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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

PANAMA CITY DIVISION

GARY LEE SEYMOUR,

Plaintiffs,

v. Case No. 5:20-cv-214-TKW/MJF

RICKY D. DIXON,

Defendant.

/

ORDER SETTING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

This case has been referred to the undersigned for a settlement conference.

Doc. 64. The conference will be held on February 16, 2023, at 9:30 a.m., central 

time. The conference will be conducted telephonically to the extent that the parties 

are not required to attend “in person” at the courthouse. The conference will 

conclude no later than the close of business on February 16, 2023. 

Required Participants. Each party must be represented by the following 

required participants: (1) counsel, if any, who is/are familiar with the case; (2) the 

party and/or decisionmaker of the party, who must have full authority to act on behalf 

of the party, including the authority to negotiate a resolution of the matter and to 

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respond to developments during the settlement process; and (3) if the party is 

insured, a representative with full authority to make settlement decisions.1

“Full Authority” Defined. “Full authority” means that those participating on 

behalf of a party should be able to make independent decisions and have a 

knowledge or an understanding of the dispute in order to generate and consider 

solutions and/or to be able to address the negotiation dynamics in settlement. It is 

not just settlement authority to make an offer or to accept an amount. These 

requirements are intended to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the 

settlement conference by reducing the time for communication of offers, expanding 

the ability to explore options for settlement, and facilitating settlement.

Mandatory Discussions Prior to the Settlement Conference. Settlement 

conferences often are unproductive unless the parties have exchanged demands and 

offers before the conference and made a serious effort to settle the case on their own. 

Therefore, before the settlement conference, the parties shall negotiate and 

make a good-faith effort to settle the case without the involvement of the court. 

At a minimum, specific proposals and counterproposals shall be exchanged before

the conference, even if such proposals were exchanged previously. 

1 Failure to comply with the attendance provisions of this order may result in an 

award of costs and/or attorney’s fees incurred by the other party in connection with 

the conference or the imposition of other appropriate sanctions.

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Communication with the Court if Settlement is Reached. If the parties 

should arrive at a settlement before the settlement conference, Defendant shall 

immediately communicate this to the court by filing a joint notice of settlement.

Confidential Settlement Statements. On or before February 6, 2023, each 

party shall provide to the office of the undersigned a confidential settlement 

statement.2 The parties SHALL NOT file the confidential settlement statements

with the clerk of the court or serve it upon opposing counsel, as the statements will 

not become a part of the file of this case and will be for the exclusive use of the 

undersigned in preparing for and conducting the conference.

Contents of the Confidential Settlement Statements. Each confidential 

settlement statement shall contain:

(1) a brief description of all remaining claims and the law and defenses 

applicable thereto;

(2) a concise recitation of the facts and evidence the party (or parties)

expects to present at trial, including evidence that supports any claim 

for damages;

2 Each party may email its respective confidential settlement statement to 

Brian_Ettari@flnd.uscourts.gov. The confidential settlement statement also may be 

mailed or hand-delivered to “Judge Frank’s Chambers, One North Palafox Street, 

Pensacola, FL 32502-5665.” If mailed or hand-delivered, please write on the outside 

of the envelope and on the top of the confidential settlement statement: 

“Confidential Settlement Statement – Do Not File.”

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(3) a brief description of the relief that may be afforded to the prevailing 

party (or parties) at trial (e.g., the nature and extent of damages, 

entitlement to attorney’s fees);

(4) an estimate of attorney’s fees, if any, and costs of litigation to date and 

through trial;

(5) an outline of settlement negotiations to date, including the most recent 

proposals and counterproposals (any inconsistencies between the 

parties’ outlines in this regard will be settled in open court at the 

commencement of the conference; thus, the parties may wish to confer 

with each other before submitting their outlines to ensure that the 

outlines are the same with respect to prior settlement negotiations); and

(6) a statement regarding whether any settlement terms are believed to be 

“nonnegotiable” and, if so, a description of those terms.

The confidential settlement statements should not be lengthy, but they should 

contain enough information to be useful to the undersigned in analyzing the factual 

and legal issues in the case.

Confidentiality of the Settlement Conference. The settlement conference 

will be conducted in such a manner as not to prejudice any party in the event 

settlement is not reached. To that end, all matters communicated to the undersigned 

in confidence before or during the conference will be kept confidential and will not 

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be disclosed to any other party (without consent) or to the District Judge assigned to 

this case. Furthermore, after the settlement conference, the undersigned will have no 

further involvement with this case.

Structure of the Settlement Conference. At the conference, separate

confidential, telephonic caucuses will be held with Plaintiff and lead counsel for 

Defendant. To that end, lead counsel for Defendant is responsible for 

coordinating with the Florida Department of Corrections to ensure Plaintiff’s 

meaningful and uninterrupted participation in the settlement conference.

The conference will end when settlement is reached or when the undersigned 

concludes that further negotiation would be unlikely to result in settlement.

Preparation for the Settlement Conference. To make the best use of the 

time allotted, prior to the conference counsel, if any, should consider and, if 

appropriate, discuss with counsel’s client the following issues or events that may 

arise during the separate caucuses: (1) the undersigned might address the client 

personally; (2) the undersigned might ask counsel to assess the weaknesses/strengths 

of the claims and defenses; and (3) the undersigned might ask counsel to discuss 

whether attorney’s fees or other expenses are affecting settlement and, if so, whether 

this has been communicated to the opposing party.

Written Settlement Agreement Required. Counsel for Defendant shall 

bring to the settlement conference an editable, draft settlement agreement and any 

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other documents necessary to settle the case. To facilitate settlement, counsel may 

elect to share the proposed settlement agreement with Plaintiff prior to the settlement 

conference.

SO ORDERED this 10th day of November, 2022.

/s/ Michael J. Frank

Michael J. Frank

United States Magistrate Judge

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