1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JAMES ALGER, Case No.: 3:25-cv-02355-H-AHG 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING IN PART

JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE

13 v.

EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION

14 NORTH CITY HOTEL ONE, LLC and CONFERENCE AND CASE

BRICK HOSPITALITY, INC., MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

15

Defendants. 16 [ECF No. 6] 17 18 19 Before the Court is the parties’ Joint Motion to Continue the Early Neutral 20 Evaluation (“ENE”) and Case Management Conference (“CMC”) currently set for 21 December 9, 2025. ECF No. 6. 22 Parties seeking to continue an ENE must demonstrate good cause. Chmb.R. at 2 23 (stating that any request for continuance requires “[a] showing of good cause for the 24 request”); ECF No. 5 at 7–8 (same); see FED. R. CIV. P. 6(b) (“When an act may or must 25 be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time”). Courts 26 have broad discretion in determining whether there is good cause. See, e.g., Johnson v. 27 Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 607 (9th Cir. 1992); Olvera v. Citibank, N.A., 28 No. 25-cv-789-H-AHG, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117769, at *2, *4–*5 (S.D. Cal. June 19, 1 2025). “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been construed broadly across 2 procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259 3 (9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence of the party seeking to 4 amend the scheduling order and the reasons for seeking modification. Johnson, 975 F.2d 5 at 609 (“[T]he focus of the inquiry is upon the moving party’s reasons for seeking 6 modification.... If that party was not diligent, the inquiry should end.”). 7 Here, the parties represent to the Court that they “are making progress in their 8 settlement discussions.” ECF No. 6 at 2. The parties explain that they “wish to avoid the 9 time and expense of traveling to the subject premises” to comply with pre-ENE deadlines 10 while they “are working through settlement options.” Id. The parties contend that 11 “incurring additional attorney fees and costs for meeting ENE deadlines would interfere 12 with settlement progress rather than help it.” Id.; see ECF No. 6-1 at 2 (counsel represents 13 that he believes an extension will enable the parties to reach “resolution of all claims 14 without the additional costs associated with the ENE and meeting the deadlines associated 15 with it”). As such, the parties request a 60-day continuance1 of the ENE and CMC, and 16 provided a proposed list of dates for the conferences and pre-conference deadlines. ECF 17 No. 6 at 3–4. 18 The Court appreciates that the parties have been working together, and finds good 19 cause to GRANT IN PART2 the joint motion as follows: 20 1. The ENE and CMC scheduled for December 9, 2025, are RESET for 21 February 6, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. before the Honorable Allison H. Goddard via 22 videoconference. 23 24 1 The parties seek to continue the “Early Neutral Evaluation, Telephone Status 25 Conferences, In-Person Meet and Confer Deadline, Case Management Conference and Related Deadlines,” (see ECF No. 6 at 1; ECF No. 6-1 at 2), however, there were no 26 telephonic status conferences set in this matter. 27 2 The Court does not have availability on the ENE date requested and, thus, has modified 28 1 2. Purpose of the Conference: The purpose of the ENE is to permit an informal 2 discussion between the attorneys and the settlement judge of every aspect of the lawsuit in 3 an effort to achieve an early resolution of the case. All conference discussions will be 4 informal, off the record, and confidential. 5 3. Full Settlement Authority Required: A party or party representative with 6 full and complete authority to enter into a binding settlement must be present via 7 videoconference. Full authority to settle means that a person must be authorized to fully 8 explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable to 9 the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 10 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the 11 settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485–86 (D. 12 Ariz. 2003). One of the purposes of requiring a person with unlimited settlement authority 13 to attend the conference is that the person’s view of the case may be altered during the 14 face-to-face conference. Id. at 486. Limited or sum certain authority is not adequate. Nick 15 v. Morgan’s Foods, Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 595–97 (8th Cir. 2001). A person who needs to 16 call another person who is not present on the videoconference before agreeing to any 17 settlement does not have full authority. 18 4. All formal discovery is stayed until after the Rule 26(f) conference. 19 5. Meet and Confer Requirement: No later than January 8, 2026, counsel for 20 the parties, and any unrepresented parties, must meet and confer in person at the subject 21 premises regarding settlement of (1) the alleged premise violations, and (2) damages, costs 22 and attorney fees. Plaintiff’s counsel is responsible for making arrangements for the 23 conference. The meet and confer obligation cannot be satisfied by telephone or the 24 exchange of letters. 25 6. Joint Statement Required: No later than January 12, 2026, counsel for all 26 parties shall lodge with Magistrate Judge Goddard’s chambers a joint statement no longer 27 than two (2) pages, certifying that the required in-person conference between counsel took 28 place and setting forth the results of the meet and confer and the issues remaining to be 1 discussed at the ENE. This joint statement should be lodged via email at 2 efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov. 3 7. Plaintiff’s counsel shall be prepared to present documentation to the Court for 4 in camera review at the ENE, supporting the amount of attorney fees and costs claimed. 5 8. Confidential ENE Statements Required: No later than January 29, 2026, 6 the parties shall submit confidential statements of five (5) pages or less directly to the 7 chambers of Magistrate Judge Goddard outlining the nature of the case, the claims, and the 8 defenses. These statements shall not be filed or served on opposing counsel. They 9 shall be lodged via email at efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov. The ENE statement is 10 limited to five (5) pages or less. There is not a page limit on exhibits. Each party’s ENE 11 statement must outline: 12 A. the nature of the case and the claims, 13 B. position on liability or defense, 14 C. position regarding settlement of the case with a specific3 15 demand/offer for settlement,4 and 16 D. any previous settlement negotiations or mediation efforts. 17 The Court may use GenAI tools to review the information that the parties submit. Either 18 party may object to the Court’s use of such tools by advising the Court’s law clerk of that 19 objection when they submit the information. The Court will respect that objection without 20 any further explanation, and the Court’s law clerk will only communicate to Judge Goddard 21 that there was an objection, not which party made the objection. 22 / / 23

