Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_15-cv-01916/USCOURTS-caed-1_15-cv-01916-23/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

FRANK BACA,

Plaintiff,

v.

LARRY DILEO, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 1:15-cv-01916-DAD-JDP (PC)

ORDER REQUIRING DEFENDANTS TO 

SHOW CAUSE WHY SANCTIONS 

SHOULD NOT ISSUE FOR FAILURE TO 

PARTICIPATE IN SCHEDULING 

SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE IN GOOD 

FAITH

FOURTEEN DAY DEADLINE

I.

RELEVANT BACKGROUND

Frank Baca, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, filed this action on December 28, 

2015. (ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff’s first amended complaint was screened and found to state a 

cognizable claim against three unnamed defendants. (ECF No. 10.) On February 7, 2017, 

William Schmidt was selected from the court’s pro bono panel and was appointed to represent 

Plaintiff in this matter and amended complaints were filed. (ECF No. 12.) Currently, this matter 

is proceeding on the third amended complaint against Defendants J. Bal, M. Boparai, L. 

Carmichael, J. Carrick, L. DiLeo, E. Dos Santos, R. Kanan, D. Ralston, G. Song, S. Tharratt, A. 

Vasudeva, Jonathan Akanno and F. Igbinosa1for deliberate indifference for failing to treat 

 

1 Pursuant to stipulation of the parties, Defendants Schaeffer and Bzoskie, have been dismissed from this action. 

(ECF Nos. 129, 137.)

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Plaintiff’s Hepatits C virus in violation of the Eighth Amendment.2 (ECF Nos. 29, 40.) 

As relevant here, on December 12, 2019, at the request of the parties, this matter was set 

for a settlement conference before the undersigned. (ECF No. 141.) Pursuant to the December 

12, 2019 order, the parties were to submit confidential settlement statements by January 10, 

2020. Settlement statements were submitted on January 8, 2020, January 9, 2010, and January 

10, 2020. (ECF Nos. 143, 144, 145.) 

On January 15, 2020, the court received a telephone call and a follow up email

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from 

counsel requesting that the settlement conference be vacated. An informal teleconference was 

held on January 16, 2020 to address the issue. Counsel William Schmidt and Jeffrey Eisenger

appeared for Plaintiff. Counsel Jonathan Paul appeared for Defendants J. Bal, M. Boparai, L. 

Carmichael, J. Carrick, L. DiLeo, E. Dos Santos, R. Kanan, D. Ralston, G. Song, S. Tharratt, and 

A. Vasudeva. Counsel Elizabeth Frater appeared for Defendants Akanno and Igbinosa.

/ / /

/ / /

 

2 Although not named as a party in this action, the Court is aware that CDCR will indemnify the defendants in this 

action. 

3 The email stated:

Subject: Baca v. Biter 1:15-cv-01916-MJS (PC) - Settlement Conference

Ms. Hernandez:

This email is a follow up to my earlier telephone call regarding the settlement conference set for this Friday in 

the aforementioned case.

Please be advised that I have now met and conferred with all counsel in this matter and all agree that the 

settlement conference scheduled for his Friday should not go forward at this time. 

As I indicated in my phone call, the staff counsel assigned from the California Department of Corrections had to 

take an emergency leave of absence this past weekend and the matter was reassigned to another replacement 

counsel. I have been informed by the replacement counsel that it is CDCR’s position that the department will 

only be offering a waiver of costs at the settlement conference. Given the foregoing, all counsel agree that it 

would serve no purpose to move forward with the scheduled conference in light of the foregoing position.

Plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. Schmidt has indicated that he objects to CDCR’s position and handling of this matter, 

but agrees that it would serve no purpose for the conference to go forward in light of the foregoing 

circumstances.

Can you please advise as to whether the parties my take the conference off calendar at this time?

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II.

DISCUSSION

During the conference call, the parties confirmed that the settlement conference in this 

matter had been set at their request. After counsel for this action went on emergency leave this 

weekend, current counsel was informed by the California Department of Corrections and 

Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) that it would only be offering a waiver of costs in settlement of this 

action. At that time, the parties found that it would be futile to hold the settlement conference 

and reached out to the court about vacating the scheduling conference. 

