2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CHINEMEREM OSISIOMA, Case No.: 21cv2023-MMA (MSB)

12 Plaintiff,

ORDER:

13 v. (1) GRANTING IN PART JOINT MOTION 14 TRANS UNION, LLC, et al.,

TO CONTINUE EARLY NEUTRAL

15 Defendants. EVALUATION CONFERENCE [ECF NO. 21]

16

AND

17 (2) SUA SPONTE CONTINUING CASE 18

MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

19 20 21 On February 17, 2022, the parties filed a “Joint Motion to Continue Ealy Zoom 22 Neutral Evaluation Conference.” (ECF No. 21.) They ask the Court to continue the video 23 Early Neutral Evaluation Conference (“ENE”) currently scheduled for February 25, 2022, 24 at 9:30 a.m. until March 18, 2022. (Id. at 2.) In support, the parties state that counsel 25 for Defendant Trans Union LLC has a scheduling conflict on the date of the scheduled 26 ENE. (Id.) The parties further contend that they require additional time “to evaluate the 27 merits of the claim in advance of the ENE” so that they can “participate in a productive 2 GRANTS IN PART the motion. In light of the Court’s unavailability on March 18, 2022, 3 the date proposed by the parties for the rescheduled ENE, the Court issues the following 4 ORDERS: 5 An ENE of your case will be held via video conference on March 17, 2022, at 6 9:30 a.m., to be hosted through the Court’s ZoomGov account. All discussions at the 7 ENE Conference will be informal, off the record, privileged, and confidential. Counsel 8 for any non-English speaking party is responsible for arranging for the appearance of an 9 interpreter at the conference. The following rules and deadlines apply: 10 1. Personal Appearance of Parties Required: All named parties, party 11 representatives, including claims adjusters for insured defendants, as well as the 12 principal attorney(s) responsible for the litigation, must participate in the video 13 conference, and be legally and factually prepared to discuss and resolve the case. 14 Counsel appearing without their clients (whether or not counsel has been given 15 settlement authority) will be cause for immediate imposition of sanctions and may also 16 result in the immediate termination of the conference. 17 2. Full Settlement Authority Required: A party or party representative with 18 full settlement authority1 must be present at the conference. Retained outside 19 corporate counsel shall not appear on behalf of a corporation as the party 20 representative who has the authority to negotiate and enter into a settlement. 21 / / / 22

23 1 “Full settlement authority” means that the individuals at the settlement conference must be 24 authorized to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms 25 acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the settlement position of a 26 party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 485–86 (D. Ariz. 2003). The purpose of requiring a person with unlimited settlement authority to attend the conference contemplates that the person’s 27 view of the case may be altered during the face to face conference. Id. at 486. A limited or a sum 2 parties shall submit directly to Magistrate Judge Berg’s chambers (via hand delivery or 3 by e-mail to the Court at efile_berg@casd.uscourts.gov), confidential settlement 4 statements. The ENE statement is limited to five (5) pages or less, and up to five (5) 5 pages of exhibits or declarations. Each party’s ENE statement must outline (1) the 6 nature of the case and the claims, (2) position on liability or defense, (3) position 7 regarding settlement of the case with a specific demand/offer for settlement, and 8 (4) any previous settlement negotiations or mediation efforts. 9 If a specific demand or offer cannot be made at the time the ENE statement is 10 submitted, then the reasons as to why a demand or offer cannot be made must be 11 stated. Further, the party must explain when they will be in a position to state a 12 demand or offer. General statements such as a party will “negotiate in good faith” is 13 not a specific demand or offer. The ENE statement should be submitted confidentially 14 and need not be shared with other parties. 15 4. The Court will use its official Zoom video conferencing account to hold the 16 ENE. IF YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH ZOOM: Zoom is available on computers through a 17 download on the Zoom website (https://zoom.us/meetings) or on mobile devices 18 through the installation of a free app.2 Joining a Zoom conference does not require 19 creating a Zoom account, but it does require downloading the .exe file (if using a 20 computer) or the app (if using a mobile device). Participants are encouraged to create 21 an account, install Zoom, and familiarize themselves with Zoom in advance of the ENE.3 22 There is a cost-free option for creating a Zoom account. 23 / / / 24

