LOL Finance Company v. Johnson et al

Filing 224

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER - The pretrial conference is continued to December 29, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. A settlement conference will be held before the undersigned with counsel and representatives of the parties on December 15, 2010 beginning at 9:00 a.m. in chambers, 566 Federal Building and United States Courthouse, 100 Centennial Mall. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart. (KBJ)

LOL Finance Company v. Johnson et al

Doc. 224

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA LOL FINANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. ROBERT P. JOHNSON, et. al., Defendants.
IT IS ORDERED: 1) The pretrial conference is continued to December 29, 2010 at 1:00 p.m., and a. The pretrial conference will be conducted by WebEx conferencing. To facilitate this conferencing method, the parties' proposed Pretrial Conference Order and Exhibit List(s) must be emailed to [e-mail], in either Word Perfect or Word format, by 5:00 p.m. on December 28, 2011. b. An email will be sent to counsel of record on December 21, 2011 with the instructions and codes for participating in the pretrial conference by WebEx conferencing. 2) A settlement conference will be held before the undersigned with counsel and representatives of the parties on December 15, 2010 beginning at 9:00 a.m. in chambers, 566 Federal Building and United States Courthouse, 100 Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, Nebraska. The parties' representatives and/or counsel shall be prepared to participate and negotiate a settlement of this case during the conference in accordance with the following provisions: a. Unless excused by order of the court, clients or client representatives with complete authority to negotiate, consummate, and pay or accept payment in full settlement of the case shall attend the settlement conference. Any insurance company that is a party or is contractually required to defend or to pay damages, if any, assessed within its policy limits in this case must have a fully authorized settlement representative present. If trial counsel has been fully authorized to commit the client to pay or to accept in settlement the amount last proposed by the opponent, in counsel's sole discretion, the client, client representative, or insurance company representative, as applicable, need not attend. In the event counsel for any party is aware of any circumstance which might cast doubt on a client's compliance with this

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4:09CV3224

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Dockets.Justia.com

paragraph, s/he shall immediately discuss the circumstance with opposing counsel to resolve it well before the settlement conference, and, if such discussion does not resolve it, request a telephone conference with the court and counsel. b. Unless personal attendance of a client is excused by the court prior to commencement of the conference, the settlement conference will be canceled or rescheduled if counsel appears for the settlement conference without clien t representatives or insurance company representatives who are a u th o riz e d as described above. The non-complying party, attorney, or b o th may be assessed the costs and expenses incurred by other parties a n d the court as a result of such cancellation, as well as any additional s a n c tio n s deemed appropriate by the court. Counsel are responsible for tim e ly advising any involved non-party insurance company of the re q u ire m e n ts of this order. Prior to the settlement conference, counsel shall discuss settlement with th e ir respective clients and insurance representatives, and shall e x c h an g e with opposing counsel proposals for settlement so the p a r a m e te r s of settlement have been explored well in advance. If as a re s u l t of such discussions, counsel for any party believes that the p a rtie s' respective settlement positions are so divergent, or for any other re a so n , that settlement is not reasonably possible in this matter, he or sh e shall seek a conference with the undersigned and opposing counsel, b y telephone or otherwise, to determine whether the settlement co n f e re n ce should be canceled or postponed. To avoid unnecessary in c u rrin g of travel and other expenses if the settlement conference is c a n ce lle d or postponed, request for a conference to discuss cancellation o r postponement must be made on or before December 13, 2010. Counsel shall submit a confidential settlement statement to the u n d e r sig n e d no later than two working days prior to the conference, s e ttin g forth the relevant positions of the parties concerning factual issu e s, issues of law, damages, and the settlement negotiation history o f the case, including a recitation of any specific demands and offers th a t have been conveyed. The statement should not exceed five (5) p a g e s in length and will not be made a part of the case file. Notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 408, Fed. R. Evid., all s ta te m e n ts made by the parties relating to the substance or merits of the

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c a se , whether written or oral, made for the first time during the s e ttle m e n t conference shall be deemed to be confidential and shall not b e admissible in evidence for any reason in the trial of the case, should th e case not settle. This provision does not preclude admissibility in o th e r contexts, such as pertaining to a motion for sanctions regarding th e settlement conference.

December 2, 2010.

BY THE COURT: s/ Cheryl R. Zwart United States Magistrate Judge

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