State Farm Fire and Casualty Company v. LeBlanc et al

Filing 50

ORDER re pre-trial conference instructions. Ordered by Judge Hugh Lawson on 11/7/2011. (nbp)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
VALDOSTA DIVISION
THE B & F SYSTEM, INC.,
Plaintiff,
Civil Action 7:07-CV-192 (HL)
v.
LLOYD J. LEBLANC JR., ET AL.,
Defendants.
STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY
COMPANY,
Civil Action 7:09-CV-76 (HL)

Plaintiff,
v.
LLOYD J. LEBLANC, JR., ET AL.,
Defendants.
ORDER

The case of The B & F System, Inc. v. Lloyd J. LeBlanc Jr., et al., Civil Action
No. 7:07-CV-192, is set for a pretrial conference in Macon, Georgia at 9:30 a.m. on
December 21, 2011. One of the Court’s requirements for its pretrial conferences is
that each party must come to the pretrial conference with settlement authority, or
must bring someone with settlement authority. The Court has been informed that
counsel representing Defendants in Civil Action No. 7:07-CV-192 does not have any
settlement authority, and any such authority is held by counsel for State Farm in the
declaratory judgment action, Civil Action No. 7:09-CV-76. The Court recognizes that

State Farm has filed a motion for summary judgment in the declaratory judgment
action, in which it contends that certain insurance policies do not provide insurance
coverage for the claims set forth in Civil Action No. 7:07-CV-192. The summary
judgment motion has not been fully briefed, and will not be ruled on by the time of
the pretrial conference. The Court understands that the coverage issues raised in
the summary judgment motion are factors State Farm will consider when deciding
whether to settle the case(s), but also knows those issues are not the only factors
State Farm will consider. As it has informed the parties on several occasions, the
Court believes settling the underlying case is more prudent than going to trial in
January, and therefore, the Court orders State Farm to send a representative with
settlement authority to the pretrial conference scheduled for December 21, 2011.
SO ORDERED, this 7th day of November, 2011.
s/ Hugh Lawson
HUGH LAWSON, SENIOR JUDGE
mbh

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