Cota v. Global Cellular, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JULISSA COTA, Case No.: 20-CV-2022-MMA(WVG) Plaintiff,

AMENDED NOTICE AND ORDER v. FOR (1) EARLY NEUTRAL

EVALUATION CONFERENCE AND GLOBAL CELLULAR, INC., (2) TELEPHONIC STATUS

Defendant. CONFERENCE

On its own motion, the telephonic status conferences scheduled for January 25, 2021 are VACATED and rescheduled as set forth in the second paragraph below. Additionally, the deadlines in paragraphs 4 and 5 below are amended.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that an Early Neutral Evaluation (“ENE”) of your case will be held on February 1, 2021, at 9:00 a.m., before United States Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo. These conferences will be held via Zoom videoconference as set forth in Attachment A.

Additionally, on January 20, 2021, beginning at 2:00 p.m., the Court will hold an attorneys-only telephonic status conference with each party separately.1 The purpose of The Court will contact the first party and proceed to contact the remaining parties one at a time. Each call may be short or lengthy. Counsel are required to be available for the this confidential, off-the-record teleconference is for the Court’s benefit in assessing each party’s concerns, challenges, and whether the Court can assist in alleviating these. On or before January 15, 2021, each attorney intending to participate shall lodge, via electronic mail addressed to [email protected], (1) the name of each attorney who will participate and (2) a telephone number at which each attorney may be reached directly without fail at the time of the conference.

The following are mandatory guidelines for the parties preparing for the ENE Conference.

Pursuant to Rule 16.1(c) of the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, both counsel and the parties who have full and unlimited authority2 to negotiate and enter into a binding settlement shall participate in the conference and shall be prepared to discuss the claims, defenses and damages.

Where the suit involves the United States or one of its agencies, only counsel for the United States with full settlement authority need appear. All conference discussions will be informal, off the record, privileged and confidential.

Based upon the Court’s familiarity with these matters and in the interest of promoting the just, efficient and economical determination of this action, the Court issues the following orders at this time:

counsel has not received a call from chambers after 20 minutes, counsel is directed to call chambers at (619) 557-6384. If multiple counsel will appear for a party, all counsel shall call jointly.

2 “Full authority to settle” means that the individuals at the settlement conference must be authorized to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 25 648 (7th Cir. 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Intl., Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485-486 (D. Ariz. 2003). The purpose of requiring a person with unlimited settlement authority to attend the conference includes that the person’s view of the case may be altered during the face to face conference. Id. at 486. A limited or a sum certain of authority is 1. All formal discovery shall be stayed in this case until the completion of the ENE Conference set herein;

2. No later than January 6, 2021, Plaintiff’s counsel shall lodge with Magistrate Judge Gallo’s chambers, and serve on opposing counsel, a statement, not in excess of five pages, including: a. An itemized list of the specific issues on the subject website which are the basis of the claimed violations under the Americans with Disabilities Act; b. A statement of the amount and category of damages claimed by Plaintiff in this action; c. The amount claimed for attorney’s fees and costs; and, d. The Plaintiff’s demand for settlement of the case in its entirety. 3. No later than January 13, 2021, counsel for the parties shall meet and confer via video conference regarding settlement of (1) alleged website violations, and (2) damages, costs and attorney fee claims. Plaintiff’s counsel shall be responsible to make arrangements for the conference. This meet and confer requirement cannot be satisfied by telephone or by the exchange of letters.

4. No later than January 15, 2021, counsel shall lodge with Magistrate Judge Gallo’s chambers a joint statement of no more than 10 pages, advising the Court of the status of settlement negotiations and setting forth all issues in dispute, Plaintiff’s alleged damages, and the claim for attorney’s fees and costs, along with a description of any settlement demands and/or offers exchanged. In the joint statement, Defendant shall also discuss what steps, if any, Defendant has taken to remedy the alleged violations set forth in Plaintiff’s Complaint.

5. No later than January 15, 2021, Plaintiff’s counsel shall provide documentation to the Court via [email protected] for in camera review supporting the amount of attorney’s fees and costs claimed.

The parties shall be prepared to engage in good faith settlement discussions with the Court and opposing parties during the ENE Conference. Failure to engage in good faith settlement discussions, or to comply with any provision of this Order, may result in the /imposition of sanctions.

Questions regarding this case may be directed to the Magistrate Judge’s Research Attorney at (619) 557-6384.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: January 8, 2021 | Se Hon. William V. Gallo United States Magistrate Judge

Appendix A – Zoom Videoconference Procedures

1. The Court will use its official Zoom video conferencing account to hold the ENE. The Zoom software is available for download on the Zoom website (https://zoom.us/meetings) or on mobile devices through the installation of a free app.3 Joining a Zoom conference does not require creating a Zoom account, but it does require downloading the .exe file (if using a computer) or the app (if using a mobile device). Participants are encouraged to create an account, install Zoom and familiarize themselves with Zoom in advance of the ENE.4 There is a cost-free option for creating a Zoom account. 2. Prior to the start of the ENE, the Court will e-mail counsel the meeting login information required to join the Zoom video conference. Participants can join the video conference by following the ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink provided to counsel or by entering the meeting ID and password. Again, if possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers with a camera for the video conference, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance. Participants who do not have Zoom already installed on their device when they click on the ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink will be prompted to download and install Zoom before proceeding. Zoom may then prompt participants to enter the password included in the invitation. All participants will be placed in a waiting room until the ENE begins.

3. Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least five minutes before the start of the ENE to ensure that the ENE begins promptly at 9:00 a.m.

4. Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the ENE as it ordinarily would conduct an in-person ENE. That is, the Court will begin the ENE with all participants joined together in a main session. After an initial discussion in the main session, the Court will divide participants into separate, confidential sessions, which Zoom

If possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance.

For help getting started with Zoom, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en- calls “Breakout Rooms.”5 In a Breakout Room, the Court will be able to communicate with participants from a single party in confidence. Breakout Rooms will also allow parties and counsel to communicate confidentially without the Court.

5. No later than January 15, 2021, counsel for each party shall send an e-mail to the Court at [email protected] containing the following: a. The name and title of each participant, including all parties and party representatives with full settlement authority, claims adjusters for insured defendants, and the primary attorney(s) responsible for the litigation; b. An e-mail address for each participant. This email address should be the same address the participant has used to create his or her Zoom account; and c. A telephone number where each participant may be reached so that if technical difficulties arise, the Court will be in a position to proceed telephonically instead of by video conference. (If counsel prefers to have all participants of their party on a single conference call, counsel may provide a conference number and appropriate call-in information, including an access code, where all counsel and parties or party representatives for that side may be reached as an alternative to providing individual telephone numbers for each participant.)

6. All participants shall display the same level of professionalism during the ENE and be prepared to devote their full attention to the ENE as if they were attending in person. Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery of a participant’s device, each participant should ensure that their device is plugged in or that a charging cable is readily available during the video conference. Participants should also participate in the conference in a For more information on what to expect when participating in a Zoom Breakout Room, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005769646. In short, the Court will manually place each participant in their respective Breakout Room. When the Court does this, on the participants device, the participant will see a notification regarding joining the Breakout Room. The participant should select the option to join the room. If the Court then wishes to close the Breakout Rooms and converse with all parties and counsel, the participant should choose the option that will appear on his or her device to leave the Breakout Room—this will send the participant to the group room; it will not expel the location that allows for privacy and which does not contain background noise such as dogs barking, children, or other noise that will disrupt the conference.