Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_01-cv-01520/USCOURTS-caed-2_01-cv-01520-13/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 893
Nature of Suit: Environmental Matters
Cause of Action: 42:9607 Real Property Tort to Land

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DONGELL LAWRENCE FINNEY CLAYPOOL LLP 

RICHARD A. DONGELL, SBN: 128083 

 (email: rdongell@dlflawyers.com)

THOMAS F. VANDENBURG, SBN: 163446 

 (email: tvandenburg@dlflawyers.com)

SHIRIN R. KIAEI, SBN: 213906 

 (email: skiaei@dlflawyers.com)

707 Wilshire Boulevard, 45th Floor 

Los Angeles, CA 90017-3609 

Telephone: (213) 943-6100 

Facsimile: (213) 943-6101 

Attorneys for Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff 

EL DORADO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Plaintiff, 

v. 

EL DORADO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA; 

and CITY OF SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, 

CALIFORNIA, 

 Defendants. 

AND RELATED ACTIONS. 

Case No. 2:01-cv-1520-MCE-GGH 

ORDER FOR APPOINTMENT 

OF SPECIAL MASTER AND 

RELIEF FROM THE COURT’S 

SCHEDULING ORDER 

Trial Date: September 19, 2007 

 

 The Parties’ Motion for the appointment of Ms. Catherine Yanni, Esq., 

(“Ms. Yanni”) as Special Master for Mediation and for an order relieving the 

Parties from the Court’s Second Amended Pretrial (Status) Scheduling Order 

having been presented to this Court, and 

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 Having considered all the papers properly filed by the Parties, and good 

cause having been shown, 

 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Parties’ Motion for the appointment of 

Ms. Yanni as Special Master for Mediation is granted and the Parties are hereby 

relieved from the deadlines imposed by the Court’s Second Amended Pretrial 

(Status) Scheduling Order. 

 Ms. Yanni shall inform the Court, within 60 days of the October 17, 2006 

mediation as to whether an additional continuance, beyond the proposed schedule 

below is warranted. 

 The Special Master shall have the following authority, which she shall 

exercise with all reasonable diligence under Rule 53: 

1. To direct, manage, and facilitate the settlement negotiations 

among the parties who have agreed to mediation, or who may agree to do so, and 

their insurers. 

2. To schedule mediation sessions, telephone conference calls, and 

other forms of communication among the mediating parties, and to require those 

parties, their counsel, and insurers to attend and participate in mediation sessions 

and/or other communications. The Special Master will make reasonable efforts to 

take into consideration the convenience of attendees when selecting locations for 

mediation sessions. 

3. To require that parties and their insurers appear and participate 

at mediation sessions with full authority to negotiate in a good faith efforts to reach 

a settlement. 

4. To take all appropriate measures to perform fairly and 

efficiently the responsibilities of a mediator in an effort to effectuate a complete 

settlement of this action. 

5. To report to the Court at a regularly scheduled status 

conferences the progress and status of the settlement negotiations. 

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 JAMS shall charge $500/hour for Ms. Yanni’s services as Special Master, 

plus the normal JAMS administrative fee of 10% of the professional charges. The 

Special Master will not charge travel time within the Bay Area, will charge onehalf travel time for travel to Sacramento, and will charge full time for travel 

beyond Sacramento. JAMS will charge for out-of-pocket expenses such as meals 

provided during mediation sessions, express mail charges, and telephone 

conference calls. No charge will be made for mileage, routine copying, faxing, 

telephone, and postage. 

 Pursuant to the Parties’ agreement, the JAMS charges for the Special 

Master’s service shall generally be divided equally among the parties. However, if 

only some of the parties are involved in a particular meeting, conference call, etc., 

the charges for that event shall be divided equally among the participating parties. 

At the request of any party, the Court shall review and approve the charges for the 

Special Master’s services. 

 The Parties may have ex parte communications with the Special Master as to 

all matters related in any way to the mediation process. The Special Master may 

communicate with the Court as she and the Court deem necessary concerning the 

status of the mediation process, but shall not disclose to the Court the specifics of 

any party’s settlement position without the consent of that party. Mediation briefs 

and any other documents submitted by the parties will not be disclosed to the Court 

by Ms. Yanni or any party. 

 The Special Master need not preserve any record of her activities. 

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 IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to the parties’ report, 

the Second Amended Pretrial (Status) Scheduling Order will be amended for 

purposes of continuing existing deadlines approximately 120 days to allow the 

parties to focus their efforts on mediation in the meantime. A separate amended 

scheduling order will be issued in that regard. 

DATED: October 12, 2006

__________________________________ 

MORRISON C. ENGLAND, JR 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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