United States District Court, E.D. California
ORDER REFERRING CASE TO POST-SCREENING ADR PROJECT
AND STAYING CASE FOR 120 DAYS
ALLISON CLAIRE, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Plaintiff
is a state prisoner, proceeding through counsel. Defendants
have answered the complaint.
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.
No. defenses or objections shall be waived by participation.
As set
forth in the screening order, plaintiff has stated a
potentially cognizable civil rights claim. Accordingly, 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 prisoner 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. A motion to opt out
must be filed within sixty (60) days of the date of this
order.
By
filing the attached notice within thirty (30) 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 issuance of a writ for
plaintiff's appearance in person. Once plaintiff has
returned the notice or the time for doing so has passed, the
court will proceed to schedule the settlement conference.
Once
the settlement conference is scheduled, at least seven (7)
days prior to the conference, each party shall submit to the
settlement judge a confidential settlement conference
statement. The parties' confidential settlement
conference statements 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. Defendant shall e-mail the
settlement conference statement to the settlement judge's
e-mail box for proposed orders, available on the court's
website. Plaintiff shall place his settlement conference
statement in the U.S. mail addressed to the settlement
conference judge, United States District Court, 501 I Street,
Sacramento, CA 95814. Plaintiff shall mail his settlement
conference statement so that it is received by the court at
least seven (7) days before the settlement conference.
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 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 (30) days from the date of this order,
plaintiff shall file the attached notice informing the court
how he wishes to appear at the settlement conference. If
plaintiff does not file the notice, the court will issue a
writ for plaintiff to appear in person.
3.
Defendants shall file any motion to opt out of the
Post-Screening ADR Project no more than sixty (60) days from
the date of this order.
4. At
least seven (7) days prior to the settlement conference, each
party shall submit a confidential settlement conference
statement, as described above, to the settlement judge.
Defendant shall e-mail the settlement conference statement to
the settlement judge's proposed orders e-mail address.
Plaintiff shall place his settlement conference statement in
the U.S. mail addressed to the settlement judge, United
States District Court, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Plaintiff shall mail his settlement conference statement so
that it is received by the court at least seven (7) days
before the settlement conference.
5. If a
settlement is reached at any point during the stay of this
action, the parties shall file a Notice of Settlement in
accordance with Local Rule 160.
6. The
parties remain obligated to keep the court informed of their
current addresses at all times during the stay and while the
action is pending. Any change of address must be reported
promptly to the court in a separate document captioned for
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