Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-02066/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-02066-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 480
Nature of Suit: Consumer Credit
Cause of Action: 15:1692 Fair Debt Collection Act

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

GAIL P. ARCINIEGA, an

individual,

Plaintiff,

v.

THE BEST SERVICE COMPANY; DOES

1-10, INCLUSIVE,

Defendants. 

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Civil No. 13cv2066 JAH(RBB)

NOTICE AND ORDER FOR EARLY

NEUTRAL EVALUATION CONFERENCE

Due to the Court's calendar and in order to encourage maximum

participation of all litigants and the Court, good cause appears to

continue the early neutral evaluation conference beyond forty-five

days of the filing of the first answer.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that an early neutral evaluation of your

case will be held before United States Magistrate Judge Ruben B.

Brooks, United States Courthouse, 221 West Broadway, Courtroom 2C,

San Diego, California, on November 26, 2013, at 2:00 p.m.

Pursuant to Rule 16.1(c) of the Local Rules of the United

States District Court for the Southern District of California, all

parties (including those who are indemnified by others), claims

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adjusters for insured Defendants and non-lawyer representatives

with full and unlimited authority1 to enter into a binding

settlement, as well as the principal attorneys responsible for the

litigation, must be present and legally and factually prepared to

discuss and resolve the case. Corporate counsel shall not appear

on behalf of a corporation as the party representative who has the

authority to negotiate and enter into a settlement. Failure to

attend or obtain a proper excusal will be considered grounds for

sanctions. (Where the suit involves the United States or one of

its agencies, only counsel for the United States with full

settlement authority need appear.) (If Plaintiff is incarcerated

in a penal institution or other facility, the Plaintiff's presence

is not required and Plaintiff may participate by telephone. In

that case, defense counsel is to coordinate the Plaintiff's

appearance by telephone.)

Plaintiff's(s') counsel shall give notice of the early neutral

evaluation conference to all defendants filing an answer after the

date of this notice.

All conference discussions will be informal, off the record,

privileged and confidential. Absent good cause shown, if any

party, counsel or representative fails to promptly appear at the

1 "Full authority to settle" means that the individuals at

the settlement conference be authorized to fully explore settlement

options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms

acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph

Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648 (7th Cir. 1989). The person needs to have

"unfettered discretion and authority" to change the settlement

position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int'l, Inc., 216 F.R.D.

481, 485-86 (D. Ariz. 2003). The purpose of requiring a person

with unlimited settlement authority to attend the conference

includes that the person's view of the case may be altered during

the face-to-face conference. Pitman at 486. A limited or a sum

certain of authority is not adequate. Nick v. Morgan's Foods,

Inc., 270 F.3d 590 (8th Cir. 2001).

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settlement conference, fails to comply with the terms of this

Order, including the failure to timely provide the settlement

conference memoranda WHEN REQUESTED, is substantially unprepared to

meaningfully participate in the settlement conference, or fails to

participate in good faith in the settlement conference, the

settlement conference may be vacated and sanctions may be imposed

pursuant to Rules 16(f) and 37(b)(2)(B), (C), and (D), Federal

Rules of Civil Procedure.

In the event the case does not settle at the early neutral

evaluation conference, the parties shall also be prepared to

discuss the following matters at the conclusion of the conference:

1. Any anticipated objections under Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure 26(a)(1)(E) to the initial disclosure provisions of

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1)(A-D);

2. The scheduling of the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26

(f) conference (except in patent cases where no later than twentyone days before the early neutral evaluation conference, the

parties are to meet and confer pursuant to Rule 26(f));

3. The date of initial disclosure and the date for lodging

the discovery plan following the Rule 26(f) conference; and

4. The scheduling of a case management conference pursuant to

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b).

The Court will issue an order following the early neutral

evaluation conference addressing these issues and setting dates as

appropriate.

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Questions regarding this case may be directed to the

magistrate judge's research attorney at (619) 557-3404.

Dated: October 24, 2013 

RUBEN B. BROOKS

United States Magistrate Judge

cc: All Parties of Record

A Notice of Right to Consent to Trial Before a United States

Magistrate Judge is attached for your information.

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NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CONSENT TO TRIAL BY UNITED STATES

MAGISTRATE JUDGE

In accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), you

are hereby notified that a United States Magistrate Judge of this

district may, upon the consent of all parties, conduct any or all

proceedings, including a jury or non-jury trial, and order the

entry of a final judgment. Consent forms are available in the

Clerk's office. Counsel for the Plaintiff shall be responsible for

obtaining the consent of all parties, should they desire to

consent.

You should be aware that your decision to consent or not to

consent is entirely voluntary and should be communicated solely to

the Clerk of the Court. Only if all parties consent will the

district judge or magistrate judge to whom the case has been

assigned be informed of your decision.

Judgments of the United States Magistrate Judges are

appealable to the United States Court of Appeals in accordance with

this statute and the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure unless

the parties at the time of their consent to trial before a

magistrate judge agree upon review by the United States District

Court.

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