Chen et al v. U.S. Bank National Association et al

Filing 361

ORDER SETTING BELLWETHER TRIAL DATE AND DIRECTING PARTIES TO CONFERENCE WITH ASSIGNED SETTLEMENT JUDGE. The first bellwether trial in this matter is RESET for January 25, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.. The Clerk is directed to issue a new scheduling orde r covering related pretrial deadlines. All remaining parties in this case are to participate in a mandatory settlement conference with a separate assigned judge. The details of this conference will be communicated to the parties by the in-court Deputy Clerk.by Judge Ricardo S. Martinez. (PM) cc: Xinkai Li, Yue Gu, and Sima Muroff via US Mail

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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Case No. 16-1109RSM

CHI CHEN, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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v.

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U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, et
al.,

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ORDER SETTING BELLWETHER
TRIAL DATE AND DIRECTING
PARTIES TO CONFERENCE WITH
ASSIGNED SETTLEMENT JUDGE 

Defendants.
The first bellwether trial in this case was originally scheduled for September 14, 2020.

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Dkt. #301. On August 17, 2020, Plaintiffs and Defendant U.S. Bank informed the Court that

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settlement of all claims against U.S. Bank was possible and moved to strike the trial date. Dkt.

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#342. The Court granted this Motion in part. Dkt. #343. The parties were ordered to file a joint

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status report within 60 days if complete settlement had not occurred. The Court stated “[u]nless

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the parties demonstrate a strong need for additional time to settle this case, the Court will then set

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the first bellwether trial for the next available date with sufficient time for pretrial motions to be

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heard.” Id. at 4.

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ORDER SETTING BELLWETHER TRIAL DATE AND DIRECTING PARTIES TO
CONFERENCE WITH ASSIGNED SETTLEMENT JUDGE - 1

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Many Plaintiffs in this case have settled and dismissed their claims. On October 19, 2020,

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the remaining Plaintiffs, now represented by different counsel, filed a status report. Dkt. #358.

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Defendant U.S. Bank filed a separate status report. Dkt. #359.

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Eighteen Plaintiffs remain. Dkt. #358 at 1. One of the two previously selected bellwether

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plaintiffs, Tengyao Song, settled his claims. The remaining bellwether plaintiff, Rui Mao,

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remains ready to proceed to trial. Id. Plaintiffs’ new counsel does not discuss further attempts at

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settlement.

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U.S. Bank also fails to discuss settlement efforts. See Dkt. #359. Instead, U.S. Bank
argues that a bellwether trial would be “inappropriate at this point in the case” and that a trial of

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all eighteen Plaintiffs at once is “certainly” feasible now. Id. at 2. U.S. Bank argues that a

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bellwether trial with only one Plaintiff would not serve any legitimate purpose. Id. Later U.S.

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Bank argues/admits that “[n]early all of the remaining plaintiffs live in China,” and that “[t]ravel

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and other pandemic-related restrictions would inhibit their ability to attend the trial.” Id. at 3.

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U.S. Bank requests leave for supplemental briefing on the bellwether trial process “given the

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fundamentally altered nature of this case.” Id.

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The Court disagrees that settlement efforts have fundamentally altered the nature of this

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case. This remains a multi-plaintiff case with the same legal issues, logistical problems, and

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procedural history. The bellwether trial issue has been fully briefed and ruled on.

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Neither party has presented any evidence that further time is needed for settlement

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discussions. As stated in the Court’s prior Order, a new scheduling order will thus be issued

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assigning a bellwether trial date of January 25, 2021.

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However, given the arrival of new Plaintiffs’ counsel and the substantial number of
Plaintiffs who have settled their claims, the Court finds that the parties would strongly benefit

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ORDER SETTING BELLWETHER TRIAL DATE AND DIRECTING PARTIES TO
CONFERENCE WITH ASSIGNED SETTLEMENT JUDGE - 2

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from working with a settlement judge prior to trial. The Court will therefore direct the parties, or

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at least their counsel, to attend a mandatory settlement conference with that judge in November

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or December. The Court notes that Defendants Quartzburg Gold, L.P., ISR Capital, LLC, and

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Idaho State Regional Center, LLC, who have not filed a status report, suggested on March 20,

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2020, that the Court “order a Mandatory Settlement Conference… at the earliest feasible date
after the ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19 subside.” Dkt. #259 at 1.
Having considered the applicable briefing submitted by the parties and the entire record,
the Court hereby finds and ORDERS:
1) The first bellwether trial in this matter is RESET for January 25, 2021. The Clerk is

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directed to issue a new scheduling order covering related pretrial deadlines.

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2) All remaining parties in this case are to participate in a mandatory settlement

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conference with a separate assigned judge. The details of this conference will be

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communicated to the parties by the in-court Deputy Clerk.

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DATED this 21s day of October, 2020.

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A

RICARDO S. MARTINEZ
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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ORDER SETTING BELLWETHER TRIAL DATE AND DIRECTING PARTIES TO
CONFERENCE WITH ASSIGNED SETTLEMENT JUDGE - 3