UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

SOUTHERN DIVISION

WAYNE WHITCOMB,

Plaintiff,

v.

CONTINENTAL CAFE, INC., et al,

Defendants.

_____________________________________/

Case No. 15-12363

Gershwin A. Drain

United States District Judge

Stephanie Dawkins Davis

United States Magistrate Judge

ORDER FOR SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

Settlement Conference SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 at 10:00

a.m.

Confidential Settlement Statement Due AUGUST 24, 2016

Location of Settlement

Conference

Room 112, 600 Church Street

Flint, MI. For directions,

See, www.mied.uscourts.gov.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

A. The conference must be attended by an authorized representative of

each party, together with trial counsel for each party unless expressly excused by

the Court. An insured party need not attend unless the settlement decision will be

made in part by the insured. When the settlement decision will be made in whole

or part by an insurer, the insurer must send a representative in person with full and

complete authority to make settlement decisions. A corporate party must send an

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authorized representative with full and complete authority to bind the company. 

A governmental entity must send an authorized representative with full and

complete authority to bind the governmental entity. Failure to produce the

appropriate person(s) at the conference may result in an award of costs and

attorney fees incurred by the other parties in connection with the conference

and/or other sanctions against the noncomplying party and/or counsel.

B. At least 14 days prior to the conference, each party must submit a

confidential settlement statement to the Magistrate Judge. The settlement

statement will not become a part of the file of the case, but will be for the

exclusive use of the magistrate judge in preparing for and conducting the

settlement conference. The settlement statement must contain a specific recitation

of the facts, a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the case, the parties’

position on settlement, including a present settlement proposal, and a report on

settlement efforts to date. It is required that by the time of the settlement

conference plaintiff will have made a good faith offer to settle the case and

defendant will have made a good faith counter offer of settlement. Settlement

conferences are much more likely to be successful if the parties have made good

faith settlement proposals prior to the beginning of the settlement conference. If

not already part of the court file, copies of any critical agreements, business

records, photographs or other documents or exhibits must be attached to the

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settlement statement. The settlement statement should not be more than five pages

in length and should contain enough information to be useful to the Magistrate

Judge in analyzing the factual and legal issues in the case. The parties are directed

to be candid in their statements.

C. The settlement statement must not be filed with the clerk, but must be

delivered to the Magistrate Judge either via fax to 810-341-7854 OR e-mail

(angela_brown@mied.uscourts.gov and tammy_hallwood@mied.uscourts.gov). 

Copies of the settlement statement must not be provided to the other parties in the

case.

D. Settlement conferences are scheduled on days when the Court does not

normally schedule other matters. The attorneys and their clients should expect to

be in attendance through the balance of the business day in order to maximize the

opportunity to resolve the case. Counsel that wish to bring laptops to the court are

encouraged to do so but should seek approval from the court prior to the day of the

settlement conference.

E. One attorney for each party should be prepared to give a short

summary of their case at the beginning of the settlement conference. The

summary should identify the remaining issues in the case and the evidence that

supports the party’s position on those issues.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Date: February 12, 2016 s/Stephanie Dawkins Davis

Stephanie Dawkins Davis

United States Magistrate Judge

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on February 12, 2016, I electronically filed the foregoing paper

with the Clerk of the Court using the ECF system, which will send electronic

notification to all counsel of record.

s/Tammy Hallwood

Case Manager

(810) 341-7887

tammy_hallwood@mied.uscourts.gov

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