Pearson Education, Inc. et al v. C & N Logistics, Inc. et al

Filing 104

ORDER setting settlement conference (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(JBB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
Pearson Education, Inc. et al
Plaintiffs,
v.

Defendant

)
)
)
)
) No. 3:18-438
) Judge Richardson/Holmes
) /Brown
) JURY DEMAND
)
)
)

C&N Logistics, Inc. et al
SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE ORDER
A settlement conference is set for, Nov. 19, 2019, at
10:10am in Courtroom 783, 801 Broadway,

Nashville, Tennessee.

The parties are advised that unless otherwise permitted,
failure to be present with full settlement authority 1 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

All named parties and their lead attorney must attend. Nonindividual 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. It is understood
Governmental agencies may have limited authority and their attorneys may
have only the authority to recommend a settlement. In this case Counsel
for Plaintiffs may have company representative available by phone.

conference, unless the Magistrate Judge has been notified of the
limitation in advance. The parties are advised the settlement
conference

may

well

run

past

5:00

pm

and

they

should

plan

accordingly.
1.
Defendant

By 12:00 NOON on Friday Nov. 15, 2019, Plaintiff and
shall

email

tnmd.uscourts.gov,
statements

which

ex

to

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. In their
respective statements, counsel 2 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 BRIEF summary of the

parties' respective views of the law as to the theory of
liability or defense. Excessive case citations will not help.
(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.

2
2 The Plaintiffs are pro se but they are still referred to as counsel in this
order.

(ii)
assessment

Defendant’s statement shall contain
of

the

Plaintiff’s

damages,

an

Defendant’s

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

Each statement shall contain an assessment of the

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

Each statement shall recount, with specificity, the

settlement discussions between the parties to date and the
most recent demand/offer each side has made.
d) Each statement will describe any particular obstacles
or impediments to settlement.
e)

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.
f)

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,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 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 if they
believe it would be helpful. No statements are required. Following
these statements, if any, the Magistrate Judge will normally meet
separately with the parties starting with the Plaintiff(s). 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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