Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_22-cv-01536/USCOURTS-caed-1_22-cv-01536-4/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

EDWARD TORRES,

Plaintiff,

v.

JASON QUICK, et al.,

Defendant(s).

Case No. 1:22-cv-01536-ADA-EPG (PC)

ORDER REGARDING EARLY 

SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

Edward Torres (“Plaintiff”) is a prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in 

this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.1 This case proceeds on Plaintiff’s Eighth 

Amendment excessive force claims against Defendants Quick, Garza, Garcia, Valadez, Prince, 

and Martinez; his Eighth Amendment failure to protect claims against Defendants Quick, 

Garza, Garcia, Valadez, Prince, and Martinez; and his Eighth Amendment claim against 

Defendant Ontiveros for deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. (ECF Nos. 1, 13, 

1 The Court notes that the incidents alleged in the complaint occurred at Madera County Jail, and that in certain 

instances different legal standards apply to pretrial detainees than to convicted prisoners. However, in his 

complaint Plaintiff alleges that he is a state prisoner. (ECF No. 1, p. 1).

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16, & 22). On May 15, 2023, the Court directed service of Plaintiff’s complaint. (ECF No. 20). 

At least one defendant has appeared.

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The Court now directs the parties to participate in a settlement conference before a 

Magistrate Judge to see if the case can reach an early settlement. Neither side is waiving any 

claims, defenses, or objections by participating in this settlement conference. 

Defense counsel is directed to consider Plaintiff’s claim(s) and to speak with Plaintiff

following this order.3 If, after investigating Plaintiff’s claim(s) and speaking with Plaintiff, 

defense counsel in good faith finds that a settlement conference would not be productive at this 

time, defense counsel may opt out of this settlement conference by filing a notice with the 

Court, in which case the matter will proceed without an early settlement conference.

If defense counsel opts out of the settlement conference, or if the case does not settle at 

the conference, the case will proceed to litigation.4

If defense counsel does not opt out, the Court will issue separate order(s) setting the 

settlement conference and detailing the pre-settlement conference procedures in due course.

Within fourteen days after the issuance of the order setting the settlement conference, in 

order to better inform all parties and have a meaningful conference, the Court is requiring that 

both parties disclose certain documents to each other about the case, as listed below. These 

documents are relevant to the case and will most likely be disclosed in discovery shortly if this 

case proceeds to litigation.5 

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Within forty-five days from the date of service of this order, defense counsel

shall either: (1) file a notice stating that Defendant(s) opt out of the settlement 

conference; or (2) contact ADR Coordinator Sujean Park 

2 Defendants Martinez and Quick have filed a motion to dismiss (ECF No. 23), which Defendant Garza has joined 

(ECF No. 26). However, this motion to dismiss appears to only seek dismissal of Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment 

excessive force claim.

3 The parties may confer by letter. 4 If the case proceeds to a settlement conference, the Court will not schedule the case until after the settlement 

conference is held. 

5 If any party has a legal objection to providing a particular document, that party shall file and serve a notice 

describing its objection.

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(spark@caed.uscourts.gov) to schedule the settlement conference. If defense 

counsel does not opt out of the settlement conference, the Court will issue an 

order setting a settlement conference. That order will include the date of the 

conference and the Magistrate Judge who will oversee the conference, and may 

also include procedures required by that Judge.

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2. If a settlement conference is set, no later than fourteen days after the date of 

service of the order setting the settlement conference, each party shall send the 

other parties, or their attorneys (if represented), the documents listed below. 

The parties only need to provide documents related to the claim(s) that the Court 

allowed to proceed past the screening stage. Additionally, defense counsel does 

not need to include any documents that defense counsel believes are confidential 

or subject to the official information privilege. Plaintiff does not need to request 

any documents from the institution at this time. Plaintiff only needs to provide 

these documents if Plaintiff already has them in his or her possession. 

a. Documents regarding exhaustion of Plaintiff’s claims, including 

grievances and responses from the Institution;

b. All non-confidential documents regarding Rules Violation Reports, if 

any exist, associated with the incident(s) alleged in the complaint, 

including disciplinary charges and findings;

c. All of Plaintiff’s medical records related to the incident and/or condition 

at issue in the case, if any exist;

d. Chronos for transfer or Administrative Segregation placement related to 

the incident(s) alleged in the complaint, if any exist; and

e. Non-confidential incident reports regarding the use of force incident(s) 

alleged in the complaint, if any exist; 

6 The undersigned will not be the Magistrate Judge overseeing the settlement conference.

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Additionally, the parties may send any other documents related to the case that 

the parties believe will assist in the settlement conference. However, the parties 

may not request any other documents until discovery has been opened.

3. The parties are reminded to keep the Court informed of their current address. 

Any change of address must be reported promptly to the Court in a separate 

document captioned for this case and entitled “Notice of Change of Address.” 

See L.R. 182(f).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: August 8, 2023 /s/

 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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