LaVerde v. General Motors, LLC, No. 3:2023cv00527 - Document 6 (S.D. Cal. 2023)
Court Description: ORDER Granting In Part 5 Joint Motion to Continue Early Neutral Evaluation Conference ("ENE") and Case Management Conference ("CMC"). ENE and CMC set for 7/7/2023 are RESET for 8/11/2023 at 2:00 PM before Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard. Certain, not all, deadlines are modified. Signed by Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard on 6/28/2023. (hmw)
Download PDF
<![CDATA[
LaVerde v. General Motors, LLC Doc. 6 Case 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Document 6 Filed 06/28/23 PageID.43 Page 1 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 CHARLIE LAVERDE, Case No.: 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Plaintiff, 13 14 v. 15 GENERAL MOTORS, LLC, ORDER GRANTING IN PART JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION CONFERENCE AND CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE Defendants. 16 17 [ECF No. 5] 18 19 Before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to continue the Early Neutral Evaluation 20 Conference (“ENE”) and Case Management Conference (“CMC”), presently scheduled for 21 July 7, 2023. ECF No. 5. The parties request that the ENE and CMC be rescheduled 22 because Defendant’s counsel will be travelling on a pre-planned vacation on that date. Id. 23 at 2. Despite the joint motion’s shortcomings,1 the Court appreciates that the parties have 24 been working together and finds good cause to grant a small continuance. Thus, the Court 25 GRANTS IN PART the motion as follows: 26 27 28 1 Compare ECF No. 4 at 6 (Order setting ENE, requiring that requests for continuances include a declaration from counsel) with ECF No. 5 (instant motion, no declaration). 1 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Dockets.Justia.com Case 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Document 6 Filed 06/28/23 PageID.44 Page 2 of 6 1 1. The ENE and CMC scheduled for July 7, 2023, are RESET for 2 August 11, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. via videoconference before Magistrate Judge 3 Allison H. Goddard. In accordance with the Local Rules, the Court requires attendance of 4 all parties, party representatives, including claims adjusters for insured defendants, and the 5 primary attorney(s) responsible for the litigation via videoconference. CivLR 16.1(c)(1). 6 2. Purpose of the Conference: The purpose of the ENE is to permit an informal 7 discussion between the attorneys and the settlement judge of every aspect of the lawsuit in 8 an effort to achieve an early resolution of the case. All conference discussions will be 9 informal, off the record, and confidential. 10 3. Full Settlement Authority Required: A party or party representative with 11 full and complete authority to enter into a binding settlement must be present via 12 videoconference. Full authority to settle means that a person must be authorized to fully 13 explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable to 14 the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 15 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the 16 settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485–86 (D. 17 Ariz. 2003). Limited or sum certain authority is not adequate. Nick v. Morgan’s Foods, 18 Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 595–97 (8th Cir. 2001). A person who needs to call another person 19 who is not present on the videoconference before agreeing to any settlement does not 20 have full authority. 21 4. Confidential ENE Statements Required: No later than August 4, 2023, the 22 parties shall submit confidential statements of five (5) pages or less directly to the chambers 23 of Magistrate Judge Goddard outlining the nature of the case, the claims, and the defenses. 24 These statements shall not be filed or served on opposing counsel. They shall be lodged 25 via email at efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov. The ENE statement is limited to five (5) 26 pages or less, and up to five (5) pages of exhibits or declarations. Each party’s ENE 27 statement must outline: 28 // 2 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Case 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Document 6 Filed 06/28/23 PageID.45 Page 3 of 6 1 A. the nature of the case and the claims, 2 B. position on liability or defense, 3 C. position regarding settlement of the case with a specific2 demand/offer for settlement,3 and 4 5 D. 6 5. any previous settlement negotiations or mediation efforts. Case Management Conference: In the event the case does not settle at the 7 ENE, the Court will immediately thereafter hold a Case Management Conference (“CMC”) 8 pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b). Appearance of the parties at the CMC is not required. 9 The Court orders the following to occur before the CMC: 10 A. The parties must meet and confer pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) no 11 later than June 14, 2023. Although, due to the present continuance, the 12 ENE is not set within the standard 45-day timeframe after the filing of 13 the first Answer, the Court will consider discovery to be open after the 14 parties have met and conferred pursuant to Rule 26, and will take this 15 deadline into account when setting the case schedule during the CMC. 16 B. The parties must file a Joint Case Management Statement by 17 August 1, 2023. The Joint Case Management Statement must address 18 all points in the “Joint Case Management Statement Requirements for 19 Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard,” which can be found on the 20 court website at: 21 https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/Judges/goddard/docs/Goddard%20Join 22 t%20Case%20Management%20Statement%20Rules.pdf. 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 A general statement, such as that a party “will negotiate in good faith,” is a not a specific demand or offer. 