Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_13-cv-01341/USCOURTS-cand-3_13-cv-01341-4/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Nicole Summer Smith
Plaintiff
The State of California Department of Highway Patrol
Defendant

Document Text:

United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

NICOLE SUMMER SMITH,

Plaintiff, No. 3:13-cv-01341 JD (EDL)

v. NOTICE OF FURTHER SETTLEMENT

CONFERENCE AND SETTLEMENT

CONFERENCE ORDER THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY PATROL,

Defendant.

___________________________________/

TO ALL PARTIES AND COUNSEL OF RECORD:

The above matter was referred to Magistrate Judge Elizabeth D. Laporte for settlement purposes.

You are hereby notified that a further settlement conference is scheduled for March 12, 2015, at

9:30 a.m., at the U.S. District Court, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 15th Floor, Courtroom E, San Francisco,

CA 94102. The provisions of this Order supercede the Court’s July 30, 2013 and November 22, 2013

settlement conference orders.

If the parties and counsel are not available on that date, or if they believe that a settlement

conference would be more productive at a different time, counsel must confer on new potential date(s)

and then contact courtroom deputy Stephen Ybarra within one week of the date of this order at 415-

522-3694. The parties should be mindful of any time limits set by the district court. 

It is the responsibility of counsel to ensure that whatever discovery is needed for all sides to

evaluate the case for settlement purposes is completed by the date of the settlement conference. Counsel

shall cooperate in providing discovery informally and expeditiously.

A. Meet and Confer Requirement and Option to Request Pre-Settlement Conference Call

with Judge Laporte

No later than fourteen (14) calendar days before the settlement conference and prior to the

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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preparation of their Exchanged Settlement Conference Statements and Confidential Settlement

Letters, counsel for the parties must meet and confer (in person or by phone) to discuss matters pertinent

to improving the prospects that the settlement negotiations will be productive. During the

meet and confer, counsel may address any subjects they feel are appropriate, but they must discuss

the following:

1. Who will attend the conference on behalf of each party, including counsel and identification of

the person(s) with full authority to make the final decision as to whether any settlement offer is

made, accepted, or rejected (e.g., the party, and another person(s) if full authority does not rest

with the party).

2. Which persons or entities must approve a proposed settlement agreement before it can be

executed, as well as the nature and duration of any such approval process.

3. Whether insurance is available to cover all or part of the claimed losses or to fund all or part of

any party's defense; whether tenders have been made to any insurance companies; and if

insurance is available, the name of and position held by each claims representative who will be

attending the settlement conference.

4. Whether there are particular documents or other tangible things that should be brought to the

conference (e.g., to educate the settlement judge or to support or explain significant contentions).

5. Any unusual issues or factors that could come into play in the settlement negotiations or any

especially sensitive matters that other counsel or the Court should be alerted to before the

conference.

6. Whether a pre-settlement conference call with the attorneys and the settlement judge would help

make the process more productive (e.g., by ensuring that the appropriate client representatives

attend). Counsel may arrange a pre-settlement conference call with Judge Laporte by

calling Stephen Ybarra at 415-522-3694. 

B. Exchange of Current Settlement Demand and Response

If there is no current settlement demand, Plaintiff must serve a demand on Defendant in writing

no later than fourteen days before the conference, outlining its theories for recovery, the supporting

facts, and damages. Plaintiff must include its demand in its exchanged settlement conference statement.

Defendant must include its response to the demand in its exchanged settlement conference statement.

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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 C. Lodged Settlement Conference Documents

No later than ten (10) calendar days prior to the settlement conference by 12:00 p.m., each

party shall submit the following:

(1) an Exchanged Settlement Conference Statement; and

(2) a Confidential Settlement Letter.

The parties shall deliver the Settlement Conference Documents directly to Magistrate Judge

Laporte's chambers on the 15th floor. 

1. Exchanged Settlement Conference Statements

Counsel shall serve a copy of the Settlement Conference Statement on all parties.

Furthermore, counsel are strongly encouraged prior to the settlement conference to share with their

clients the contents of the Settlement Conference Statement(s) received from opposing counsel.

The Settlement Conference Statement shall not exceed ten (10) pages of text. Parties are

encouraged to include as exhibits any key documents and deposition excerpts, with highlighting as

appropriate. The Settlement Conference Statement shall include the following:

a. A brief statement of the facts of the case.

b. A brief statement of the principal claims and defenses.

c. A description of the key factual and legal issues that are in dispute and a plain

and concise statement of the specific evidence relevant to their determination.

