Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_05-cv-00303/USCOURTS-cand-4_05-cv-00303-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Gregory Howard
Plaintiff
Patriot Contract Services, LLC
Defendant
Patriot Holdings, LLC
Defendant
United States of America
Defendant

Document Text:

United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

GREGORY HOWARD,

Plaintiff.

 v.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al., 

Defendants. _______________________________________

No. C 05-00303 SBA

 

ORDER

On January 21, 2005, Plaintiff Gregory Howard ("Plaintiff") filed a Complaint against

defendants United States of America, Patriot Contract Services, LLC, and Patriot Holdings, LLC. 

On March 17, 2005, Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed defendant Patriot Holdings, LLC from

the action.

On March 22, 2005, the remaining defendants United States of America and Patriot Contract

Services, LLC (collectively, "Defendants") filed their answers.

On April 4, 2005, this Court scheduled the initial Case Management Conference to take place

on May 26, 2005. 

On May 16, 2005, as directed by the Court, the parties in the above-captioned matter submitted

a joint Case Management Conference Statement. In the Case Management Conference Statement, the

parties indicated that the case would be ready for mediation by February 24, 2006. Due to the complex

nature of the case, they requested that the mediation be conducted by a Magistrate Judge rather than the

mediation panel. 

On May 26, 2005, the Case Management Conference was held. On June 8, 2005, the Court

issued its Order for Pretrial Preparation ("Pretrial Order"). Pursuant to the Pretrial Order, the case is

scheduled for a 15 to 20 day trial to commence on September 25, 2006. Also pursuant to the Pretrial

Case 4:05-cv-00303-SBA Document 20 Filed 01/30/06 Page 1 of 2
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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Order, the parties are to attend a mandatory settlement conference with a Magistrate Judge between July

3, 2006 and July 28, 2006. The case was subsequently referred to Magistrate Judge Larson for

settlement purposes. 

On August 30, 2005, Plaintiff's counsel filed a Notice of Unavailability, indicating that he would

be unavailable during the period of October 21, 2005 through October 31, 2005. 

Since the August 30, 2005 filing, however, there has been no other docket activity. Although

the Court is sensitive to the fact that the parties are likely still engaged in the discovery process, the

Court is also mindful of the fact that the parties previously agreed that a February 26, 2006 mediation

session might prove effective. Further, in light of the fact that a significant amount of time has passed

since there has been any activity on the docket, the Court has determined that it would benefit from a

short joint written statement from the parties indicating the status of the case. The statement should

specifically address whether the Court can assist the parties in scheduling an early settlement conference

with a Magistrate Judge in the next month. 

Accordingly, 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the parties shall immediately meet and confer and jointly file

a short written statement setting forth the current status of the case. The statement shall be filed no later

than February 15, 2006 and shall specifically state whether the Court can assist the parties in scheduling

an early settlement conference with a Magistrate Judge. If the parties agree that they would benefit from

an early settlement conference, they shall set forth the dates that they are available. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

 Dated: 1/30/06 SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG

United States District Judge

Case 4:05-cv-00303-SBA Document 20 Filed 01/30/06 Page 2 of 2