Opinion ID: 150891
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Encouraging Participation in Settlement

Text: The Dier plaintiffs submit that the district court’s statement that it “has consistently stated that it neither encourages nor discourages participation in 7 Case: 09-30446 Document: 00511176837 Page: 8 Date Filed: 07/16/2010 No. 09-30446 the settlement” takes “too myopic a view” of the court’s role as both chief administrator of the MSA and as presiding judge in the MDL litigation. They point to the Conference Order, which required all non-settling plaintiffs to appear at conferences “to ensure that plaintiffs who are eligible for the Vioxx settlement program but who have not enrolled in the program have all necessary information available to them so they can make informed choices,” and argue that this order permits the inference that the district court encouraged settlement. The Conference Order, however, did not inappropriately encourage settlement. It “is not unusual to require the parties as well as counsel to appear at settlement conferences.” Bilello v. Abbott Labs., 825 F. Supp. 475, 479 (E.D.N.Y. 1993). For example, Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 33 authorizes courts of appeals to “direct the attorneys—and, when appropriate, the parties—to participate in one or more conferences to address any matter that may aid in disposing of the proceedings, including . . . discussing settlement. A judge or other person designated by the court may preside over the conference.” F ED. R. A PP. P. 33. Nothing about the settlement conferences would give a reasonable observer any doubt about Judge Fallon’s impartiality.