UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA 

HAMMOND DIVISION 

JONATHAN FERGUSON, ) 

 ) 

 Plaintiff, ) 

 ) 

v. ) Case No.: 3:13-CV-417-JVB-JEM 

 ) 

CIVIL CITY OF SOUTH BEND, IN, et al., ) 

 ) 

 Defendants. ) 

ORDER

 Plaintiff and his attorney failed to appear at a court-ordered settlement conference with 

Magistrate Judge Andrew Rodovich on January 4, 2016. (Order, DE 40.) Accordingly, Judge 

Rodovich ordered Plaintiff to state, in writing, why he failed to appear. (Id.) 

 Plaintiff filed a Verified Notice on January 6, 2016. (Pl.’s V. Notice Showing Good 

Cause, DE 42.) Plaintiff’s attorney stated he was “at his residence Monday January 5, 2016, 

recovering from a sudden, severe and lingering case of food poisoning contracted 7 days ago.” 

(Id. § 1.)1

 Plaintiff’s attorney also stated he was in the process of moving his office from Bristol 

to Elkhart, and had no staff to call the Court and no functioning office phones or computers. (Id. 

§ 2.) 

Plaintiff’s attorney did not explain in the Verified Notice why he could not contact the 

Court or opposing counsel via a non-office phone or computer. Nor did Plaintiff’s attorney 

explain why Plaintiff himself did not appear at the Settlement Conference as ordered. 

                                                            

1 The Court notes that January 5, 2016, was not a Monday, but was the Tuesday after January 4, 

2016, which was the day set for the Settlement Conference. The Court assumes Plaintiff’s 

Verified Notice contains typographical errors concerning this date, and the date of the showcause Order. The Court attaches no significance to these errors.

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 Defendants noted in their Response that defense counsel had received an email from 

Plaintiff’s counsel regarding a different matter on December 30, 2016. (Resp. to Pl.’s Notice of 

Showing Good Cause, DE 43, § 5.) This was less than a week before the scheduled Settlement 

Conference. 

 Judge Rodovich issued a Report and Recommendation on January 20, 2016, finding that 

Plaintiff’s attorney failed to show good cause for either his or his client’s failure to appear or to 

contact the Court. (DE 45.) The Report recommends that this Court order Plaintiff’s attorney to 

pay the Defendants’ fees and costs associated with the Settlement Conference, totaling 

$1,131.36. (Id.) The Report further recommends that this Court dismiss Plaintiff’s claims as a 

sanction for failing to appear. (Id.) 

 The Court accepts the recommendation regarding monetary sanctions. The Court 

ORDERS Plaintiff’s attorney to pay the Defendants’ fees and costs associated with the 

settlement conference, by paying $1,131.36 to defense counsel by March 31, 2016. The Court 

further ORDERS Plaintiff’s attorney to file in this case a statement of compliance by March 31, 

2016. 

 The Court takes the recommendation of dismissal for failure to appear under advisement. 

SO ORDERED on March 4, 2016. 

 s/ Joseph S. Van Bokkelen 

JOSEPH S. VAN BOKKELEN 

 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

 

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