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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

WAYMO LLC, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., et al., 

Defendants. 

Case No. 17-cv-00939-WHA (EDL) 

NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT 

CONFERENCE AND SETTLEMENT 

CONFERENCE ORDER 

 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 settlement conference is scheduled for April 26, 2017, at 

9:30 A.M., at the U.S. District Court, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 15th floor, Courtroom E, San 

Francisco, CA 94102. 

 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 

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 

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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 

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settlement conference statement. 

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). 

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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 

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

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 and 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. 

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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 

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 the 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 

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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; and 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. 

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 L.R. 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: April 7, 2017 

______________________________________ 

 ELIZABETH D. LAPORTE 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 

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