United States District Court, E.D. California
ORDER REFERRING CASE TO POST-SCREENING ADR PROJECT
AND STAYING CASE FOR 120 DAYS
KENDALL J. NEWMAN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Plaintiff
is a state prisoner, proceeding without counsel. The U.S.
Marshal has accomplished service of process on all
defendants.
The
undersigned is referring all post-screening civil rights
cases filed by pro se inmates to the Post-Screening ADR
(Alternative Dispute Resolution) Project in an effort to
resolve such cases more expeditiously and less expensively.
Defense counsel from the Office of the California Attorney
General has agreed to participate in this pilot project. No.
defenses or objections shall be waived by their
participation.
As set
forth in the screening order, plaintiff has stated a
potentially cognizable civil rights claim. Thus, the court
stays this action for a period of 120 days to allow the
parties to investigate plaintiff's claims, meet and
confer, and then participate in a settlement conference.
There
is a presumption that all post-screening civil rights cases
assigned to the undersigned will proceed to settlement
conference.[1] However, if after investigating
plaintiff's claims and speaking with plaintiff, and after
conferring with defense counsel's supervisor, defense
counsel in good faith finds that a settlement conference
would be a waste of resources, defense counsel may move to
opt out of this pilot project.
By
filing the attached notice within thirty days, plaintiff
shall indicate his preference to appear in person or by
videoconference, if available. Failure to timely file such
notice will result in the case being set for the
prisoner's in person attendance.
Within
thirty days, the assigned Deputy Attorney General shall
contact the Courtroom Deputy, Alexandra Waldrop, at (916)
930-4187, to schedule the settlement conference. If
difficulties arise in scheduling the settlement conference
due to the court's calendar, the parties may seek an
extension of the initial 120 day stay.
Once
the settlement conference is scheduled, at least seven days
prior to conference, the parties shall submit to the assigned
settlement judge a confidential settlement conference
statement. The parties' confidential settlement
conference statement shall include the following: (a) names
and locations of the parties; (b) a short statement of the
facts and alleged damages; (c) a short procedural history;
(d) an analysis of the risk of liability, including a
discussion of the efforts made to investigate the
allegations; and (e) a discussion of the efforts that have
been made to settle the case.
In
accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. This
action is stayed for 120 days to allow the parties an
opportunity to settle their dispute before a responsive
pleading is filed, or the discovery process begins. Except as
provided herein or by subsequent court order, no other
pleadings or other documents may be filed in this case during
the stay of this action. The parties shall not engage in
formal discovery, but the parties may elect to engage in
informal discovery.
2.
Within thirty days from the date of this order, plaintiff
shall file the attached notice, informing the court as to the
preference for appearance at the settlement conference.
3.
Within thirty days from the date of this order, the assigned
Deputy Attorney General shall contact this court's
Courtroom Deputy, Alexandra Waldrop, at (916) 930-4187, to
schedule the settlement conference.
4. At
least seven days prior to the settlement conference, each
party shall submit a confidential settlement conference
statement, as described above, to the judge assigned for
settlement.
5. If a
settlement is reached at any point during the stay of this
action, the parties shall file a Notice of ...