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 party must explain when they will be in a position to state a demand or offer. 3 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Case 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Document 6 Filed 06/28/23 PageID.46 Page 4 of 6 1 C. 2 Initial disclosures pursuant to Rule 26(a)(1)(A-D) must occur by June 28, 2023. 3 6. Appearances via Videoconference Required: All named parties, party 4 representatives, including claims adjusters for insured defendants, as well as principal 5 attorney(s) responsible for the litigation must attend the ENE via videoconference. All who 6 attend the ENE must be legally and factually prepared to discuss and resolve the case. 7 Counsel appearing without their clients (whether or not counsel has been given settlement 8 authority) will be subject to immediate imposition of sanctions. To facilitate the 9 videoconference ENE, the Court hereby orders as follows: 10 A. The Court will use its official Zoom video conferencing account to hold 11 the ENE. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom: Zoom is available on 12 computers through a download on the Zoom website 13 (https://zoom.us/meetings) or on mobile devices through the 14 installation of a free app.4 Joining a Zoom conference does not require 15 creating a Zoom account, but it does require downloading the .exe file 16 (if using a computer) or the app (if using a mobile device). Participants 17 are encouraged to create an account, install Zoom and familiarize 18 themselves with Zoom in advance of the ENE.5 There is a cost-free 19 option for creating a Zoom account. 20 B. Prior to the start of the ENE, the Court will email each participant an 21 invitation to join a Zoom video conference. Again, if possible, 22 participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the 23 video conference, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance. 24 25 26 27 28 4 If possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, rather than mobile devices. 5 For help getting started with Zoom, us/categories/200101697-Getting-Started visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en- 4 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Case 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Document 6 Filed 06/28/23 PageID.47 Page 5 of 6 1 Participants shall join the video conference by following the ZoomGov 2 Meeting hyperlink in the invitation. Participants who do not have 3 Zoom already installed on their device when they click on the 4 ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink will be prompted to download and 5 install Zoom before proceeding. Zoom may then prompt participants 6 to enter the password included in the invitation. 7 C. Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least 8 five minutes before the start of the ENE to ensure that the conference 9 begins promptly at 2:00 p.m. 10 D. Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the ENE as it 11 ordinarily would conduct an in-person one. The Court will divide 12 participants into separate, confidential sessions, which Zoom calls 13 Breakout Rooms.6 In a Breakout Room, the Court will be able to 14 communicate with participants from a single party in confidence. 15 Breakout Rooms will also allow parties and counsel to communicate 16 confidentially without the Court. 17 E. No later than August 4, 2023, each party shall send an e-mail to the 18 Court at efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov containing the following: 19 i. The name and title of each participant, including all parties 20 and party representatives with full settlement authority, claims 21 adjusters for insured defendants, and the primary attorney(s) 22 responsible for the litigation; 23 ii. 24 An e-mail address for each participant to receive the Zoom video conference invitation; 25 iii. A telephone number where each participant may be reached; 26 27 28 6 For more information on what to expect when participating in a Zoom Breakout Room, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005769646 5 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Case 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG Document 6 Filed 06/28/23 PageID.48 Page 6 of 6 1 and 2 iv. A cell phone number for that party’s preferred point of 3 contact (and the name of the individual whose cell phone it is) 4 for the Court to use during the ENE to alert counsel via text 5 message that the Court will soon return to that party’s Breakout 6 Room, to avoid any unexpected interruptions of confidential 7 discussions. 8 F. All participants shall display the same level of professionalism during 9 the ENE and be prepared to devote their full attention to the ENE as if 10 they were attending in person, i.e., cannot be driving or in a car while 11 speaking to the Court. Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery 12 of a participant’s device, each participant should ensure that their 13 device is plugged in or that a charging cable is readily available during 14 the video conference. 15 G. Counsel are advised that although the ENE will take place on Zoom, all 16 participants shall appear and conduct themselves as if it is proceeding 17 in a courtroom, i.e., all participants must dress in appropriate courtroom 18 attire. 19 H. 20 21 22 23 If the case does not settle during the ENE, the Court will hold the CMC immediately following the ENE with counsel only in the main session. 7. The failure of any party to follow these mandatory procedures shall result in the imposition of sanctions. 8. Questions regarding this case or these mandatory guidelines may be directed 24 to Judge Goddard’s law clerks at (619) 557-6162. Lodged statements should be emailed to 25 efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov. 26 27 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: June 28, 2023 28 6 3:23-cv-00527-GPC-AHG
]]>
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You
should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
