Parker v. Averitt Express, Inc.

Filing 27

ORDER: Settlement Conference set for 1/10/2013 at 10:00 AM before Magistrate Judge Joe Brown. By 12:00 NOON on Friday, 1/8/2013, Plaintiff and Defendant shall email to the undersigned at [e-mail], ex parte, separate settle ment conference statements which shall specify their respective settlement positions. The parties shall exchange offers and demands at least three working days prior to the 1/10/2013, conference. Signed by Magistrate Judge Joe Brown on 12/3/12. (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(dt)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
TERRY L. PARKER,

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Plaintiff
v.
AVERITT EXPRESS, INC.,
Defendant

No. 3:12-0235
Judge Nixon/Bryant/Brown
Jury Demand

O R D E R
A settlement conference is set for 10:00 a.m., on January
10, 2013, in Courtroom 783, 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. 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 defendant 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.
Defendant

By 12:00 NOON on Friday, January 8, 2013, Plaintiff and
shall

email

tnmd.uscourts.gov,
statements

which

to

ex

the

parte,

shall

undersigned
separate

specify

their

at

brownchambers@

settlement

conference

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. In their respective statements, counsel for
Plaintiff and Defendant 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 using 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 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

Defendant's
of

the

statement

Plaintiff’s

2

shall

damages,

contain

an

Defendant's

exposure to those damages, and the respective strengths
and weaknesses of Defendant's position.
c)

Nothing in the way of a jury speech shall be

contained in the settlement conference statements.
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.
g)

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.
h)

Each statement shall include the maximum amount the

Defendant is willing to pay and the minimum amount the
Plaintiff is willing to accept at the present time,3 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 January 10, 2013, conference.

3

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.

3

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

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