District of Minnesota
IN BRIEF
Process summary
Magistrate judge settlement conferences.
In the District of Minnesota, which is currently revising its local rules, proposed Local Rule 16.5 states that within the thirty-day period before trial, a settlement conference must be held in all civil cases except Social Security appeals and habeas corpus petitions. Trial counsel for each party as well as a party representative with full settlement authority are required to attend each settlement conference. The court may require additional settlement conferences at any other appropriate time during the pretrial period.
Although this rule has not yet been adopted, some magistrate judges have for many years routinely conducted settlement conferences. These conferences are scheduled at any time a district or magistrate judge decides it might be useful and do not stay any other proceedings in the case. Parties are generally notified by a letter or a formal notice issued by the magistrate judge. Some magistrate judges require the parties to meet before the settlement conference and to report in writing where they stood before the meeting and where they stand after it. Plaintiffs must also submit a written settlement demand and defendants must respond in writing. Participation in a settlement conference is mandatory, and all parties, as well as insurance representatives, must attend the conference. A mediation model is followed in the sessions, with both joint sessions and private caucuses held. Confidentiality is governed by Fed. R. Evid. 408. After the conference, only a minute order is filed indicating whether settlement occurred. Since January 1, 1994, the magistrate judges have conducted settlement conferences in hundreds of cases.
Other ADR.
Parties may be ordered by the assigned judge to participate in other nonbinding dispute resolution programs before a district or magistrate judge, such as summary jury trials and nonbinding arbitration. The court may also order parties to use nonbinding ADR procedures conducted by a nonjudge neutral. In such instances, the parties may be ordered to bear the reasonable costs incurred by the ADR process as allocated by the court.
Of note
Obligations of counsel.
Attorneys must discuss ADR with each other and must address in their joint case management plan whether and how ADR should be used in their case.
Information from court.
The court is preparing a booklet for federal court litigants that outlines ADR options and defines ADR terms. The parties and counsel will be required to sign an acknowledgment stating that they have read and understand the booklet.
Plans.
The court will consider and experiment with any ADR proposals that appear to have merit.
For more information
Francis E. Dosal, Clerk of Court, 612-290-3944; Franklin L. Noel, U.S. Magistrate Judge, 612-290-3181
Excerpted from
ADR and Settlement in the Federal District Courts: A Sourcebook for Judges & Lawyers, 1996,
a publication of the Federal Judicial Center and CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution