Free Motion to Continue - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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STEPTOE & JOHNSON LLP Collier Center 201 East Washington Street Suite 1600 Phoenix, Arizona 85004-2382 Telephone: (602) 257-5200 Facsimile: (602) 257-5299 Karl M. Tilleman (013435) Bruce Converse (005868) Attorneys for Plaintiff UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ARIZONA Northland Insurance Company, a Minnesota corporation, Plaintiff, vs. Correctional Medical Services, Inc., a Missouri corporation, Dr. Antonio DiMaano, Dr. Reynaldo Figueroa, Nurse Lorraine Lopez-Moreno, Nurse Trina Carrasco, Nurse Jacqueline Cornwell, and ABC Insurance Company, Defendants. No. CV 04-347 PHX-FJM JOINT REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE MANDATORY SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE and MOTION FOR BRIEF CONTINUANCE OF THE START OF TRIAL Pretrial Conference Friday, March 3, 2006 3:00 p.m.

Plaintiff Northland Insurance Company (" Northland" and Defendant Correctional ) Medical Services, Inc. (" CMS" jointly request that the Court refer the parties to an ) immediate mandatory settlement conference accordance with Local Rule 83.10, and briefly continue the start of the trial in this matter, which is currently set to begin March 14, 2006. The Court' recent ruling on CMS' Motion for Summary Judgment significantly s s changed the scope of the issues for trial. Subsequent to the Court' ruling on CMS' s s motion, Northland evaluated the new posture of the case and extended a settlement offer to
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CMS in an effort to resolve the remaining claims. Though CMS has not yet responded, counsel for the parties have been in frequent contact, and it is anticipated that CMS' s response to Northland'offer is forthcoming. Accordingly, an order referring the parties s to a mandatory settlement conference and a brief continuance of the start of the trial to accommodate this conference will allow for a more appropriate use of the both the parties' and the Court'resources, and is requested in the interest of judicial economy. Given the s more limited scope of the trial, if no settlement is reached, the parties believe it will be possible to start the trial on March 28, 2006, and still complete the trial within the calendar period spanned by the fifteen trial days originally estimated by the parties and allotted by the Court, thus minimizing the effect on the Court'calendar. s Counsel for both parties believe a mandatory settlement conference will productively move both parties towards a fair and reasonable settlement, thereby obviating the need for a trial. Accordingly, it is a more appropriate use of the resources of the Court and the parties, to refer the parties to an immediate mandatory settlement conference. Indeed, because the issues for trial are now more limited, the parties believe it will be possible to schedule and conduct a settlement conference within the next ten days, and, in the event that the case is not settled, start the trial on March 28, 2005, and still complete the trial within the remaining trial days originally estimated by the parties and allotted by the Court. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 1st day of March 2006. STEPTOE & JOHNSON LLP

By /s/ P. Bruce Converse Karl M. Tilleman P. Bruce Converse 201 East Washington, Suite 1600 Phoenix, Arizona 85004 Attorneys for Plaintiff Northland Insurance Company 2
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HOLLOWAY ODEGARD FORREST KELLY & KASPAREK, P.C. By /s/ Stephen Paul Forrest Stephen Paul Forrest 3101 N. Central Avenue Suite 1200 Phoenix, Arizona 85012-2642 Attorneys for Defendant Correctional Medical Services, Inc. AND
BRYAN CAVE, LLP

By /s/ Dennis E. O' Connell Dennis E. O' Connell One Metropolitan Square 211 North Broadway, Suite 3600 St. Louis, MO 63102-2750 Attorneys for Defendant Correctional Medical Services, Inc.

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on the 1st day of March, 2006, I caused the attached document to be electronically transmitted to the Clerk' Office using the CM/ECF System for filing s and transmittal of a Notice of Electronic Filing to the following CM/ECF Registrants: Stephen Paul Forrest, Esquire Holloway Odegard Forrest Kelly & Kasparek 3101 North Central Avenue, Suite 1200 Phoenix, Arizona 85012 Attorneys for Defendants Correctional Medical Services, Inc., Lorraine Lopez-Moreno, Trina Carrasco, and Jacqueline Cornwell STEPTOE & JOHNSON LLP By /s/ P. Bruce Converse Karl M. Tilleman P. Bruce Converse 201 East Washington, Suite 1600 Phoenix, Arizona 85004 Attorneys for Defendant

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