AND SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE ORDER
A settlement conference with the undersigned is scheduled in
this case for July 13 2011, at 1:00 p.m. at her chambers at 450 Main
Street, Room 262, Hartford, Connecticut.
Those in attendance at the
conference should be prepared to spend the remainder of the day at the
settlement conference.
I. PARTIES WITH FULL AUTHORITY MUST ATTEND.
hereby ORDERED to be present at the conference.
The parties are
If a party is a legal
entity, not an individual, a representative of the party who is fully
authorized to decide all matters pertaining to the case shall be
present at the conference.
The court will not hold a settlement
conference without all parties present.
A party may not participate
by phone without express, advance approval by the court.
In cases
where a party requires authority from an insurer to settle the case,
the party shall ensure that an insurance company representative with
full authority to settle the case is present at the conference.
For
a plaintiff, "full authority" means final authority to dismiss the
case with prejudice, and to accept in settlement an amount or terms
down to the defendant's last offer. For a defendant, "full authority"
means
final
authority
representative's
own
to
commit
discretion,
a
a
defendant
settlement
to
pay,
amount
up
in
the
to
the
plaintiff's prayer or the plaintiff's last demand, whichever is lower.
The purpose of this requirement is to have in attendance a person with
both the authority and independence to settle the case during the
settlement conference without consulting anyone not present.
The
requirement that parties personally appear is intended to increase the
efficiency and effectiveness of the settlement conference.
Failure
of a party with full authority to settle the case to attend the
conference may result in the imposition of sanctions.
See Nick v.
Morgan's Foods, 99 F. Supp. 2d 1056, 1062-63 (E.D. Mo 2000).
Counsel
are ordered to advise their respective clients and insurance company
representatives of the Nick decision.
II. EXCHANGE OF OFFERS AND DEMANDS.
Settlement conferences are
often unproductive unless the parties have exchanged offers
and
demands before the conference and made a serious effort to settle the
case on their own.
Therefore, not less than 14 days before the
conference, the plaintiff’s counsel shall serve a settlement demand
upon counsel for the defendant.
The demand shall be accompanied by
the plaintiff’s analysis of damages.
If the defendant disagrees with
the plaintiff’s calculation of damages, the defendant’s counsel shall
respond to the plaintiff’s analysis not later than 7 working days
before
the
conference.
The
defendant
is
encouraged
to
make
a
settlement offer prior to the settlement conference.
III. CONFERENCE MEMORANDA.
Not later than five (5) working days
prior to the conference counsel shall submit to chambers of the
undersigned an ex parte, confidential conference memorandum.
The
memorandum shall be double spaced in no less than 12 point font and
shall not exceed 10 pages.
It shall include the following: (A) a list
of the claims and defenses; (B) the legal elements of the claims and
defenses; (C) the evidence in support of the claims and defenses; (D)
a damages analysis; (E) a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses
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of the case; (F) the status of the case, including the discovery
remaining and substantive motions filed or contemplated; (G) a summary
of any insurance coverage, including whether the terms of the policy
exclude any parties or claims; (H) settlement negotiations to date;
(I) a list of all those who will attend the conference, including job
titles if pertinent to the case. The plaintiff’s counsel shall attach
a copy of the complaint to the plaintiff’s ex parte memorandum.
IV.
REQUESTS
PERTAINING
TO
THE
CONFERENCE.
Any
requests
pertaining to the conference shall be made to the chambers of the
undersigned in writing, or by telephone confirmed in writing, no later
than 10 days from the date of this order.
Any counsel requesting
continuances, which will be considered only for good cause shown,
shall consult with all opposing counsel before making the request and,
in the event of a continuance, shall notify all parties of the new
date and time.
V.
DUE DATES REMAIN IN PLACE. Counsel are reminded that the
scheduling
of
a
settlement
conference
does
not
affect
existing
deadlines and shall not delay discovery or other due dates.
SO ORDERED this 9th day of June, 2011 at Hartford, Connecticut.
_____/s/______________________
Donna F. Martinez
United States Magistrate Judge
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