The Court encourages parties and counsel to consider voluntary settlement conferences when and where appropriate. The Court is willing to serve as a facilitator upon the parties' request. Based on the nature of the case and the state of settlement negotiations, the Court will be prepared to devote the entire day for the conference, and all parties should clear their schedules for the entire day.

FIRST: SEVEN CALENDAR DAYS before the settlement conference, each party shall submit by hand, fax, or email efile_grey@mied.uscourts.gov a confidential, ex-parte settlement statement directly to Chambers.

PLEASE DO NOT FILE THESE STATEMENTS WITH THE COURT. The statements shall be limited to ten pages with exhibits that total no more than ten pages, and shall include the following clearly marked sections:

1. A brief description of the background and nature of the case;
2. The party's perceived strengths;
3. The party's perceived weaknesses;
4. A statement identifying each cause of action at issue, and the remedies available under each of those causes of action;
5. A summary of all settlement discussions that have taken place to date, including the specific amount of any offers and counteroffers that have been made; and
6. A statement of why the most recent demand or offer was rejected.

SECOND: Individuals with full settlement authority shall be personally present at settlement conferences. For the plaintiff(s), "full settlement authority" means the authority to dismiss the complaint with prejudice in exchange for a settlement. For the defendant(s), "full settlement authority" is defined as the full relief requested in the lawsuit and/or the relief requested by the last settlement demand. If an insurance company agent holds the full settlement authority, such agent must be present at the conference. If a party appears at the conference with authority to settle for only less than full settlement authority, the conference will be rescheduled.

THIRD: At the settlement conference, the parties and their attorneys are expected to conduct themselves in a business-like manner and to negotiate in good faith.

The Court sends a Notice with detailed information regarding attendance and other matters. Scheduling and all other contact regarding settlement conferences is handled by Sandra Osorio, Case Manager.