1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DAVID W. FAUNCE, Case No.: 21cv363-MMA(LR) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER FOLLOWING VIDEO CASE 13 v. MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE 14 J. MARTINEZ, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 On November 2, 2022, the Court held a video Case Management Conference in 19 this case. (See ECF No. 97.) Pursuant to the discussions with the parties during the 20 conference, the Court issues the following ORDERS: 21 1. The parties are to meet and confer regarding their outstanding discovery 22 requests and responses on or before November 17, 2022; 23 2. Defendants are to file an Opposition, if any, to Plaintiff’s “Motion to 24 Determine Sufficiency of Admission Responses by Defendant E. Ortiz and Defendant C. 25 Godinez” [ECF No. 59] on or before November 30, 2022. Further, if the parties have not 26 resolved their discovery dispute raised by Plaintiff in his “Motion to Compel Production 27 of Documents and Tangible Things” [ECF No. 49], Defendants are to file an Opposition, 28 to Plaintiff’s motion [ECF No. 49] on or before November 30, 2022. Upon completion 1 of the briefing the Court will take Plaintiff’s motions [ECF Nos. 49 & 59] under 2 submission pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7.1(d) and will issue a written order. 3 3. Due to a conflict on the Court’s calendar, a video Mandatory Settlement 4 Conference (“MSC”) currently scheduled for March 1, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. is RESET for 5 March 8, 2023, at 9:30 a.m., before Magistrate Judge Lupe Rodriguez, Jr. Counsel for 6 Defendants shall arrange Plaintiff’s video appearance with the institution housing 7 Plaintiff. All discussions at the MSC will be informal, off the record, privileged, and 8 confidential. The following rules and deadlines apply: 9 a. Appearance via Videoconference Required: All named parties, 10 party representatives, claims adjusters for insured defendants, as well as the principal 11 attorney(s) responsible for the litigation, must be present and legally and factually 12 prepared to discuss and resolve the case at the MSC. Counsel appearing without their 13 clients will be sanctioned, and the Court will terminate the conference. 14 b. Full Settlement Authority Required: A party or party 15 representative with full settlement authority1 must be present at the conference. A 16 government entity may be excused from this requirement so long as the government 17 attorney who attends the MSC has (1) primary responsibility for handling the case, and 18 (2) authority to negotiate and recommend settlement offers to the government official(s) 19 having ultimate settlement authority. 20 c. Confidential Settlement Statements Required: On or before 21 March 1, 2023, the parties shall submit directly to Magistrate Judge Rodriguez’s 22 chambers (via hand delivery, mail, or by e-mail to the Court at 23 efile_rodriguez@casd.uscourts.gov), confidential settlement statements. The statements 24 25 1 “Full settlement authority” means that a person is authorized to fully explore settlement options and to 26 agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion and 27 authority” to change the settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485–86 (D. Ariz. 2003). Limited or a sum certain authority is not adequate. See Nick v. Morgan’s 28 1 are limited to ten (10) pages, plus an additional ten (10) pages of exhibits. A settlement 2 statement must outline (1) the nature of the case and the claims, (2) the party’s position 3 on liability or defenses; (3) the party’s position regarding settlement of the case with a 4 specific demand/offer for settlement, and (4) a summary of any previous settlement 5 negotiations or mediation efforts. The settlement statement must specifically identify 6 what the discovery process revealed and the effect that the evidence has on the issues in 7 the case. To the extent specific discovery responses, portions of deposition testimony, or 8 expert reports are pertinent to the Court’s evaluation of the matter, these documents must 9 be attached as exhibits. Evidence supporting or refuting either party’s claim for damages 10 must also be identified and included as an exhibit. 11 If a party cannot make a specific demand or offer, then the party must explain why 12 a demand or offer cannot be made and when the party will be able to state a demand or 13 offer. The settlement statement should be submitted confidentially and need not be 14 shared with other parties. 15 d. The Court will e-mail each MSC participant an invitation to join a 16 Zoom video conference. No later than March 1, 2023, Defendants’ counsel must send 17 an e-mail to the Court at efile_rodriguez@casd.uscourts.gov containing the following: 18 (1) The name of each participant; 19 (2) An e-mail address for each participant to receive the Zoom 20 video conference invitation; and 21 (3) A telephone number where each participant may be reached so 22 that if technical difficulties arise, the Court will be able to proceed telephonically instead 23 of by video conference. 24 / / / 25 / / / 26 / / / 27 / / / 28 / / / 1 All other deadlines and requirements set in the Court’s “Second Amended 2 || Scheduling Order Regulating Discovery and Other Pre-trial Proceedings” remain 3 |}unchanged. (See ECF No. 67.) 4 IT IS SO ORDERED. 5 ||Dated: November 3, 2022 FY 7 Honorable Lupe Rodriguez, Jr. United States Magistrate Judge 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28