(PC) Harris v. German ( 2020 )

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 DEVONTE B. HARRIS, 1:15-cv-01462-DAD-GSA-PC 13 Plaintiff, 14 vs. ORDER SETTING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE 15 HUMBERTO GERMAN, et al., 16 Defendants. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Devonte B. Harris (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis 24 with this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court has determined that this case 25 will benefit from a settlement conference. Therefore, this case will be referred to Magistrate 26 Judge Kendall J. Newman to conduct a settlement conference on October 15, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. 27 The settlement conference will be conducted by remote means, to be determined at a later date 28 and time. The Court will issue the necessary transportation order in due course. 2 In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 3 1. This case is set for a settlement conference before Magistrate Judge Kendall J. 4 Newman on October 15, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. The settlement conference will be 5 conducted by remote means, to be determined at a later date and time. 6 2. A representative with full and unlimited authority to negotiate and enter into a binding 7 settlement on the defendants’ behalf shall attend in person.1 8 3. Those in attendance must be prepared to discuss the claims, defenses and damages. 9 The failure of any counsel, party or authorized person subject to this order to appear in 10 person may result in the imposition of sanctions. In addition, the conference will not 11 proceed and will be reset to another date. 12 4. The parties are directed to exchange non-confidential settlement statements seven days 13 prior to the settlement conference. These statements shall simultaneously be delivered 14 to the court using the following email address: kjnorders@caed.uscourts.gov. Plaintiff 15 shall mail his non-confidential settlement statement Attn: Magistrate Judge Kendall J. 16 Newman, USDC CAED, 501 I Street, Suite 4-200, Sacramento, CA 95814 so that it 17 arrives at least seven (7) days prior to the settlement conference. The envelope shall 18 be marked “SETTLEMENT STATEMENT.” The date and time of the settlement 19 conference shall be prominently indicated on the settlement statement. If a party 20 desires to share additional confidential information with the court, they may do so 21 pursuant to the provisions of Local Rule 270(d) and (e). 22 1 While the exercise of its authority is subject to abuse of discretion review, “the district court has the authority to 23 order parties, including the federal government, to participate in mandatory settlement conferences… .” United States v. United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, 694 F.3d 1051, 1053, 1057, 1059 (9th Cir. 24 2012)(“the district court has broad authority to compel participation in mandatory settlement conference[s].”). The term “full authority to settle” means that the individuals attending the mediation conference must be authorized to 25 fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable to the parties. G. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 1989), cited with approval in Official 26 Airline Guides, Inc. v. Goss, 6 F.3d 1385, 1396 (9th Cir. 1993). The individual with full authority to settle must also have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the settlement position of the party, if appropriate. Pitman v. 27 Brinker Int’l., Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485-86 (D. Ariz. 2003), amended on recon. in part, Pitman v. Brinker Int’l., Inc., 2003 WL 23353478 (D. Ariz. 2003). The purpose behind requiring the attendance of a person with full settlement 28 authority is that the parties’ view of the case may be altered during the face to face conference. Pitman, 216 F.R.D. at 486. An authorization to settle for a limited dollar amount or sum certain can be found not to comply with the requirement of full authority to settle. Nick v. Morgan’s Foods, Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 596-97 (8th Cir. 2001). 2 5. Judge Newman or another representative from the court will be contacting the parties 3 either by telephone or in person, approximately two weeks prior to the settlement 4 conference, to ascertain each party’s expectations of the settlement conference. 5 6. The Clerk of the Court is directed to serve a copy of this order on the Litigation Office 6 at California State Prison, Corcoran, via facsimile at (559) 992-7372. 7 IT IS SO ORDERED. 8 9 Dated: August 11, 2020 /s/ Gary S. Austin UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28