(PC) Lewis v. Gipson ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DARONTA TYRONE LEWIS, Case No. 1:20-cv-00574-NONE-HBK 12 Plaintiff, ORDER REFERRING CASE TO ADR, STAY OF CASE FOR 90 DAYS, AND DENYING 13 v. PLAINTIFF’S MOTION WITHOUT PREJUDICE 14 CONNIE GIPSON, ET. AL., (Doc. No. 124) 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff Daronta Tyrone Lewis initiated this action proceeding pro se by filing a civil 18 rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 stemming from an incident that occurred during Plaintiff’s 19 medical transport by a van that allegedly was not ADA compliant, so his wheelchair was not 20 properly secured in the transport van, before the defendants drove recklessly. (Doc. No. 1). By 21 way of background, on September 22, 2021 the district court adopted the Findings and 22 Recommendations granting in part and denying in part defendants’ motion to dismiss. (Doc. Nos. 23 117, 120). Defendants filed their answers and affirmative defenses on October 20, 2021. (Doc. 24 No. 123). 25 The court refers all civil rights cases filed by prisoners to Alternative Dispute Resolution 26 (ADR) to attempt to resolve such cases more expeditiously and less expensively. In appropriate 27 cases, defense counsel from the California Attorney General’s Office have agreed to participate in 28 ADR. No claims, defenses, or objections are waived by the parties’ participation. The court, 1 therefore, STAYS this action for 90 days to allow the parties to investigate Plaintiff’s claims, 2 meet and confer, and participate in an early settlement conference. The court presumes that all 3 such cases assigned to the undersigned will proceed to a settlement conference. However, if after 4 investigating Plaintiff’s claims and meeting and conferring either party finds that a settlement 5 conference would be a waste of resources, that party may opt out of the early settlement 6 conference and the Court will issue a Case Management and Scheduling Order. 7 The Court notes on October 20, 2021, Plaintiff filed a pleading titiled “motion for 8 judgement on the merits of claims and proof provided undisputable by defendants.” (Doc. No. 9 124). Plaintiff’s motion consists of approximately 32-pages and mainly re-alleges the facts and 10 claims set forth in the Complaint. (See generally Doc. No. 124). The motion is not accompanied 11 by any supporting exhibits and sporadically after page 10 is labeled a memorandum.1 (Id. at 10, 12 13, 15-19). Liberally construed, Plaintiff’s motion seeks a judgment on the pleadings under 13 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c). Judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c) is proper 14 only after the pleadings are closed and when the moving party establishes on the face of the 15 pleadings that there is no material issue of fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment 16 as a matter of law. Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner and Co., 896 F.2d 1542, 1550 (9th 17 Cir. 1990). Defendants’ response to the Plaintiff’s construed motion will be stayed during this 18 period. Should the parties opt out of engaging in settlement conference, Defendant’s response to 19 the Plaintiff’s construed motion will be due within twenty-one (21) days of the Court’s liftin of 20 the stay. 21 Accordingly, it is ORDERED: 22 1. This action is STAYED for 90 days to allow the parties an opportunity to settle 23 their dispute before the discovery process begins. No pleadings or motions, including 24 Defendants’ response to Plaintiff’s construed motion (Doc. No. 124), shall be filed in this case 25 during the stay. The parties shall not engage in formal discovery, but they may engage in 26 27 1 However, Plaintiff further alleges that the court “continues to misconstrue” his motions and cause him embarrassment, shame, and “assassination of his character.” (See Doc. No. 124 at 8). Such allegations are 28 inconsistent with the intent of a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings. 1 | informal discovery to prepare for the settlement conference. 2 2. Within 30 days from the date of this order, either party may file notice indicating 3 | their belief that settlement is not achievable at this time. If either party opts out of the settlement 4 | conference the court will issue an amended discovery and scheduling order. 5 3. If neither party opts out, the assigned Deputy Attorney General SHALL within 45 6 | days of this Order contact the undersigned’s Courtroom Deputy Clerk at kdunbar- 7 | kari@caed.uscourts.gov to schedule the settlement conference. Before doing so, defense counsel 8 | should confirm with Plaintiff's counsel that Plaintiff will have access to Zoom on their proposed 9 | date for the settlement conference. 10 4. If the parties reach a settlement during the stay of this action, they SHALL file a 11 | Notice of Settlement as required by Local Rule 160. 12 5. The Clerk of Court shall serve Deputy Attorney Generals Matthew Roman, Patrick 13 | Petersen, and Supervising Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Bragg with a copy of the 14 | Complaint (Doc No. 1), the Findings and Recommendation (Doc. No. 117) and this Order. 15 6. The parties are obligated to keep the court informed of their current addresses 16 | during the stay and the pendency of this action. Changes of address must be reported promptly in 17 | a Notice of Change of Address. See Local Rule 182(f). 18 | Dated: _ October 22, 2021 Mihaw. Wh. foareh Zaskth 20 HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 22 23 24 25 26 27 28