UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

SECRETARY OF LABOR, )

)

Complainant )

)

v. ) Docket No. 08-1104

)

IMPERIAL SUGAR COMPANY; and )

IMPERIAL-SAVANNAH, L.P., )

)

Respondents. )

____________________________________)

RESPONDENTS’ MOTION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS

AND REFER TO SETTLEMENT JUDGE

Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. §§ 2200.100(a), 2200.120(b) and other applicable law, 

Respondents Imperial Sugar Company and Imperial-Savannah, L.P. (collectively “Imperial”) 

respectfully move for an order staying this matter and referring this matter to a settlement judge.

Imperial believes that, due to the timing of this motion, and in consideration of the 

litigation schedule in this case, a telephonic hearing among the parties and Judge to discuss this 

motion would be efficient and productive, and therefore Imperial requests that a telephonic 

hearing be scheduled at the earliest opportunity.

In support of its motion, Imperial states the following: 

1. At issue in this matter are 124 citations, including 69 alleged “willful” citations. 

The proposed penalties at issue in this matter are $5,062,000.00.

2. The hearing in this matter is set for May 18, 2010, and is expected to last three to 

four weeks. Fact discovery is set to close on December 23, 2009, and expert discovery is set to 

close on March 19, 2009.
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3. On September 3, 2008, this matter was referred to a settlement judge. On October 

30, 2008, the parties met for a settlement conference but were unable to settle this matter. By 

Order dated January 9, 2009, this matter was referred out of settlement proceedings for a hearing.

4. One of Imperial’s main purposes in pursuing settlement in this matter is to avoid 

the continuing expense of defending this matter, and to better focus its resources on abatement of 

the citations at issue and improving its overall safety program.

5. Since the October 30, 2008 settlement conference, the parties have continued to

engage in settlement discussions. Imperial represents that the parties have agreed upon all 

material terms of a settlement of this matter, including all amendments to the citations and an 

agreed-upon penalty.

6. The only items that have not been agreed to by the parties are nonadmissions 

language and abatement dates. Although the parties are making progress on the issue of 

abatement dates, they are far from resolution on the issue of nonadmissions language. 

7. The current discovery schedule requires the parties to complete all outstanding 

fact discovery by December 23, 2009. Thus, the Complainant has scheduled 21 depositions of 

Imperial’s current and former employees for the month of December. Imperial has scheduled 

nine depositions of Complainant’s current and former employees for the month of December. 

The depositions will take place in Savannah, Georgia, Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Washington, 

DC. Imperial estimates that its cost of taking and defending these depositions will range from 

$100,000.00 to $200,000.00 in attorneys’ fees and expenses. These depositions will also 

consume a substantial amount of the time of Imperial’s employees at its Port Wentworth facility.
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8. As noted, Imperial would prefer to devote its resources and the time of employees 

at Port Wentworth to more productive ventures, including improving its safety program and 

working on abating the citations, rather than continuing to litigate this matter. 

9. Imperial is concerned that settlement negotiations between the parties are 

breaking down over what should be minor issues. Imperial believes that a mediation before a 

settlement judge would both quickly bring these matters to a resolution, and avoid the significant 

expense of the upcoming depositions and further litigation of this matter. 

10. Imperial respectfully requests assignment for settlement purposes to a Review 

Commission judge based in Atlanta. Counsel for both parties are based in Atlanta, and Imperial 

believes that settlement meetings are more likely to be held sooner, and perhaps more often, if 

the settlement judge is also located in Atlanta.

11. Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 2200.40, Imperial states that its counsel has informed 

Complainant’s counsel regarding its intent to file this motion, but that due to the timing of said 

notification, Complainant’s counsel was unable to provide a response as to whether or not 

Complainant will object to this motion. Accordingly, Complainant has not consented to this 

motion. Due to the urgency of this matter, Imperial has elected to file this motion unilaterally. 

Respectfully submitted this 25th day of November, 2009.

/s/ Charles H. Morgan

Charles H. Morgan

charlie.morgan@alston.com

Matthew J. Gilligan

matt.gilligan@alston.com

Ashley D. Brightwell

ashley.brightwell@alston.com

Jeremy D. Tucker

jeremy.tucker@alston.com

ALSTON & BIRD LLP

1201 West Peachtree Street

Atlanta, Georgia 30309-3424
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LEGAL02/31643230v3

(404) 881-7000

FAX: (404) 253-8757

Attorneys for Respondents 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

SECRETARY OF LABOR, )

)

Complainant, ) OSHRC Docket No. 08-1104

)

v. )

)

IMPERIAL SUGAR COMPANY; and )

IMPERIAL-SAVANNAH, L.P., )

)

Respondents. )

)

ORDER STAYING PROCEEDING AND REFERRING TO SETTLEMENT JUDGE

Pursuant to 29 C.F. R. § 2200.120(b) and for good cause shown, discovery in this matter 

is hereby STAYED for a period of thirty (30) days and the matter will be referred to a settlement 

judge located in Atlanta, Georgia. Upon assignment of the judge, the parties are directed to 

promptly propose to the settlement judge available dates for a meeting for the purpose of 

discussing settlement and are directed to continue discussions regarding settlement in good faith.

SO ORDERED this ____ day of ___________________, 2009.

_________________________________

COVETTE ROONEY

U.S. OSHRC JUDGE
Error! Unknown document property name.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

SECRETARY OF LABOR, )

)

Complainant )

)

v. ) Docket No. 08-1104

)

IMPERIAL SUGAR COMPANY; and )

IMPERIAL-SAVANNAH, L.P., )

)

Respondents. )

____________________________________)

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that all parties have consented that all papers required to be served in this action may be 

served and filed electronically. I further certify that a copy of RESPONDENTS’ MOTION TO 

STAY PROCEEDING AND REFER TO SETTLEMENT JUDGE was served via electronic 

mail on November 25th, 2009 on the following counsel for Complainant:

Karen E. Mock

Mock.Karen@dol.gov

Angela F. Donaldson

Donaldson.Angela@dol.gov

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

61 Forsyth Street S.W.

Room 7T10

Atlanta, Georgia 30303

/s/ Charles H. Morgan

Charles H. Morgan

Alston & Bird LLP

1201 West Peachtree Street

Atlanta, Georgia 30309-3424

charlie.morgan@alston.com