Ring v. Humphreys County, Tennessee et al

Filing 91

ORDER: Settlement Conference set for 12/19/2013, at 9:30 AM in Courtroom 783 before Magistrate Judge Joe Brown. By 12:00 NOON on Friday, December 13, 2013, Plaintiff and Defendants shall email to the undersigned at [e-mail], ex parte, separate settlement conference statements which shall specify their respective settlement positions. Signed by Magistrate Judge Joe Brown on 10/10/13. (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(tmw)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
DARRIN T. RING,

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Plaintiff
v.
HUMPHREYS COUNTY, TENNESSEE,
et al.,
Defendants

No. 3:12-0016
Magistrate Judge Bryant/Brown
Jury Demand

O R D E R
A telephone conference was held with the parties in this
matter on October 10, 2013, concerning a date for a settlement
conference. While the Magistrate Judge would like to have scheduled
the settlement conference a little quicker, because of the number
of attorneys involved it appears that the first available date is
Thursday,

December

19,

2013,

at

9:30

a.m.,

Courtroom

783.

Accordingly, the settlement conference is set for that date.
The following will govern that settlement conference. The
Magistrate Judge understands that counsel for the insurance company
will have authority and a representative of the insurance company
need not attend provided that they are available, if necessary, for
any consultations by telephone.
The Magistrate Judge further understands that there have
been some discussions about dropping certain parties and claims
from the case. It would be helpful if the parties could file any
such documentation prior to the settlement conference so that only

the true parties in interest are involved in the actual settlement
process.
The parties are advised that unless otherwise permitted,
failure to be present with full settlement authority1 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
conference, unless the Magistrate Judge has been notified of the
limitation in advance.
conference

may

well

The parties are advised the settlement
run

past

dinner

and

they

should

plan

accordingly.
1.

By 12:00 NOON on Friday, December 13, 2013, Plaintiff

and Defendants shall email to the undersigned at brownchambers@
tnmd.uscourts.gov,
statements

which

ex
shall

parte,

separate

specify

their

settlement

conference

respective

settlement

positions. These settlement conference statements shall not be
filed with the Clerk nor served on the other parties.

In their

respective statements, counsel for Plaintiff and Defendants shall

1

All named parties and their attorneys must attend. 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
Plaintiff 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.

2

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 using a scale of 1 to 5,
with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. Nothing in the way
of a jury speech shall be contained in the settlement conference
statements.
a)

Each

statement

shall

contain

a

summary

of

the

parties' respective views of the law as to the theory of
liability or defense.
(i)

Plaintiff’s

statement

shall

contain

an

assessment from Plaintiff’s viewpoint of Plaintiff’s
damages and the strengths and weaknesses of Plaintiff’s
position.
(ii)
assessment

Defendants’
of

the

statement

Plaintiff’s

shall

damages,

contain

an

Defendants’

exposure to those damages, and the respective strengths
and weaknesses of Defendants’ position.
c)

Each statement shall contain an assessment of the

economic cost of proceeding to trial as well as any appeal.
d)

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.
e) Each statement will describe any particular obstacles
or impediments to settlement.

3

f)

Each settlement conference statement also shall

contain a statement of counsel’s best judgment as to the
amount which should be paid or received by his client in a
settlement of the case based on counsel’s evaluation and
opinion and after a full discussion with the client.
g)

Each statement shall include the maximum amount the

Defendants are willing to pay and the minimum amount the
Plaintiff is willing to accept at the present time,2 and any
other terms on which the client insists.
2.

In the event offers and demands have not previously been

made, the parties shall exchange offers and demands at least three
working days prior to the December 19, 2013, 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/
Joe B. Brown
JOE B. BROWN
United States Magistrate Judge

2

Essentially, the parties shall provide their “bottom line.”
However, the parties should be prepared to negotiate further from these
figures during the course of the settlement conference.

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