Nasca v. Life Insurance Company of North America

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JOSEPH NASCA, Case No.: 3:20-cv-0900-JLS-AHG 12 Plaintiff, NOTICE AND ORDER SETTING EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION 13 v. CONFERENCE AND CASE 14 LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE NORTH AMERICA, VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE 15 Defendant. 16 17 IT IS ORDERED that an Early Neutral Evaluation (“ENE”) of your case will be held 18 on September 1, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard. In 19 accordance with the Local Rules, the Court requires personal attendance of all parties, party 20 representatives, including claims adjusters for insured defendants, and the primary 21 attorney(s) responsible for the litigation. CivLR 16.1(a). However, due to the current 22 COVID-19 public emergency,1 and upon due consideration, the Court hereby MODIFIES 23 24 25 1 On March 17, 2020, Chief Judge Larry A. Burns issued an Order in response to the 26 COVID-19 public emergency (“CJO #18”) which, among other things, suspends the 27 requirement under Civil Local Rule 16.1(a) that ENEs be conducted in person to protect public safety and prevent the spread of COVID-19. See CJO #18 at ¶ 9. CJO #18 is 28 1 the ENE to be via videoconference for all attendees. 2 The Court issues the following Mandatory Procedures to be followed in 3 preparation for the ENE: 4 1. Purpose of the Conference: The purpose of the ENE is to permit an informal 5 discussion between the attorneys and the settlement judge of every aspect of the lawsuit in 6 an effort to achieve an early resolution of the case. All conference discussions will be 7 informal, off the record, and confidential. 8 2. Full Settlement Authority Required: A party or party representative with 9 full and complete authority to enter into a binding settlement must be present via 10 videoconference or immediately available to join. Full authority to settle means that a 11 person must be authorized to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to 12 any settlement terms acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat 13 Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion 14 and authority” to change the settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., 15 216 F.R.D. 481, 485–86 (D. Ariz. 2003). Limited or sum certain authority is not adequate. 16 Nick v. Morgan’s Foods, Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 595–97 (8th Cir. 2001). A person who needs 17 to call another person who is not present on the videoconference before agreeing to 18 any settlement does not have full authority. 19 3. Confidential ENE Statements Required: No later than August 27, 2020, 20 the parties shall submit confidential statements of five (5) pages or less directly to the 21 chambers of Magistrate Judge Goddard outlining the nature of the case, the claims, and the 22 defenses. These statements shall not be filed or served on opposing counsel. They shall 23 be lodged via email at efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov. The ENE statement is limited to 24 25 https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/_assets/pdf/rules/Order%20of%20the%20Chief%20Judge 26 %2018.pdf. This order was extended until mid-July by CJO #30, which is available on the 27 Court website at https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/_assets/pdf/news/Order%20of%20the%20Chief%20Judge 28 1 five (5) pages or less, and up to five (5) pages of exhibits or declarations. Each party’s 2 ENE statement must outline: 3 A. the nature of the case and the claims, 4 B. position on liability or defense, 5 C. position regarding settlement of the case with a specific2 6 demand/offer for settlement,3 and 7 D. any previous settlement negotiations or mediation efforts. 8 4. Case Management Conference: In the event the case does not settle at the 9 ENE, the Court will immediately thereafter hold a Case Management Conference (“CMC”) 10 pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P 16(b). Appearance of the parties at the CMC is not required. The 11 Court orders the following to occur before the CMC: 12 A. The parties must meet and confer pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) no 13 later than August 11, 2020. 14 B. The parties must file a Joint Case Management Statement by August 15 21, 2020. The Joint Case Management Statement must address all 16 points in the “Joint Case Management Statement Requirements for 17 Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard,” which can be found at: 18 https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/Judges/goddard/docs/Goddard%20Join 19 t%20Case%20Management%20Statement%20Rules.pdf. 20 C. Initial disclosures pursuant to Rule 26(a)(1)(A-D) must occur by 21 August 25, 2020. 22 5. Appearances via Videoconference Required: All named parties, party 23 24 25 2 A general statement, such as that a party “will negotiate in good faith,” is a not a specific demand or offer. 