Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_02-cv-00442/USCOURTS-caed-2_02-cv-00442-2/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 893
Nature of Suit: Environmental Matters
Cause of Action: 00:0000 Cause Code Unknown

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Order Appointing Special Master for Settlement

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BILL LOCKYER

Attorney General of the State of California

TOM GREENE

Chief Assistant Attorney General

THEODORA BERGER

Senior Assistant Attorney General

REED SATO 

ROSE B. FUA

TIMOTHY E. SULLIVAN, State Bar No. 197054

Deputy Attorney General

1515 Clay Street, 20th Floor

P.O. Box 70550

Oakland, CA 94612-0550

Telephone: (510) 622-4038

Fax: (510) 622-2270

Attorneys for Plaintiff 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TOXIC

SUBSTANCES CONTROL,

Plaintiff,

v.

CITY OF CHICO, CALIFORNIA, et al.,

Defendants.

CASE NO. Civ.S-02-0442 LKK

DAD

ORDER APPOINTING

SPECIAL MASTER FOR

SETTLEMENT

After reviewing the progress of mediation in this action before Martin Quinn of JAMS, and

with the consent of all parties, this Court finds that the appointment of a Special Master for

purposes of further mediation and settlement is justified and necessary. 

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53 it is ORDERED that the current mediator,

Martin Quinn, JAMS, Two Embarcadero Center, Suite 1100, San Francisco, CA 94111,

(415) 982-5267, is appointed as Special Master for purposes of mediation and settlement.

The Special Master shall having the following authority, which he shall exercise with all

reasonable diligence in accordance with Rule 53:

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Order Appointing Special Master for Settlement

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1. To direct, manage, and facilitate the settlement negotiations among the parties and their

insurers.

2. To schedule mediation sessions, telephone conference calls, and other forms of

communication among the parties, and to require the parties, counsel, expert consultants, 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 effort 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 regularly scheduled status conferences the progress and

status of the settlement negotiations.

JAMS shall charge $500/hour for Mr. Quinn’s services as Special Master, plus the

normal JAMS administrative fee of 10% of the professional charges. The Special Master will

not charge for travel time within the Bay Area, will charge one-half travel time for travel to

Sacramento, and will charge full time for travel beyond Sacramento. JAMS will charge for outof-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 parties shall pay the JAMS charges for the Special

Master’s service in eight equal shares of 12.5% each: plaintiff DTSC shall pay two shares;

defendants City of Chico, the Noret defendants, the Peden defendants, Sunset View Cemetery

Association, and California Water Service Company shall each pay one share; the third-party

defendants (Shillings, Metcalf & Eddy, Chico Unified School District, Newton-Bracewell, Inc.,

Verne Lee, Lee & Lee Investments, Mary Ann Mabrey, Chico Memorial Mausoleum Assoc., and

Genevieve Conley Revocable Trust) shall pay collectively one share, which shall be divided

amongst the third-party defendants according to the terms of their agreement. If any party is

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Order Appointing Special Master for Settlement

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added to or removed from the case, the pro rata shares shall be reallocated as the parties agree or

by order of the Court. 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 ex parte with

the Court as he 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. 

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

The Clerk is directed to add Special Master Quinn to the court’s electronic service list at

mquinn@jamsadr.com and dskaggs@jamsadr.com.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: September 23, 2005. /s/Lawrence K. Karlton 

LAWRENCE K. KARLTON

SENIOR JUDGE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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