24 25 3 A general statement, such as that a party “will negotiate in good faith,” is a not a specific demand or offer. 26 4 If a specific demand or offer cannot be made at the time the ENE statement is submitted, 27 then the reasons as to why a demand or offer cannot be made must be stated. Further, the 28 party must explain when they will be in a position to state a demand or offer. 1 9. Case Management Conference: In the event the case does not settle at the 2 ENE, the Court will immediately thereafter hold a Case Management Conference (“CMC”) 3 pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b). Thus, the Court therefore ORDERS the following to 4 occur before the CMC: 5 A. The parties must meet and confer pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) no 6 later than January 14, 2026. 7 B. The parties must file a Joint Case Management Statement by 8 January 27, 2026. The Joint Case Management Statement must 9 address all points in the “Joint Case Management Statement 10 Requirements for Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard,” which can be 11 found on the court website at 12 https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/Judges/goddard/docs/Goddard%20Join 13 t%20Case%20Management%20Statement%20Rules.pdf 14 C. Initial disclosures pursuant to Rule 26(a)(1)(A-D) must occur by 15 January 28, 2026. 16 10. Appearances via Videoconference Required: All named parties, party 17 representatives, including claims adjusters for insured defendants, as well as principal 18 attorney(s) responsible for the litigation must attend the ENE via videoconference. All who 19 attend the ENE must be legally and factually prepared to discuss and resolve the case. 20 Counsel appearing without their clients (whether or not counsel has been given settlement 21 authority) will be subject to immediate imposition of sanctions. To facilitate the 22 videoconference ENE, the Court hereby orders as follows: 23 A. The Court will use its official Zoom video conferencing account to hold 24 the ENE. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom: Zoom is available on 25 computers through a download on the Zoom website 26 (https://zoom.us/meetings) or on mobile devices through the 27 28 1 installation of a free app. Joining a Zoom conference does not require 2 creating a Zoom account, but it does require downloading the .exe file 3 (if using a computer) or the app (if using a mobile device). Participants 4 are encouraged to create an account, install Zoom and familiarize 5 themselves with Zoom in advance of the ENE.6 There is a cost-free 6 option for creating a Zoom account. 7 B. Prior to the start of the ENE, the Court will email each participant an 8 invitation to join a Zoom video conference. Again, if possible, 9 participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the 10 videoconference, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance. 11 Participants shall join the video conference by following the ZoomGov 12 Meeting hyperlink in the invitation. Participants who do not have 13 Zoom already installed on their device when they click on the 14 ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink will be prompted to download and 15 install Zoom before proceeding. Zoom may then prompt participants 16 to enter the password included in the invitation. 17 C. Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least 18 five minutes before the start of the ENE to ensure that the conference 19 begins promptly at 2:00 p.m. 20 D. Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the ENE as it 21 ordinarily would conduct an in-person one. The Court will divide 22 participants into separate, confidential sessions, which Zoom calls 23 24

25 5 If possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video 26 conference, rather than mobile devices. 27 6 For help getting started with Zoom, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en- 28 1 Breakout Rooms. In a Breakout Room, the Court will be able to 2 communicate with participants from a single party in confidence. 3 Breakout Rooms will also allow parties and counsel to communicate 4 confidentially without the Court. 5 E. No later than January 29, 2026, counsel for each party shall send an e- 6 mail to the Court at efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov containing the 7 following: 8 i. The name and title of each participant, including all parties 9 and party representatives with full settlement authority, claims 10 adjusters for insured defendants, and the primary attorney(s) 11 responsible for the litigation; 12 ii. An e-mail address for each participant to receive the Zoom 13 videoconference invitation; 14 iii. A telephone number where each participant may be reached; 15 and 16 iv. A cell phone number for that party’s preferred point of 17 contact (and the name of the individual whose cell phone it is) 18 for the Court to use during the ENE to alert counsel via text 19 message that the Court will soon return to that party’s Breakout 20 Room, to avoid any unexpected interruptions of confidential 21 discussions. 22 F. All participants shall display the same level of professionalism during 23 the ENE and be prepared to devote their full attention to the ENE as if 24 they were attending in person, i.e., cannot be driving or in a car while 25

26 27 7 For more information on what to expect when participating in a Zoom Breakout Room, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005769646 28 1 speaking to the Court. Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery 2 of a participant’s device, each participant should ensure that their 3 device is plugged in or that a charging cable is readily available during 4 the video conference. 5 G. Counsel are advised that although the ENE will take place on Zoom, all 6 participants shall appear and conduct themselves as if it is proceeding 7 in acourtroom, 1.e., all participants must dress in appropriate courtroom 8 attire. 9 H. _ Ifthe case does not settle during the ENE, the Court will hold the CMC 10 immediately following the ENE with counsel only in the main session. 11 11. The failure of any party to follow these mandatory procedures shall result 12 ||in the imposition of sanctions. 13 12. Questions regarding this case or these mandatory guidelines may be directed 14 Judge Goddard’s law clerks at (619) 557-6162. Lodged statements should be emailed 15 || to efile_goddard @casd.uscourts.gov. 16 IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 ||Dated: October 31, 2025 ig _ □□ pbiormH. □□□ Honorable Allison H. Goddard 19 United States Magistrate Judge 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28