Marcus v. The Farm at Natchez Trace, Inc.
Filing
21
ORDER: Dispositive Motions deadline reset to 9/8/2014. Settlement Conference set for 7/28/2014 at 9:30 AM before Magistrate Judge Joe Brown. By 12:00 NOON on Wednesday, 7/23/2014, Plaintiff and Defendant shall email to the undersigned at brownchamb ers@tnmd.uscourts.gov, ex parte, separate settlement conference statements which shall specify their respective settlement positions. Parties shall exchange offers and demands at least three working days prior to the 7/28/2014, conference. Signed by Magistrate Judge Joe Brown on 6/12/14. (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(dt)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
KAREN MARCUS,
)
)
Plaintiff
)
)
v.
)
)
THE FARM AT NATCHEZ TRACE, INC., )
)
Defendant
)
No. 3:13-0498
Judge Campbell/Brown
Jury Demand
O R D E R
A telephone conference was held with the parties to
discuss the scheduling of a settlement conference. Magistrate Judge
Griffin has advised that she not available until October for a
settlement conference.
After discussion with the parties the matter is set for
a settlement conference before the undersigned for 9:30 a.m., July
28, 2014.
In
order
to
allow
the
settlement
conference
to
be
conducted before the filing of dispositive motions the scheduling
order (Docket Entry 15) is amended to provide that dispositive
motions will be due September 8, 2014. Responses to dispositive
motions shall be filed within 28 days after service. Briefs shall
not exceed 25 pages without leave of Court. Optional replies,
limited to five pages, shall be filed within seven days after
service of the response. If dispositive motions are filed early,
the response and reply dates are moved up accordingly.
The
previously
final
set
pretrial
by
Judge
conference
Campbell
and
(Docket
trial
Entry
dates
16)
as
remain
unchanged. The following will apply to the settlement conference:
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. The parties are advised the settlement
conference
may
well
run
past
dinner
and
they
should
plan
accordingly.
1.
Defendant
By 12:00 NOON on Wednesday, July 23, 2014, Plaintiff and
shall
email
tnmd.uscourts.gov,
statements
which
ex
shall
to
the
parte,
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.
1
In their
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.
2
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. 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
Defendant’s
of
the
statement
Plaintiff’s
shall
damages,
contain
an
Defendant’s
exposure to those damages, and the respective strengths
and weaknesses of Defendant’s 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
Defendant is 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 July 28, 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/
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.
4
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