UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION

DASSAULT SYSTEMES, S.A., 

 Plaintiff, CASE NO. 09-10534 

 HON. LAWRENCE P. ZATKOFF 

v. 

KEITH CHILDRESS, d/b/a 

PRACTICAL CATIA TRAINING, 

 Defendant. 

__________________________________/ 

ORDER 

AT A SESSION of said Court, held in the 

United States Courthouse, in the City of Port Huron, 

State of Michigan, on the 3rd day of December, 2014 

PRESENT: THE HONORABLE LAWRENCE P. ZATKOFF 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

 On November 12, 2014, the Court issued an Order to Stay, wherein the Court held: 

As the Court finds that the filing (and deciding) of additional motions will 

not be beneficial to the interests of the parties or the Court, nor serve the interests of 

justice, the Court now ORDERS THE PARTIES TO CEASE ANY ACTIVITY 

AND ORDERS THAT THIS CASE BE, AND HEREBY IS, STAYED UNTIL 

FURTHER ORDER OF THE COURT. The order to cease any activity includes, 

but is not limited to, a prohibition on: (1) the filing any new motions, (2) 

supplementing any existing motions and/or responsive pleadings, and/or (3) 

responding to or replying to any outstanding motions. In other words, among 

other prohibitions, the parties are barred from filing anything on the docket in this 

case until further order of the Court. The period of time to respond to any pending 

motion is likewise stayed until further order of the Court. 

On December 3, 2014, the Court issued an omnibus Opinion and Order regarding numerous 

motions filed by the parties. The Court’s December 3, 2014, Opinion and Order did not address 

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several outstanding motions to compel, nor did it address Defendant’s petition/motion for an 

investigation into alleged breaches of grand jury secrecy.1

 On several occasions during the course of this litigation, the parties have advised the Court 

of their interest in attempting to settle this matter. At the time of those settlement efforts, 

however, the Court had made few rulings from which the parties could understand the scope of the 

issues that would be tried by a jury, i.e., what issues involving a genuine dispute of material fact 

would be presented to the ultimate fact finder. As the Court’s December 3, 2014, Opinion and 

Order affords the parties an understanding of what remains to be litigated in this case, the Court 

finds that providing the parties with a period during which to discuss settlement would best serve 

the interests of the parties and judicial economy. 

Accordingly, the Court hereby ORDERS: 

1. The November 12, 2014, Order to Stay remains in effect, such that the parties 

are barred from filing – and/or responding to – motions/petitions until further 

order of the Court; 

2. The pending motions to compel and petition/motion for an investigation into 

alleged breaches of grand jury secrecy shall remain pending, and shall not be 

addressed, until further order of the Court; 

3. The parties shall commence settlement negotiations immediately and continue 

to engage in such negotiations until the earlier of reaching settlement or January 

30, 2015; 

 

1

 The Court notes that the determination of whether an investigation into alleged breaches of grand jury secrecy is not 

an issue that bears on the remaining claims before the Court. 

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4. If the parties desire the assistance of a magistrate judge to facilitate settlement 

negotiations, the parties shall jointly advise the Court of such desire on or 

before December 17, 2014; and 

5. The parties shall send the Court a joint letter detailing their settlement efforts, 

including dates and times the parties have engaged in settlement discussions, on 

each of December 17, 2014; January 5, 2015; January 16, 2015; and January 30, 

2015. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

 

 s/Lawrence P. Zatkoff 

 LAWRENCE P. ZATKOFF 

 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

Dated: December 3, 2014 

 

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