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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE DIVISION

RHONDA FLEMING,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 4:20-cv-545-WS/MJF

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and

WARDEN ERICA STRONG,

Defendants.

/

ORDER SETTING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

Plaintiff has filed a motion for a settlement conference to be held before 

December 25, 2022. Doc. 165. Defendants oppose Plaintiff’s motion only to the 

extent that the settlement conference not be held before December 25, 2022. 

Doc. 166. Given the parties’ agreement, there is good cause for this court to conduct 

a settlement conference. This court agrees with Defendants, however, that the 

settlement conference will be more productive once the parties have conducted 

additional discovery, and it would be nearly impossible to conduct a meaningful 

settlement conference in the three business days remaining in this week.

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion for a settlement 

conference, Doc. 165, is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The 

conference will be held on March 16, 2023, at 11:00 a.m., central time. The 

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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 March 16, 2023.

Required Participants. Each party must be represented by the following 

required participants: (1) counsel of record as of the date of this order, 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 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 

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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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. 

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

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

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

Confidential Settlement Statements. On or before March 2, 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 

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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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;

(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; and

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

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

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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 

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 Defendants is responsible for 

coordinating with the Federal Bureau of Prisons 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 

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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.

SO ORDERED this 20th day of December, 2022.

/s/ Michael J. Frank

Michael J. Frank

United States Magistrate Judge

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