Portions of any exhibits and transcripts relied upon by the parties shall be

referenced and highlighted.

d. A summary of the proceedings to date and a description of any pending

motions.

e. The bases for any damages calculations and a description of any nonmonetary

relief sought or non-monetary components of settlement offers or demands.

f. The history and current status of settlement discussions, and the party's current

demand/offer of settlement to the opposing party(ies). 

g. For each party, a list of the names, titles, and positions of all persons who will

be attending the conference.

h. Where the party is a governmental entity, a description of which persons or

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entities must approve a proposed settlement agreement before it can be executed,

as well as the nature and duration of that approval process.

2. Confidential Settlement Letters

The Confidential Settlement Letter shall not be served upon other parties. 

The Confidential Settlement Letter shall not exceed five (5) pages of text and shall include the

following:

a. Separately for each principal claim and defense, a candid and forthright

evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses and likelihood that the party

submitting the Confidential Letter will prevail. Citations to any key legal

authorities relied upon by the parties as part of this evaluation shall be provided.

b. An estimate of the out-of-pocket expenses, attorneys' fees, and time: (a) spent

to date and (b) to be expended for further discovery, pretrial, and trial. If

plaintiff seeks attorneys' fees and costs, plaintiff's counsel shall be prepared at

the conference to provide sufficient information to enable the fee claim to be

evaluated for purposes of settlement.

c. A description of the principal obstacles (factual, legal, or other) to reaching a

settlement agreement, and the reason the parties' assessments of the settlement

value of the case differ.

d. A realistic settlement figure and/or terms (including any non-monetary terms)

that,

given all the circumstances, the party submitting the Confidential Letter

would consider seriously.

e. Where the party is insured or is a governmental entity, any foreseeable

barriers to insurance coverage or approval of a proposed settlement, or special

concerns that the insurer or governmental entity might want addressed.

f. A brief discussion of any of the subjects identified in Section A of this Order

that might be significant in the settlement dynamic.

D. Mandatory Personal Attendance

Lead trial counsel shall appear at the settlement conference with the parties and with the

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person(s) having full authority to make the final decision as to whether any settlement offer is made,

accepted, or rejected (if full authority does not rest with the party). A person who needs to

call another person not present before making, accepting, or rejecting any settlement offer does not

have such full authority. If a party is a governmental entity, its governing body shall designate one

of its members or a senior executive to appear at the settlement conference with authority to

participate in the settlement conference and, if a tentative settlement agreement is reached, to

recommend the agreement to the governmental entity for its approval. An insured party shall

appear with a representative of the carrier with full authority to negotiate up to the limits of

coverage.

Personal attendance is mandatory and will rarely be excused by the Court, and only upon written

authorization from the Court. To seek to excuse a party from personally attending a settlement

conference, counsel for that party shall meet and confer with counsel for all other parties to determine

if there are any objections to the moving party's absence. Counsel must then lodge a letter with the

Court, with copies to all parties, seeking to excuse the party's participation. The letter shall recite the

compelling reasons for seeking the party's absence, as well as whether the other parties agree or object

to the request and the reasons for any objection. The application to excuse a party must be lodged no

later than the lodging of the Settlement Conference Documents. If the Court permits attendance by

telephone, the person who is excused from personally appearing must be available to participate by

telephone throughout the entire conference.

E. Duration and Content of Settlement Conference

It is not unusual for settlement conferences to last three (3) or more hours, or at times all day.

Parties and their representatives should be prepared to devote the entire day to the conference if

necessary. Parties are encouraged to participate in the settlement conference and frankly discuss their

case. Statements they make during the conference will not be admissible in the event the case does not

settle. See ADR L.R. 7-5. The parties and their representatives should be prepared to discuss such

issues as their settlement objectives; any impediments to settlement that they perceive; whether they

have enough information to discuss settlement and if not, what additional information is needed; and

the possibility of a creative resolution of the dispute.

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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F. Continuances

Any request to continue the settlement conference shall be submitted in writing as soon as

possible after consultation with the opposing party. The request must demonstrate a compelling

reason for a continuance, and state whether the opposing party(ies) agree or oppose the request. Any

party who objects to the continuance should submit a written response within 2 business days. 

Courtesy copies of any electronically filed documents must be delivered to chambers as provided in

Civil Local Rule 5-1(e)(7).

The parties shall notify Magistrate Judge Laporte's Courtroom Deputy, Stephen Ybarra,

immediately at (415) 522-3694 if this case settles prior to the date set for settlement conference.

Any failure to comply with the requirements of this Order may subject the parties and/or

counsel to sanctions.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: February 11, 2015

 

ELIZABETH D. LAPORTE

United States Magistrate Judge

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