Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_04-cv-06118/USCOURTS-caed-1_04-cv-06118-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 110
Nature of Suit: Insurance
Cause of Action: 28:1391 Personal Injury

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ALLSTATE INSURANCE, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

vs. )

)

CARLY NEBE, et al., )

)

Defendants. )

)

1:04-cv-06118-OWW-SMS

ORDER REFERRING CASE TO

EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION

AND APPOINTING EVALUATOR

ORDER DIRECTING CLERK TO

MAIL EVALUATOR A COPY OF

THIS ORDER [See No. 4 below]

The parties have agreed to participate in Early Neutral

Evaluation (“ENE”) and to the selection of Donald H. Glasrud, Esq.,

as the evaluator, who has graciously agreed to so serve.

Accordingly, on the basis of good cause, it is hereby ordered:

1. That this action is referred to ENE to be conducted

pursuant to this court’s Local Rule 16-271.

2. That Donald H. Glasrud, Esq., is selected as the ENE

evaluator.

3. That the ENE session be held on June 16, 2005, at 1:30

p.m., at the law offices of Donald H. Glasrud, Esq., Dietrich,

Glasrud, Mallek & Aune, 5250 N. Palm Avenue, #402, Fresno, CA,

93704-2214, (559) 435-5250, (559) 435-8776 ~ fax.

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4. That the Clerk of Court mail a copy of this order to:

Donald H. Glasrud, Esq.

Dietrich, Glasrud, Mallek & Aune

5250 N. Palm Avenue, #402

Fresno, CA 93704-2214

(559) 435-5250

BACKGROUND re: EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION

As a convenience to the parties, the Court provides the

following background regarding ENE:

The purpose of ENE is to reduce the cost of litigation. To

this end, ENE gives litigants an early opportunity to present their

case to a neutral attorney with considerable experience in the

relevant subject area, to see a comparable presentation by their

opponent, to receive an objective evaluation of the relative

strengths and weaknesses of the parties' positions, to discuss

early settlement and, if no settlement can be reached, to develop a

streamlined discovery plan that will produce efficiently necessary

information to explore the possibility of settlement more

thoroughly. The following are important points regarding ENE:

1. Lead trial counsel and their client(s), or an authorized

representative with settlement authority, are required to

personally attend the ENE session.

2. There is no charge for the ENE service.

3. The parties shall limit pre-ENE discovery to matters

essential to making the ENE session meaningful. One purpose of ENE

is to save the parties some of the costs of discovery.

4. The parties are required to submit a written statement

directly to the evaluator, with a copy to opposing counsel,

[usually] no less than five (5) calendar days prior to the

evaluation session [however, in this particular instance,

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statements are due on or before 6/9/05], shall not exceed ten (10)

pages, and shall include and/or address the following:

A. A brief statement of the facts;

B. The pertinent principles of law;

C. The legal and factual issues in dispute;

D. Whether there are any legal or factual issues whose

early resolution may reduce the scope of the dispute or contribute

significantly to the productivity of settlement discussions;

E. The discovery that promises to contribute most to

meaningful settlement negotiations; and,

F. The person(s), in addition to counsel, who will

attend the session as that party's representative with settlement

authority.

5. At the ENE session, each party will be expected to make a

short (perhaps 15-30 minutes) informal presentation of the party’s

side of the case with supporting documents to the extent

practicable.

6. All written and oral statements made in connection with

the ENE session are absolutely CONFIDENTIAL and cannot be used in

any aspect of the case for any purpose. The evaluator shall not

communicate with the assigned judge(s) about the merits of the case

nor about what occurred at the ENE session other than whether the

case settled.

7. After the parties present their case and answer

questions, the evaluator shall explore settlement by caucusing with

the parties, communicating offers and counter-offers, and utilizing

mediation techniques to focus the parties and their attorneys on

their chances of success on legal and factual issues, to quantify

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that chance of success, and to assess the costs of continuing to

litigate unresolved issues.

8. If settlement efforts fail, the evaluator shall give his

opinion of each party's chance of success, the range of damages,

and his opinion of the probable outcome if tried.

9. The evaluator's assessments and recommendations shall be

purely advisory, shall not be communicated to the court, and shall

have no binding effect on discovery, motion practice, or other

aspects of preparation for trial. Only the assigned judge(s) can

control these matters.

10. Following the ENE session, the evaluator shall submit a

brief report to the Court stating only the date of the ENE session

and whether the matter settled.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: June 6, 2005 /s/ Sandra M. Snyder 

icido3 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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