The Court expects that, where the parties have requested a settlement conference, they

intend to engage in good faith negotiations to settle the matter. Although Plaintiff submitted a 

settlement offer to the defendants, there was no counter offer made. Further, it is apparent from 

the record that CDCR had decided that they would not be offering any amount in settlement of 

this action prior to the confidential settlement statements being due. While Defendants requested 

that Plaintiff participate in the settlement conference, he was not informed that there would be no 

offer other than a waiver of costs to settle the action until a few days prior to the settlement 

conference. By that time, Plaintiff’s counsel had expended time on preparing the settlement 

statement and Plaintiff had been transferred to a facility closer to the courthouse so he could 

attend the conference. 

Initially, the Court notes that Defendants were not required to participate in a settlement 

conference nor were they required to offer any amount in settlement of this action. The Court 

does not intend to indicate that a waiver of costs would be an inappropriate offer, but it does find 

Defendant’s conduct in this action concerning for reasons discussed below. This matter has been 

proceeding since December 2015. (ECF No. 1.) The defendants filed motions to dismiss that 

were denied (ECF No. 109) and there are currently pending motions for summary judgment 

(ECF No. 127, 130). Defendants may take the position that there is no merit to Plaintiff’s claims 

and he is unlikely to prevail at trial, however they were the parties that requested the settlement 

conference. By having the Court set a settlement conference, Defendants caused Plaintiff’s 

counsel to expend time preparing his confidential settlement statement and for the settlement 

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conference with the knowledge that they were not going to offer anything in settlement and that 

this matter was unlikely to settle. Further, this Court has on two prior occasions conducted 

settlement conferences during which the CDCR only offered a waiver of costs. 

By moving forward with the settlement conference with knowledge that there would be 

no settlement offer, Defendants caused Plaintiff to be transferred from Sierra Conservation Camp 

where he was housed to Valley State Prison. The Court is not unaware of the disruption faced by 

inmates when they are transferred to a new location, such as deprivation of their property and 

loss of jobs and privileges at their previous facility even if they return. Causing such disruption 

where it is apparent that settlement is futile is concerning because such action could be used for 

the purpose of coercing the inmate to cease pursing his constitutional claims for fear of being 

moved to different prisons in retaliation for filing lawsuits.

Additionally, this Court spends considerable time preparing for settlement conferences so 

as to make it meaningful to the parties and results in a greater likelihood of settlement success. 

Settlement is extremely important in this district where the judges have one of the highest 

caseloads per judge in the United States. The Court set asides time to conduct the conference. 

Two other litigants requested to set matters during this time period and their requests were 

denied so that the Court’s full attention could be directed to settling this matter. This Court 

conducts a large number of settlements for criminal and civil duty matters, which include time 

conducting jury trial. The Court’s available time is limited but the Court desires to see that 

parties get their claim/defenses adjudicated as quickly as possible. In fact on this date, the Court 

was also hearing its criminal duty matters. 

Finally, while the Court appreciates that current counsel notified Plaintiff and the Court 

that no offer would be forthcoming and the settlement conference should be vacated, Defendants 

were aware prior to submitting the confidential settlement statement that no offer would be 

forthcoming in settlement. Once Defendants decided that no monetary offer would be made to 

settle this matter and it was unlikely that this case would settle, Plaintiff’s counsel and the Court 

should have been timely notified rather than allowing Plaintiff’s counsel to incur costs of

preparing the settlement statement and having Plaintiff moved to a different prison to attend the 

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conference.

Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure gives the Court the authority to issue 

pretrial scheduling orders in civil cases, including orders to facilitate settlement of the case. Fed. 

R. Civ. P. 16(a)(5). Rule 16(f) provides a mechanism to enforce compliance with the rule. Rule 

16 provides that the court may issue any just order, including sanctions under Rule 37, if a party 

or its attorney is “substantially unprepared to participate--or does not participate in good faith. . . 

.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(f)(1)(B); see Newton v. A.C. & S., Inc., 918 F.2d 1121, 1126 (3d Cir. 

1990) (“Rule 16 authorizes courts to require parties to attend conferences for the purpose of 

discussing settlement and impose sanctions if they fail to participate in good faith.”); Pitman v. 

Brinker Int’l, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 483 (D. Ariz. 2003), amended on reconsideration in part sub 

nom. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, No. CV02-1886PHX DGC, 2003 WL 23353478 (D. Ariz. Oct. 3, 

2003). Courts have not developed clear standards for evaluating good-faith in court-ordered 

settlement, but “good faith” has been interpreted “narrowly to require compliance with orders to 

attend mediation, provide pre-mediation memoranda, and, in some cases, produce organizational 

representatives with sufficient settlement authority.” In re A.T. Reynolds & Sons, Inc., 452 B.R. 

