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7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
8 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
9 EASTERN DIVISION
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XXX, Case No. CVXX-XXXX-XXX (DTBx)
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Plaintiff, ) ORDER RE SETTLEMENT
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v. ) CONFERENCE
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XXX, )
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15 Defendants. )
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PLEASE READ THIS ORDER CAREFULLY
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IT IS ORDERED that the parties shall appear for a settlement conference on
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__________________, at _____ a.m., in Courtroom 4 of the United States District
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Court, Eastern Division, Riverside Courthouse, located at 3470 Twelfth Street,
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Riverside, California.
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23 1. Pursuant to Local Rule 16-15.5, all settlement proceedings shall be
24 confidential and no statement made therein shall be admissible in any proceeding
25 unless the parties otherwise agree. No part of a settlement proceeding shall be
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1 reported otherwise recorded, without consent of the parties, except for any
2 memorialization of a settlement.
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2. Pursuant to Local Rule 16-15.5(b), each party shall appear at the settlement
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proceeding in person or by a representative with final authority to settle the case.
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Final authority is defined as having authority to settle the matter for the amount of
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the last demand or counter-offer made by opposing party. All persons whose consent
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is necessary to conclude a settlement shall be present personally. Parties or agents
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possessing authority to settle who are located outside of the Central District of
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California may be available by telephone, only with the Court=s permission, provided
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that they remain available by telephone after normal business hours at the place
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where the party or agent is located, until released by the Magistrate Judge. If a party
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desires to be excused from making a personal appearance, counsel for the party
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should immediately contact the clerk to determine whether such a request will be
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granted.
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3. If a proposed settlement must be presented for approval to board or
17 committee, the person whose recommendation is normally followed by the board or
18 committee must be the person present.
19 4. If this case includes the United States or any of its agencies as a party, the
20 attendance of the Assistant United States Attorney charged with responsibility for
21 the conduct for the case and who has final settlement authority as provided by his or
22 her superiors shall be present. See Local Rule 16-15.5(b).
23 5. Subject to paragraph 2 above, counsel appearing without their clients, or
24 parties appearing without full settlement authority, will cause the settlement
25 conference to be cancelled and rescheduled. The noncomplying party, attorney or
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both, may be assessed the costs and expenses incurred by other parties as a result of
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such cancellation and rescheduling.
3 6. Unless otherwise excused by the Court, no later than twelve (12) days
4 before the date of the settlement conference, counsel for the plaintiff shall deliver a
5 written settlement demand to counsel for defendant. Counsel for defendant shall fax
6 or hand-deliver a written response to counsel for plaintiff no later than nine (9) days
7 before the date of the settlement conference; if the plaintiff=s demand is not accepted,
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defendant=s written response must include a counter-settlement offer. Plaintiff must
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then fax or hand-deliver a reply to the defendant=s counter offer no later than five (5)
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days before the date of the settlement conference; if the defendant=s counter-offer is
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rejected, the plaintiff=s reply must contain a counter-settlement demand. All
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demands and counter-offers must be accompanied by a brief explanation of the
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party=s settlement proposal. PLEASE NOTE: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH
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THIS REQUIREMENT OF EXCHANGING SETTLEMENT DEMANDS PRIOR
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TO THE CONFERENCE MAY REQUIRE A RESCHEDULING OF THE
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SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE.
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18 7. No later than noon, (7 days before), each party shall deliver a
19 Confidential Settlement Statement by email to the Magistrate Judge=s
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[email protected]. The statement shall be in
21 the form of a letter and shall not exceed five (5) pages in length. The statement shall
22 be clearly titled AConfidential,@ for the purposes of the settlement conference only.
23 The Confidential Settlement Conference Statement shall not be filed. The statement
24 shall contain the following information:
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a. A summary of the factual background of the case;
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b. A summary of the important legal and factual issues presented
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by the case, and the submitting party=s position on each issue;
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c. A description of the damages or other relief sought by or against
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the submitting party;
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d. A summary of the settlement negotiations or other means of
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alternative dispute resolution utilized prior to the date of the
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statement, including the content and date of any offers of
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compromise made or received by the submitting party, and the
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content and date of any responses to such offers;
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e. A description of the proceedings to date, including any case
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management/discovery deadlines and any previous rulings by the
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court on dispositive or other relevant motions;
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f. The trial date, the pre-trial conference date, the estimated length
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of trial and whether a court or jury trial is contemplated; and
17 g. Any other relevant circumstances that counsel believe will assist
18 the Court in conducting the settlement conference.
19 8. The failure of any party to timely submit a Settlement Conference
20 Statement in compliance with this Order, or otherwise comply strictly with this
21 Order, will result in the Settlement Conference being ordered off calendar and may
22 result in sanctions being imposed.
23 9. The Magistrate Judge may, in his discretion, converse with the lawyers, the
24 parties, the insurance representatives, or any one of them outside of the hearing of
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1 used by counsel in settlement negotiations with opposing counsel. This is a
2 necessary requirement in order to avoid intentional or unintentional misquotation of
3 the judge=s comments. If all counsel and parties are not present to hear the Court=s
4 opinions, it is all too easy for counsel to misrepresent the Court=s comments in an
5 effort to obtain a tactical advantage with opposing counsel. Violation of this policy
6 may be misleading and therefore a hindrance to settlement.
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10. Counsel should have available for the Court=s review copies of all key
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documents in the case, including copies of any significant witness statements,
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testimony, or portions thereof, that counsel believes will be relevant.
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11. If settlement between any or all parties is reached as a result of the
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Settlement Conference, it is the responsibility of all counsel to immediately report
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the settlement to the District Judge=s courtroom deputy clerk, as well as to timely
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memorialize the settlement. See Local Rule 16-15.7.
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16 Dated: __________________ ______________________________
DAVID T. BRISTOW
17 United States Magistrate Judge
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