Etuate Sekona v. F. Custino

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California orders a remote settlement conference in Sekona v. Custino for May 29, 2025, before Magistrate Judge Allison Claire. The order requires confidential settlement statements, explains attendance and settlement-authority requirements, stays the matter through the conference, and resets the defendant’s status-report deadline if the case is not resolved.

Holdings

1. The district court may require the parties to participate in a mandatory settlement conference and may refer the case to a magistrate judge for that purpose.
2. A party attending the settlement conference must be represented by an individual with full authority to settle, including unfettered discretion and authority to change the party's settlement position and agree to acceptable settlement terms; authority limited to a specified dollar amount may be insufficient.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court should refer the pending § 1983 action to a mandatory settlement conference.
2. What attendance and settlement-authority requirements apply to the parties at the settlement conference.

Disposition

other