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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

CALIFORNIA PARENTS FOR THE 

EQUALIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL 

MATERIALS, et al., 

Plaintiffs, 

v. 

TOM TORLAKSON, et al., 

Defendants. 

Case No. 3:17-cv-00635-CRB (DMR) 

NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT 

CONFERENCE AND SETTLEMENT 

CONFERENCE ORDER 

Re: Dkt. No. 135 and 137 

TO ALL PARTIES AND COUNSEL OF RECORD: 

The above matter was referred to Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu for settlement purposes. 

You are hereby notified that a settlement conference is scheduled for September 21, 2018 at

11:00 a.m., in Courtroom No. 4, Third Floor, U.S. District Court, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, 

California 94612. 

If all parties, counsel, and other mandatory attendees are not available on the above date, 

counsel shall notify the court in writing within 3 business days. The parties should be mindful of 

any time limits set by the judge to whom the case is assigned. If written notice is not provided 

within 3 business days, the settlement conference date as stated above shall remain in effect.

It is the responsibility of counsel to ensure that whatever formal or informal discovery is 

needed for all sides to evaluate the case for settlement purposes is completed by the date of the 

settlement conference. 

A. Meet and Confer Requirement. 

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 

pertinent to improving the prospects that the settlement negotiations will be productive. During 

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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., either the party or 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 it would be useful for settlement demands and/or offers to be made before 

the settlement conference is convened. 

5. 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). 

6. Any unusual issues or factors that could come into play in the settlement 

negotiations or any especially sensitive matters that other counsel should be alerted to before the 

conference. 

B. Lodged Settlement Conference Documents.

No later than ten (10) calendar days prior to the settlement conference, each party 

shall submit the following: 

(1) an Exchanged Settlement Conference Statement; and 

 (2) a Confidential Settlement Letter. 

Two copies of each document shall be LODGED (not filed) with the U.S. District Court 

Clerk's Office in Oakland, located at 1301 Clay Street, Suite 400S, 4th Floor, Oakland, California 

94612. The documents shall be submitted in a sealed envelope addressed to Magistrate Judge Ryu 

Case 3:17-cv-00635-CRB Document 138 Filed 05/21/18 Page 2 of 6
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and prominently marked "SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE DOCUMENTS - DO NOT FILE." 

 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 up to twenty (20) 

pages. 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 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. A description of each component of each party's most recently 

communicated settlement demand or offer (describing specifically any non-monetary terms that 

were demanded or offered). 

 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 executed, as well as the 

nature and duration of that approval process. 

Case 3:17-cv-00635-CRB Document 138 Filed 05/21/18 Page 3 of 6
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 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 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 history of past settlement discussions (without revealing communications 

whose disclosure to a settlement judge is prohibited), a description of the principal obstacles 

(factual, legal, or other) to reaching agreement, and the reason the parties' assessments of the 

settlement value of the case differ. 

 d. A realistic settlement figure or terms (including any 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. 

 f. A brief discussion of any of the subjects identified in Section A of this 

Order that might be significant in the settlement dynamic. 

C. 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 

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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 then only 

upon a written request that is timely under the circumstances and that demonstrates extraordinary 

hardship. Personal attendance may be excused only upon written authorization from the court. 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. 

D. Duration and Content of Settlement Conference. 

It is not unusual for settlement conferences to last three (3) or more hours. 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 at trial in the event the case 

does not settle. The parties and their representatives should be prepared to discuss such issues as 

their settlement objectives; any impediments to settlement 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. 

E. Continuances. 

Any request to continue the settlement conference shall state the reason therefor and be 

submitted in writing as soon as possible after consultation with the opposing party but well in 

advance of the scheduled conference date. The request must demonstrate a compelling reason 

for a continuance and shall state whether it is joined or opposed by the other party(ies). 

Submission of such request shall be filed with the court; a courtesy copy must be provided no later 

than 12:00 noon on the day after the document is filed. Parties must appear on the calendared 

Case 3:17-cv-00635-CRB Document 138 Filed 05/21/18 Page 5 of 6
United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

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Case 3:17-cv-00635-CRB Document 138 Filed 05/21/18 Page 6 of 6