Huffnagle et al v. Loiacono

Filing 94

ORDER: Settlement Conference is set for 3/27/2014 at 9:30 AM before Magistrate Judge John S. Bryant. By 12:00 noon on Tuesday, 3/25/2014, Plaintiffs and Defendants shall deliver under seal, directly to Tina McDonald, Courtroom Deputy to the undersig ned, 797 United States Courthouse, 801 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203, confidential settlement conference statements which shall specify their respective settlement positions. Signed by Magistrate Judge John S. Bryant on 3/4/14. (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(dt)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
JAMES HUFFNAGLE, et al.,
Plaintiffs
v.
ANTHONY LOIACONO, et al.,
Defendants

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No. 3:11-1009
Judge Campbell/Bryant
Jury Demand

SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE ORDER
A settlement conference is set for 9:30 a.m., on March
27, 2014, in Courtroom 776, 801 Broadway, Nashville, Tennessee.1
The parties are advised that unless otherwise permitted,
failure to be present with full settlement authority2 could result
in imposition of sanctions pursuant to Rule 16(f) of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure. If the parties need authority from any
other person, that person must be available by phone, and the
Magistrate

Judge

must

approve

the

absence

in

advance.

The

representative present at the settlement conference must be in a
position to sign a binding agreement at the conclusion of the

1

The parties are advised that they should not schedule anything else
on this date and should be prepared to spend the entire day in this
settlement conference, if necessary. If any party has other engagements
that would interfere with the settlement conference at any time during
the day, such party must notify the Magistrate Judge of this fact in
advance of the settlement conference.
2

All named parties and their attorneys must attend, unless excused
in advance by the Magistrate Judge. Non-individual parties must have a
senior official present unless excused in advance by the Magistrate
Judge. “Full settlement authority” means the ability of the Plaintiffs
to accept the last offer and the Defendants to pay the last demand. If
authority is limited, the party must notify the Magistrate Judge in
advance of the conference.

conference, unless the Magistrate Judge has been notified of the
limitation in advance.
1.

By 12:00 noon on Tuesday, March 25, 2014, Plaintiffs and

Defendants shall deliver under seal, directly to Tina McDonald,
Courtroom Deputy to the undersigned, 797 United States Courthouse,
801

Broadway,

conference

Nashville,

statements

TN

which

37203,
shall

confidential

specify

their

settlement
respective

settlement positions. These settlement conference statements shall
not be filed with the Clerk nor served on the other parties.
Nothing in the way of a jury speech shall be contained in the
settlement conference statements.
counsel

for

Plaintiffs

and

In their respective statements,

Defendants

shall

make

a

candid

assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides of the
case and shall give a good faith opinion of each client's probable
success on the merits on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest
and 5 being the highest.
a.

Each statement shall contain a summary of the parties'

respective views of the law as to the theories of liability or
defense.
b.

Plaintiffs’ statement shall contain an assessment from

Plaintiffs’ viewpoint of their damages and the strengths
and weaknesses of their position.

c.

Defendants’ statement shall contain an assessment of the

Plaintiffs’ damages, Defendants’ exposure to those damages,
and the respective strengths and weaknesses of Defendants’
position.
d.

Each

statement

shall

contain

an

assessment of the

economic cost of proceeding to trial as well as any appeal.
e.

Each statement shall recount, with specificity, the

settlement discussions between the parties to date and the
most recent demand offer as each side has made.
f.

Each statement will describe any particular obstacles or

impediments to settlement.
2.

In the event offers and demands have not previously been

made, the parties shall exchange offers and demands at least three
(3) working days prior to the March 27, 2014, conference.
3.

Counsel for each party may present a brief opening

statement at the beginning of the settlement conference. Following
these

statements,

the

Magistrate

Judge

will

normally

meet

separately with the parties. Once the separate meetings have
concluded,

negotiations

will

proceed

as

necessitated

by

the

particular case.
It is so ORDERED.
/s/ John S. Bryant
JOHN S. BRYANT
United States Magistrate Judge