26 27 3 If a specific demand or offer cannot be made at the time the ENE statement is submitted, then the reasons as to why a demand or offer cannot be made must be stated. Further, the 28 1 representatives, including claims adjusters for insured defendants, as well as principal 2 attorney(s) responsible for the litigation must attend the ENE via videoconference. All who 3 attend the ENE must be legally and factually prepared to discuss and resolve the case. 4 Counsel appearing without their clients (whether or not counsel has been given settlement 5 authority) will be subject to immediate imposition of sanctions. To facilitate the 6 videoconference ENE, the Court hereby orders as follows: 7 A. The Court will use its official Zoom video conferencing account to hold 8 the ENE. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom: Zoom is available on 9 computers through a download on the Zoom website 10 (https://zoom.us/meetings) or on mobile devices through the 11 installation of a free app.4 Joining a Zoom conference does not require 12 creating a Zoom account, but it does require downloading the .exe file 13 (if using a computer) or the app (if using a mobile device). Participants 14 are encouraged to create an account, install Zoom and familiarize 15 themselves with Zoom in advance of the ENE.5 There is a cost-free 16 option for creating a Zoom account. 17 B. Prior to the start of the ENE, the Court will email each participant an 18 invitation to join a Zoom video conference. Again, if possible, 19 participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the 20 video conference, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance. 21 Participants shall join the video conference by following the ZoomGov 22 Meeting hyperlink in the invitation. Participants who do not have 23 24 25 4 If possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, rather than mobile devices. 26 27 5 For help getting started with Zoom, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en- us/categories/200101697-Getting-Started 28 1 Zoom already installed on their device when they click on the 2 ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink will be prompted to download and 3 install Zoom before proceeding. Zoom may then prompt participants 4 to enter the password included in the invitation. All participants will be 5 placed in a waiting room until the ENE begins. 6 C. Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least 7 five minutes before the start of the ENE to ensure that the conference 8 begins promptly at 2:00 p.m. The Zoom e-mail invitation may 9 indicate an earlier start time, but the ENE will begin at the Court- 10 scheduled time. 11 D. Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the ENE as it 12 ordinarily would conduct an in-person one. The Court will divide 13 participants into separate, confidential sessions, which Zoom calls 14 Breakout Rooms.6 In a Breakout Room, the Court will be able to 15 communicate with participants from a single party in confidence. 16 Breakout Rooms will also allow parties and counsel to communicate 17 confidentially without the Court. 18 E. No later than August 27, 2020, counsel for each party shall send an 19 e-mail to the Court at efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov containing the 20 following: 21 i. The name and title of each participant, including all parties 22 and party representatives with full settlement authority, claims 23 adjusters for insured defendants, and the primary attorney(s) 24 responsible for the litigation; 25 ii. An e-mail address for each participant to receive the Zoom 26 27 6 For more information on what to expect when participating in a Zoom Breakout 28 1 video conference invitation; and 2 iii. A telephone number where each participant may be reached 3 so that if technical difficulties arise, the Court will be in a 4 position to proceed telephonically instead of by video 5 conference. (If counsel prefers to have all participants of their 6 party on a single conference call, counsel may provide a 7 conference number and appropriate call-in information, 8 including an access code, where all counsel and parties or party 9 representatives for that side may be reached as an alternative to 10 providing individual telephone numbers for each participant.) 11 iv. A cell phone number for that party’s preferred point of 12 contact (and the name of the individual whose cell phone it is) 13 for the Court to use during the ENE to alert counsel via text 14 message that the Court will soon return to that party’s Breakout 15 Room, to avoid any unexpected interruptions of confidential 16 discussions. 17 F. All participants shall display the same level of professionalism during 18 the ENE and be prepared to devote their full attention to the ENE as if 19 they were attending in person, i.e., cannot be driving while speaking to 20 the Court. Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery of a 21 participant’s device, each participant should ensure that their device is 22 plugged in or that a charging cable is readily available during the video 23 conference. 24 G. If the case does not settle during the ENE, the Court will hold the CMC 25 immediately following the ENE with counsel only in the main session. 26 6. Requests for Continuances: Local Rule 16.1(c) requires that an ENE take 27 place within forty-five (45) days of the filing of the first answer. Requests to continue ENEs 28 are rarely granted. An ENE may be rescheduled only upon a showing of good cause and 1 adequate notice to the Court. Absent extraordinary circumstances, requests for 2 continuances will not be considered unless submitted in writing no less than seven (7) days 3 before the ENE. All requests for continuances must be made by a joint motion. The request 4 must state: 5 A. The original date; 6 B. The number of previous requests for continuances; 7 C. A showing of good cause for the request; 8 D. Whether the request is opposed and why; 9 E. Whether the requested continuance will affect other case management 10 dates; and 11 F. A declaration from the counsel seeking the continuance that describes 12 the steps taken to comply with the existing deadlines, and the specific 13 reasons why the deadlines cannot be met. 14 7. New Parties Must be Notified by Plaintiff or Plaintiff’s Counsel: 15 Plaintiff’s counsel must give notice of the ENE to any Defendants who have been served 16 but who have not yet filed responsive pleadings as of the date of this Order. If any 17 Defendants have not yet been served, Plaintiff’s counsel must serve them with a copy of 18 this Order along with the summons and complaint. 19 8. The failure of any party to follow these mandatory procedures shall result 20 in the imposition of sanctions. 21 9. Questions regarding this case or these mandatory guidelines may be directed 22 to Judge Goddard’s law clerks at (619) 557-6162. Lodged statements should be emailed to 23 efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov. 24 \\ 25 \\ 26 \\ 27 \\ 28 \\ 1 10. A Notice of Right to Consent to Trial Before a United States Magistrate Judge 2 ||is attached for your review and consideration. 3 IT IS SO ORDERED. 4 5 || Dated: July 9, 2020 . Morn H. Honorable Allison H. Goddard 7 United States Magistrate Judge 8 9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CONSENT TO TRIAL 2 BEFORE A UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 3 4 In accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), you are notified that a 5 U.S. Magistrate Judge of this district may, upon the consent of all parties, conduct any or 6 all proceedings, including a jury or non-jury trial, and order the entry of a final judgment. 7 Consent forms are available in the Clerk’s Office, and one is attached to this notice. 8 Plaintiff or counsel for the plaintiff is responsible to obtain the consent of all parties, 9 should they want to consent. 10 Be aware that your decision to consent or not to consent is entirely voluntary, 11 and should be communicated solely to the Clerk of Court. Only if all parties consent 12 will the Judge or Magistrate Judge to whom the case has been assigned be informed of 13 your decision. 14 Judgments of U.S. Magistrate Judges are appealable to the U.S. Court of Appeals 15 in accordance with this statute and the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 2 3 JOSEPH NASCA, Case No.: 3:20-cv-0900-JLS-AHG 4 Plaintiff, NOTICE, CONSENT, AND 5 v. REFERENCE OF A CIVIL ACTION TO A MAGISTRATE JUDGE 6 LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH 7 AMERICA, Defendant. 8 Notice of a magistrate judge's availability. A United States magistrate judge of this court is 10 available to conduct all proceedings in this civil action (including a jury or nonjury trial) and to 11 order the entry of a final judgment. The judgment may then be appealed directly to the United States court of appeals like any other judgment of this court. A magistrate judge may exercise this 12 authority only if all parties voluntarily consent. 13 You may consent to have your case referred to a magistrate judge, or you may withhold your consent without adverse substantive consequences. The name of any party withholding consent will 14 not be revealed to any judge who may otherwise be involved with your case. 15 Consent to a magistrate judge's authority. The following parties consent to have a United States 16 magistrate judge conduct all proceedings in this case including trial, the entry of final judgment, and all post-trial proceedings. 17 Printed Names Signatures of parties and attorneys Dates 18 19 20 21 22 23 REFERENCE ORDER 24 IT IS ORDERED: This case is referred to United States Magistrate Allison H. Goddard, to conduct all proceedings and order entry of a final judgment in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 25 § 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73. 26 27 Date United States District Judge 28