Howard v. United States ( 2024 )

1 JUAnSitOedN S Mtat.e Fs RAItEtoRrnSeOyN 2 District of Nevada Nevada Bar No. 7709 3 R. THOMAS COLONNA Assistant United States Attorney 4 REEM BLAIK Assistant United States Attorney 5 Nevada Bar No. 16386 501 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Suite 1100 6 Las Vegas, Nevada 89101 (702) 388-6336 7 Richard.Colonna@usdoj.gov Reem.Blaik@usdoj.gov 8 Attorneys for Federal Defendant 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEVADA 10 Deandre Michael Howard, Case No. 2:22-cv-01004-JAD-DJA 11 Plaintiff, 12 Federal Defendant’s Unopposed v. 13 Motion for Exception from Attendance United States of America; DOES I through Requirements for Settlement 14 X, inclusive and ROE Business Entities I Conference through X, inclusive, 15 Defendants. 16 17 The United States of America, by and through the Federal Bureau of Investigations 18 (“FBI”) (collectively “Federal Defendant”), moves for an exception to the requirements, as 19 applicable, that the upcoming mandatory settlement conference be personally attended by a 20 representative with authority to settle the matter up to the full amount of the claim. See ECF 21 No. 73 at p. 1. Federal Defendant respectfully submits that this requirement is not 22 practicable in this case, and that this kind of impracticability was contemplated by the 23 advisory committee for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as discussed below. 24 Federal Defendant requests approval to attend the settlement conference in person by 25 the undersigned Assistant United States Attorneys, R. Thomas Colonna and Reem Blaik. 26 These attorneys are assigned to the present case, and recommendations for any potential 27 settlement will originate with them. Counsel for Federal Defendant conferred with 28 Plaintiff’s Counsel, who consents to the filing of this instant motion. 1 I. Introduction 2 Plaintiff Deandre Michael Howard (“Howard”) brings this tort action under the 3 Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) against Federal Defendant. See ECF No. 33. Howard 4 alleges he sustained personal injuries from a motor vehicle accident involving an FBI 5 employee, Special Agent Mark Neira. See id. The accident happened on June 29, 2020. See 6 id. The Court scheduled the settlement conference for November 8, 2024, at 10:00 AM. See 7 ECF No. 74. 8 II. Points and Authorities 9 The federal government is unlike other litigants in terms of geographic breadth, 10 nature of issues, and number of cases. See United States v. Mendoza, 464 U.S. 154, 159 11 (1984). The authority to settle most civil cases against the government rests with varying 12 management personnel within the local United States Attorney’s Office or at the 13 Department of Justice (“DOJ”) headquarters, depending on the dollar amount and the 14 concurrence of the client agency. See 28 C.F.R. § 0.168(a); 28 C.F.R. Part 0, Subpart Y, 15 Appendix. 16 As the advisory committee recognized, “[p]articularly in litigation in which 17 governmental agencies . . . are involved, there may be no one with on-the-spot settlement 18 authority, and the most that should be expected is access to a person who would have a 19 major role in submitting a recommendation to the body or board with ultimate decision- 20 making responsibility.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16 advisory committee’s note (1993 amendment, 21 subdivision (c)). Additionally, a district court can consider alternative methods of 22 participation, such as via telephone. See United States v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for N. Mariana Islands, 23 694 F.3d 1051, 1061 (9th Cir. 2012). The United States Attorney’s Office understands the 24 importance of ENEs, settlement conferences, and other alternate dispute resolution 25 techniques in resolving civil cases. This office has participated in many of them, in good 26 faith, and consistent with the authority set forth in the applicable regulations. 27 Recommendations (through the respective DOJ and client agency chains of command) 28 1 || regarding any particular settlement proposal in this case will originate with the undersigned 2}| AUSAs. 3 Based on the reasons and circumstances above, Federal Defendant respectfully 4 || requests exception from the Order’s requirements of personal attendance by a 5 || representative with binding settlement authority up to the full amount of the claims. In lieu 6 || of such requirements, the undersigned AUSAs will personally attend the settlement 7 || conference. 8 Il. Conclusion 9 Based on the reasons and circumstances above, Federal Defendant respectfully requests that the Court grant this motion to allow the undersigned AUSAs to personally 11 || attend and participate in the settlement conference, in lieu of the personal attendance 12 || requirements otherwise set forth in the Order, ECF No. 73. 13 Respectfully submitted this 28th day of October 2024. 14 JASON M. FRIERSON I5 United States Attorney 16 /s/ Reem Blaik R. THOMAS COLONNA 17 REEM BLAIK 18 Assistant United States Attorneys 19 20 IT IS SO ORDERED: 22 IP XA) 23 DANIEL J. ALBREGIS 24 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 25 26 DATED: 10/29/2024 27 28