25 26 2 If possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance. 27 2 invitation to join a Zoom video conference. Again, if possible, participants are 3 encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, as mobile 4 devices often offer inferior performance. Participants shall join the video conference by 5 following the ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink in the invitation. Participants who do not 6 have Zoom already installed on their device when they click on the ZoomGov Meeting 7 hyperlink will be prompted to download and install Zoom before proceeding. Zoom 8 may then prompt participants to enter the password included in the invitation. All 9 participants will be placed in a waiting room until the ENE begins. 10 6. Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least five 11 minutes before the start of the ENE to ensure that the ENE begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. 12 The Zoom e-mail invitation may indicate an earlier start time, but the ENE will begin at 13 the Court-scheduled time. 14 7. Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the ENE as it 15 ordinarily would conduct an in-person ENE. That is, the Court will begin the ENE with all 16 participants joined together in a main session. After an initial discussion in the main 17 session, the Court will divide participants into separate, confidential sessions, which 18 Zoom calls Breakout Rooms.4 In a Breakout Room, the Court will be able to 19 communicate with participants from a single party in confidence. Breakout Rooms will 20 also allow parties and counsel to communicate confidentially without the Court. 21 8. No later than March 10, 2022, counsel for each party shall send an e-mail 22 to the Court at efile_berg@casd.uscourts.gov containing the following: 23 a. The name and title of each participant, including all parties and 24 party representatives with full settlement authority, claims adjusters for insured 25 defendants, and the primary attorney(s) responsible for the litigation; 26

27 2 conference invitation; and 3 c. A telephone number where each participant may be reached so that 4 if technical difficulties arise, the Court will be able to proceed telephonically instead of 5 by video conference. (If counsel prefers all participants of their party on a single 6 conference call, counsel may provide a conference number and appropriate call-in 7 information, including an access code, where all counsel and parties or party 8 representatives for that side may be reached as an alternative to providing individual 9 telephone numbers for each participant.) 10 9. All participants shall display the same level of professionalism during the 11 ENE and be prepared to devote their full attention to the ENE as if they were attending 12 in person. Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery of a participant’s device, each 13 participant should ensure that their device is plugged in or that a charging cable is 14 readily available during the video conference. 15 10. New Parties Must be Notified by Plaintiff or Plaintiff’s Counsel: Plaintiff’s 16 counsel shall give notice of the ENE to parties responding to the complaint after the 17 date of this notice. 18 11. Case Management Conference: If the case does not settle during the ENE, 19 the Court will conduct a Case Management Conference. In preparation for this 20 conference, the parties must do the following: 21 a. Meet and confer pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) no later than 22 March 3, 2022; 23 b. File a Joint Discovery Plan no later than March 10, 2022. Agreements 24 made in the Joint Discovery Plan will be treated as binding stipulations that are 25 effectively incorporated into the Court’s Case Management Order. The Joint Discovery 26 Plan must be one document and must cover the parties’ views and proposals for each 27 item identified in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f)(3). In addition, the Joint Discovery Plan must 2 served and, if so, a proposed deadline for service; 3 ii. Amendment of Pleadings: The extent to which parties, claims, or 4 defenses are expected to be added or dismissed and a proposed deadline for amending 5 the pleadings; 6 iii. Protective Order: Whether a protective order is contemplated to 7 cover the exchange of confidential information and, if so, the date by which the 8 proposed order will be submitted to the Court; 9 iv. Privilege: The procedure the parties plan to use regarding claims 10 of privilege and whether an order pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 502 will be sought; 11 v. Evidence Preservation: Whether the parties have discussed 12 issues related to the preservation of relevant evidence and if there are areas of 13 disagreement, how the parties are resolving them; 14 vi. Electronic Discovery: In addition to the requirements set forth in 15 Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f)(3)(C), the parties must describe their agreements regarding 16 methodologies for locating and producing electronically stored information and the 17 production of metadata, and must identify any issues or agreements regarding 18 electronically stored information that may not be reasonably accessible (see Fed. R. Civ. 19 P. 26(b)(2)(B)); 20 vii. Discovery: In addition to the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 21 26(f)(3)(B), the parties must describe the discovery taken to date (if any), any proposed 22 limitations or modifications of the discovery rules, and any identified discovery disputes; 23 and 24 viii. Related Cases: Any related cases or proceedings pending before 25 another judge of this court, or before another court or administrative body. 26 c. Exchange initial disclosures pursuant to Rule 26(a)(1)(A-D) no later than 27 March 10, 2022. 1 12. Requests to Continue an ENE Conference: Requests to continue ENEs are 2 rarely granted. An ENE may be rescheduled only upon a showing of good cause and 3 || adequate notice to the Court. Absent good cause, requests for continuances will not 4 || be considered unless submitted in writing no fewer than seven (7) calendar days prior 5 || to the scheduled conference. 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 ||Dated: February 17, 2022 = _ 2 SF — 9 Honorable Michael S. Berg United States Magistrate Judge 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28