(PC) Marta v. CDCR ( 2022 )

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 JASON MARTA, No. 1:20-CV-00072-ADA-GSA (PC) 13 Plaintiff, 14 vs. ORDER SETTING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE 15 CDCR, 16 Defendant. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in an action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 24 The court has determined that this case will benefit from a settlement conference. Therefore, this 25 case will be referred to Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman to conduct a settlement conference 26 on February 15, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. The settlement conference will be conducted by remote means 27 with all parties appearing by Zoom video conference. The court will issue the necessary 28 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 February 15, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. The settlement conference will be 5 conducted by remote means with all parties appearing by Zoom video conference. 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 10 may result in the imposition of sanctions. In addition, a nonappearance will cause the 11 conference to not proceed and it 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. The Clerk of the Court is directed to serve a copy of this order on the Litigation Office 3 at Valley State Prison via facsimile at (559) 665-8919 or by email. 4 IT IS SO ORDERED. 5 6 Dated: November 10, 2022 /s/ Gary S. Austin UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28