374, 381 (S.D.N.Y. 2011) (citations omitted). 

In addition to or instead of sanctions, the court must order a party, its attorney or both to 

pay reasonable expenses incurred due to non-compliance with Rule 16, unless the 

noncompliance was substantially justified or other circumstances make the award unjust. Fed. R. 

Civ. P. 16(f)(2). Rule 16 does not limit the authority of the court in pretrial proceedings but 

enhances the district court’s inherent power to actively manage their dockets. G. Heileman 

Brewing Co. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 652 (7th Cir. 1989). Further, the Court has 

inherent power to issue sanction parties or their attorneys for improper conduct. Chambers v. 

Nasco, Inc., 501 U.S. 32, 43-46 (1991); Roadway Express, Inc. v. Piper, 447 U.S. 752, 766 

(1980); Fink v. Gomez, 239 F.3d 989, 991 (9th Cir. 2001). 

It appears to the Court that CDCR failed to act in good faith in this matter by leading 

Plaintiff to believe that a settlement was possible and causing him to incur unnecessary costs and 

inconvenience. To be clear, the Court does not find that Defendants were required to participate 

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in the settlement conference or make a settlement offer in this action; they had the right to adopt 

a “no pay” position and to choose to proceed to trial in this matter. In re A.T. Reynolds & Sons,

Inc., 452 B.R. at 382 (citing Negron v. Woodhull Hosp., 173 Fed.App’x. 77, 79 (2d Cir. 2006)). 

“It is well-settled that a court cannot force a party to settle, nor may it invoke ‘pressure tactics’ 

designed to coerce a settlement.” In re A.T. Reynolds & Sons, Inc., 452 B.R. at 382; see also

Newton, 918 F.2d at 1126 (“pressure tactics to coerce settlement simply are not permissible”). 

Here, the issue is that Defendants requested the settlement conference and caused 

Plaintiff to incur costs, expenses, and inconvenience in preparation for the settlement conference 

knowing that no settlement offer would be forthcoming and it was unlikely that the matter would 

settle. It is this conduct that the Court finds to be concerning. See Francis v. Women’s 

Obstetrics & Gynecology Grp., P.C., 144 F.R.D. 646, 648 (W.D.N.Y. 1992) (finding party acted 

in bad faith by failing to inform plaintiffs before the settlement conference that the insurance 

carrier had not yet authorized coverage); Guillory v. Domtar Indus. Inc., 95 F.3d 1320, 1335 (5th 

Cir. 1996) (affirming bad faith finding where defendant concealed its true position that it never 

intended to settle the case). 

“The purpose of a settlement conference is to facilitate a settlement or to narrow the 

disparity between the parties by the candid input of a neutral, disinterested judicial officer.” 

Pitman, 216 F.R.D. at 485. Where as here, the defendants offer nothing in settlement and are

seeking to have the court act as an advocate by convincing Plaintiff that his suit had no merit and 

convince him to settle for only a waiver of costs, it places the judge in an ethical dilemma. The 

magistrate judge is not an advocate for the party in the settlement process. For settlement to be 

possible, “it is imperative that both plaintiff and defendant arrive at a settlement conference with 

an open mind and a genuine willingness to meaningfully discuss the strengths and weaknesses of 

each party’s case.” Id. The Court does not advocate for a particular party, but seeks to help the 

parties come to a resolution agreeable to all parties. While the Court may comment on the 

strengths or weaknesses of the party’s case, it will not act as an advocate for one side by taking a 

position on the ultimate merits of the action to convince the other party to accept nothing in 

settlement. 

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III.

ORDER

Based upon the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Within fourteen (14) days of the date of entry of this order, Defendants SHALL 

SHOW CAUSE IN WRITING why sanctions should not issue requiring payment 

of Plaintiff’s attorney fees incurred in preparing for settlement of this action. 

2. Counsel for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may 

make a special appearance for the purposes of responding to the order to show 

cause.

3. The Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this order on Jennifer Neill, Office of 

Legal Affairs, P.O. Box 942883, Sacramento, California 94283-0001.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: January 21, 2020 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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