Taylor v. Maristone of Providence, LLC et al

Filing 43

ORDER: Settlement Conference set for 2/17/2016 at 9:30 AM before Magistrate Judge Barbara D. Holmes. Pre-Settlement Conference Telephone Conference set for 2/12/2016 at 1:00 PM to be initiated by Plaintiff's counsel. Signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara D. Holmes on 12/29/15. (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(dt) Modified on 12/30/2015 (dt).

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
CHRISTY TAYLOR
v.
MARISTONE OF PROVIDENCE, LLC; and
MARISTONE OF FRANKLIN LLC1

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NO. 3:14-0572

ORDER
On December 21, 2015, the Court held a conference call with all counsel in this case, and at
which time all counsel requested, and consented to have the undersigned Magistrate Judge conduct a
settlement conference. The parties agreed to conduct the settlement conference on Wednesday,
February 17, 2016. A pre-settlement conference telephone conference with counsel only is scheduled
for Friday, February 12, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. to be initiated by Plaintiff’s counsel as provided below.
The parties shall submit settlement conference statements no later than 3:00 p.m., on
Thursday, February 11, 2016. The parties shall adhere to the following procedure for submitting
their settlement conference statements.
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If she has not already done so, by no later than January 15, 2016, Plaintiff shall forward a
settlement demand to Defendants, and by no later than January 27, 2016, Defendants shall
forward a settlement offer to Plaintiff. The parties shall continue to engage in settlement
discussions, as appropriate, thereafter.

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By no later than 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 11, 2016, Plaintiff and Defendants
shall deliver under seal, directly to Ms. Jeanne Cox, Courtroom Deputy to the undersigned, or
Mr. Steve Wilson or Mr. Will Woods, law clerks to the undersigned, ex parte, separate
settlement conference statements which shall specify their respective settlement positions. The
parties may hand deliver their statements to chambers, or, if the statement is no more than
20 pages long, they may fax them to 615-736-7070. If faxed, the Court does not need a hard
copy. No party shall e-file, or e-mail their statement to the Court.

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No. 38).

Defendant Aabakus, Inc. was dismissed by Order entered November 10, 2015 (Docket Entry

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Counsel for Plaintiff shall initiate a conference call with the Court and the other counsel in this
case at 1:00 p.m., Friday, February 12, 2016, to discuss any matters that the Court
and/or the parties may have with regard to the conduct of the settlement conference. Each
attorney who plans to participate in the conference call should provide his or her name and
contact information to the attorney who is directed to initiate the call.

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Each settlement conference statement is to be furnished only to the Court and not to the other
side. The statement(s) shall not be filed with the Clerk of Court, which includes electronic
filing, or left in the night depository.

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Each statement shall contain a summary of the facts in the case and the parties' respective views
of the law as to the theory of liability or defense. This portion of the statement need not be as
detailed as a pretrial brief, but any critical facts or legal authority upon which the party intends
to rely should be provided.

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In their respective statements, counsel for Plaintiff and Defendants shall make a candid
assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides of the case and shall give a good faith
opinion (which can be expressed as a percentage) of each client's probable success on the
merits.

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Plaintiff’s statement shall contain an assessment from Plaintiff’s viewpoint of her damages and
the strengths and weaknesses of her position.

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Defendants’ statement(s) shall contain an assessment of the Plaintiff’s damages, Defendants’
exposure to those damages, and the respective strengths and weaknesses of Defendants’
position(s).

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Nothing in the way of a jury speech shall be contained in the settlement conference statements.

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Each statement shall contain a statement of the litigation costs to date (including attorney fees)
and an assessment of the economic cost of proceeding to trial.

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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 or her client in a settlement of the
case based on counsel's written evaluation and opinion and after a full discussion of the opinion
with the client.

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Each statement shall include the maximum amount the Defendants are willing to pay and the
minimum amount the Plaintiff is willing to accept,2 and any other terms on which the client
insists.
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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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Each statement shall recount, with specificity, the settlement discussions between the parties
to date.

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Any documents upon which the party intends to rely should be provided with the statement.
Unless the documents have already been provided in discovery or are subject to a claim of
privilege or work product, the documents (but not the accompanying statement) should also
be provided to opposing counsel.

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If Defendants intend to (or do) assert that their financial circumstances limit their ability to
settle, Defendants shall provide documentation indicating their current financial condition(s).

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Defendants’ statement(s) shall include the name(s) and position(s) of each representative of
Defendant(s) who will be present at the settlement conference and Defendants’ counsel’s
representation that such representative(s) has full settlement authority as described below.

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A settlement conference in this action shall be held on Wednesday, February 17, 2016,
at 9:30 a.m.,3 in Courtroom No. 764, U.S. Courthouse, 801 Broadway, Nashville.

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The Plaintiff and representative(s) of the Defendants shall be present with FULL
SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY. The parties are advised that unless otherwise specifically
ordered, failure to be present with full settlement authority could result in imposition of
sanctions pursuant to Rule 16(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the purposes of
this case, full settlement authority of Defendants is deemed to be up to the last demand made
by Plaintiff. Full settlement authority also means that Plaintiff and the representatives of
Defendant present at the settlement conference do not need authority from any other individual
to enter into any settlement agreement. Plaintiff and the representatives of Defendant present
at the settlement conference shall have total independent authority to enter into any settlement
agreement.
It is so ORDERED.

BARBARA D. HOLMES
United States Magistrate Judge

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The parties are advised that they should not schedule anything else on this date and to be
prepared to spend the entire day in this settlement conference, if necessary.
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