(PC) Bernal v. Beard ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RUBEN RODGRIGUEZ BERNAL, No. 2:16-cv-02511-DAD-AC (PC) 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER SETTING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE 14 JEFFREY BEARD, et al., 15 Defendant. 16 17 Plaintiff Ruben Rodriguez Bernal is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this this civil 18 rights action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court has determined that this case will benefit 19 from another settlement conference. Therefore, this case will be referred to Magistrate Judge 20 Kendall J. Newman to conduct a settlement conference on October 19, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. The 21 settlement conference will be conducted by remote means, with all parties appearing by Zoom 22 video conference. The court will issue the necessary transportation order in due course. In 23 accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 24 1. This case is set for a settlement conference before Magistrate Judge Kendall J. 25 Newman on October 19, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. The settlement conference will be 26 conducted by remote means, with all parties appearing by Zoom video conference. 27 ///// 28 ///// 1 2. A representative with full and unlimited authority to negotiate and enter into a 2 binding settlement on the defendants’ behalf shall attend in person.1 3 3. Those in attendance must be prepared to discuss the claims, defenses, and 4 damages. The failure of any counsel, party, or authorized person subject to this 5 order to appear in person may result in the imposition of sanctions. In addition, 6 the conference will not proceed and will be reset to another date. 7 4. The parties are directed to exchange non-confidential settlement statements seven 8 days prior to the settlement conference. These statements shall simultaneously be 9 delivered to the court using the following email address: 10 kjnorders@caed.uscourts.gov. Plaintiff shall mail his non-confidential settlement 11 statement Attn: Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman, USDC CAED, 501 I Street, 12 Suite 4-200, Sacramento, CA 95814 so that it arrives at least seven (7) days prior 13 to the settlement conference. The envelope shall be marked “SETTLEMENT 14 STATEMENT.” The date and time of the settlement conference shall be 15 prominently indicated on the settlement statement. If a party desires to share 16 additional confidential information with the court, they may do so pursuant to the 17 provisions of Local Rule 270(d) and (e). 18 19 1 While the exercise of its authority is subject to abuse of discretion review, “the district court has the authority to order parties, including the federal government, to participate in mandatory 20 settlement conferences… .” United States v. United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, 694 F.3d 1051, 1053, 1057, 1059 (9th Cir. 2012) (“the district court has broad 21 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 22 authorized to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms 23 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 Airline Guides, Inc. v. Goss, 6 F.3d 1385, 1396 24 (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. Brinker 25 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 26 a person with full settlement authority is that the parties’ view of the case may be altered during 27 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 28 settle. Nick v. Morgan’s Foods, Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 596-97 (8th Cir. 2001). 1 5. The Clerk of the Court is directed to serve a copy of this order on the Litigation 2 Office at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility via facsimile at (619) 671-7566 or 3 by email. 4 IT IS SO ORDERED. ° Dated: _ September 8, 2022 Da A. 2, aye 6 UNITED STATES DISTRIC¥ JUDGE 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28