1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 GINA BOTELLO, Case No.: 22cv755-JO(LR)

12 Plaintiff, ORDER RESETTING MANDATORY 13 v. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE 14 SUN VALLEY BEHAVIORAL MEDICAL CENTER, INC., et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 On February 8, 2023, the Court held a telephonic Case Management Conference in 19 this case. Pursuant to the discussions with the parties during the conference, the Court 20 RESETS the video Mandatory Settlement Conference (“MSC”) currently scheduled for 21 April 19, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. for March 15, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. The MSC will be held by 22 video conference before Magistrate Judge Lupe Rodriguez, Jr. to be hosted through the 23 Court’s ZoomGov account. All discussions at the MSC will be informal, off the record, 24 privileged, and confidential. Counsel for any non-English speaking party is responsible 25 for arranging for the appearance of an interpreter at the conference. The following rules 26 and deadlines apply: 27 a. Personal Appearance of Parties Required: All named parties, party 28 representatives, claims adjusters for insured defendants, as well as the principal 1 attorney(s) responsible for the litigation, must be present and legally and factually 2 prepared to discuss and resolve the case at the MSC. Counsel appearing without their 3 clients will be sanctioned, and the Court will terminate the conference. 4 b. Full Settlement Authority Required: A party or party representative with 5 full settlement authority1 must be present at the conference. Retained outside corporate 6 counsel shall not appear on behalf of a corporation as the party representative who has 7 the authority to negotiate and enter a settlement. A government entity may be excused 8 from this requirement so long as the government attorney who attends the MSC has 9 (1) primary responsibility for handling the case, and (2) authority to negotiate and 10 recommend settlement offers to the government official(s) having ultimate settlement 11 authority. 12 c. Confidential Settlement Statements Required: On or before 13 March 8, 2023, the parties shall submit directly to Magistrate Judge Rodriguez’s 14 chambers (via hand delivery or by e-mail to the Court at 15 [email protected]), confidential settlement statements. The statements 16 are limited to ten (10) pages, plus an additional ten (10) pages of exhibits. A settlement 17 statement must outline (1) the nature of the case and the claims, (2) the party’s position 18 on liability or defenses; (3) the party’s position regarding settlement of the case with a 19 specific demand/offer for settlement, and (4) a summary of any previous settlement 20 negotiations or mediation efforts. The settlement statement must specifically identify 21 what the discovery process revealed and the effect that the evidence has on the issues in 22 23 24 1 “Full settlement authority” means that the individuals at the settlement conference must be authorized 25 to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co. v. Joseph Oat Corp.,

(7th Cir. 1989). The person 26 needs to have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc.,

, 485–86 (D. Ariz. 2003). The purpose of requiring a person with 27 unlimited settlement authority to attend the conference contemplates that the person’s view of the case may be altered during the face-to-face conference.

. A limited or a sum certain of authority is 28 1 the case. To the extent specific discovery responses, portions of deposition testimony, or 2 expert reports are pertinent to the Court’s evaluation of the matter, these documents must 3 be attached as exhibits. Evidence supporting or refuting either party’s claim for damages 4 must also be identified and included as an exhibit. 5 If a party cannot make a specific demand or offer, then the party must explain why 6 a demand or offer cannot be made and when the party will be able to state a demand or 7 offer. The settlement statement should be submitted confidentially and need not be 8 shared with other parties. 9 d. The Court will use its official Zoom video conferencing account to 10 hold the MSC. IF YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH ZOOM: Zoom is available on 11 computers through a download on the Zoom website (https://zoom.us/meetings) or on 12 mobile devices through the installation of a free app. Joining a Zoom conference does 13 not require creating a Zoom account, but it does require downloading the .exe file (if 14 using a computer) or the app (if using a mobile device). Participants are encouraged to 15 create an account, install Zoom, and familiarize themselves with Zoom before the MSC.2 16 There is a cost-free option for creating a Zoom account. 17 e. Before the MSC, the Court will e-mail each MSC participant an invitation to 18 join a Zoom video conference. Participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop 19 computers for the video conference, because mobile devices often offer inferior 20 performance. Participants shall join the video conference by following the ZoomGov 21 Meeting hyperlink in the invitation. Participants who do not have Zoom already 22 installed on their device when they click on the ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink will be 23 prompted to download and install Zoom before proceeding. Zoom may then prompt 24 participants to enter the password included in the invitation. All participants will be 25 26 27 2 For help getting started with Zoom, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/ 200101697-Getting-Started. 28 1 placed in a waiting room until the MSC begins. 2 f. Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least 3 ten minutes before the start of the MSC to ensure that the conference begins promptly at 4 10:00 a.m. 5 g. Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the MSC as it 6 ordinarily would conduct an in-person MSC. That is, the Court will begin the MSC with 7 all participants joined together in a main session. After an initial discussion in the main 8 session, the Court will divide participants into separate, confidential sessions, which 9 Zoom calls Breakout Rooms.3 In a Breakout Room, the Court will be able to 10 communicate with participants from a single party in confidence. Breakout Rooms will 11 also allow parties and counsel to communicate confidentially without the Court. 12 h. No later than March 8, 2023, counsel for each party shall send an e-mail to 13 the Court at [email protected] containing the following: 14 (1) The name and title of each participant, including all parties 15 and party representatives with full settlement authority, claims adjusters for insured 16 defendants, and the primary attorney(s) responsible for the litigation; 17 (2) An e-mail address for each participant to receive the Zoom 18 video conference invitation; and 19 (3) A telephone number where each participant may be reached 20 so that if technical difficulties arise, the Court will be able to proceed telephonically 21 instead of by video conference. (If counsel prefers all participants of their party on a 22 single conference call, counsel may provide a conference number and appropriate call-in 23 information, including an access code, where all counsel and parties or party 24 representatives for that side may be reached as an alternative to providing individual 25 telephone numbers for each participant.) 26

27 3 For more information on what to expect when participating in a Zoom Breakout Room, visit: 28 1 1. All participants shall display the same level of professionalism during 2 ||the MSC and be prepared to devote their full attention to the MSC as if they were 3 || attending in person. Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery of a participant’s 4 || device, each participant should ensure that their device is plugged in or that a charging 5 || cable is readily available during the video conference. 6 All other deadlines in the Court’s Scheduling Order Regulating Discovery and 7 || Other Proceedings remain unchanged. (See ECF No. 8.) 8 IT IS SO ORDERED. 9 Dated: February 9, 2023 10 LY 11 Honorable Lupe Rodriguez, Jr. 1 United States Magistrate Judge 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28