ORDER CONCERNING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES
MAGISTRATE JUDGE ANN MARIE DONIO
Chambers Judicial Assistant
United States District Court Sharon L. Crescenti
District of New Jersey
Mitchell H. Cohen Building & U.S. Courthouse Deputy Clerk
4th & Cooper Streets, Room 6020 Susan Bush
Camden, New Jersey 08101
Tel: 856-757-5211
Fax: 856-757-5296
Courtroom: 3A
Unless otherwise directed by the Court, the following
Order shall govern settlement conferences conducted by this
Court in this action:
1. Venue: All settlement conferences shall be conducted in
Courtroom 3A of the Mitchell H. Cohen Building & U.S.
Courthouse, unless otherwise directed by the Court and
convened in accordance with the corresponding scheduling
and/or text order.
2. Settlement Discussions: Some discussions during
settlement conferences may be conducted ex parte in part
with consent of the parties.
3. Settlement Memoranda: Counsel shall submit settlement
memoranda directly to Chambers no later than one (1) week
prior to the settlement conference via email at
[email protected]. These settlement memoranda
shall not be electronically filed, but shall be exchanged
between the parties no later than one (1) week prior to
the settlement conference.
a. Settlement memoranda must include the following: (i)
a brief description of the action, the claims and/or
counterclaims asserted, and the applicable defenses
and/or positions concerning the asserted claims,
counterclaims, and/or defenses; (ii) a specific and
current demand or offer of settlement addressing all
relief or remedies sought; (iii) a brief description
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of any previous settlement negotiations (including
prior settlement offers, if any), mediation
sessions, or mediation efforts; and (iv) a brief
delineation of any non-monetary terms and/or
conditions necessary for settlement.
4. Personal Appearance of Parties Required: All parties,
adjusters for insured defendants, and other party
representatives with full and complete settlement
authority, as well as the principal attorneys responsible
for the litigation, shall appear in person and remain
available for the duration of the settlement conference.
Counsel shall be prepared to discuss the settlement
posture of the litigation, including, without limitation,
any factual and/or legal nuance related to settlement.
a. Requests to be excused from personal attendance
shall be supported by good cause, shall address the
position of opposing counsel or any unrepresented
parties with respect to the request, and shall be
made in writing at least three (3) days prior to the
settlement conference. Any party excused from
personal attendance shall remain available
telephonically for the entire duration of the
settlement conference.
5. Full and Complete Settlement Authority Required: As set
forth supra, in addition to principal attorneys
responsible for the litigation, a party or party
representative with full settlement authority must be
present for the settlement conference. In the case of a
corporate entity, an authorized representative of the
corporation, in addition to retained outside counsel,
must be present. Counsel for a government entity may be
excused from this requirement, provided that the
government attorney who attends (1) has primary
responsibility for handling the case, and (2) may
negotiate settlement offers which the attorney is willing
to recommend to the government official having ultimate
settlement authority. See United States v. U.S. Dist. Ct.
for N. Mariana Is., 694 F.3d 1051, 1061 (9th Cir. 2012)
(noting that “district courts should take a ‘practical
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approach’ in determining whether to require the
government to send a representative with full settlement
authority to a pretrial conference and should consider
less drastic steps before doing so[]”).
a. Full and Complete Settlement Authority: A person who
must first consult with other individuals, by
telephone or otherwise, to obtain approval for any
proposed settlement term or amount does not
constitute an individual with full settlement
authority. See Platek v. Safeguard Props., Inc., No.
12-1607, 2013 WL 5357157, at *3 (W.D. Pa. Sept. 25,
2013); Foster v. Kraft Foods Glob., Inc., 285 F.R.D.
343, 350 (W.D. Pa. 2012). Rather, an individual with
full and complete settlement authority must be
prepared and able to commit the party to settlement
during the course of the conference and without
consulting a superior. See Marks v. United States,
No. 06-2807, 2007 WL 3333166, at *2 n.1 (S.D. Cal.
Nov. 9, 2007). Consequently, this person must have
“‘unfettered discretion and authority’ to change the
settlement position of a party” since discussions
during the settlement conference may alter a party’s
settlement position. Id. (quoting Pitman v. Brinker
Int'l, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485-86 (D. Ariz. 2003),
amended as to the amount of sanctions, No. 02-1886,
2003 WL 23353478 (D. Ariz. Oct. 3, 2003)). Limited
and/or finite authority, however, fails to suffice,
and would potentially constitute a violation of this
Order.
6. Requests to Continue and/or to Adjourn Settlement
Conferences: Any application to continue and/or to
adjourn any settlement conference must be presented by
way of informal letter application to the Court. The
application shall (1) be supported by good cause; (2)
shall set forth, with specificity, the reason for the
request; and (3) shall address the position of opposing
counsel with respect to any such request. Absent
extraordinary circumstances, requests for continuances
shall be submitted in writing no later than seven (7)
days prior to the scheduled conference.
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7. If the case settles in its entirety prior to the
scheduled date of the settlement conference (whether in
principal or otherwise), counsel shall immediately submit
a letter to the Court concerning the precise status of
settlement.
8. Counsel is on notice that failure to abide by this Order
Concerning Settlement Conferences may result in the
imposition of sanctions.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ Ann Marie Donio
ANN MARIE DONIO
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Dated: January 3, 2025
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