Opinion
4:23-cv-00005
03-11-2024
SEVEN CONTINENTS GLOBAL EXPEDITIONARY OPERATIONS, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; and TOMMY L. ALLEN, a Utah resident; Plaintiffs, v. STEAPHAN WEIR, a California resident; JANE AND JOHN DOES 1-10; and DOE BUSINESS ENTITIES 1-10; Defendants. STEAPHAN WEIR, an individual, Cross-Claimant, v. SEVEN CONTINENTS GLOBAL EXPEDITIONARY OPERATIONS, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; and TOMMY L. ALLEN, an individual; and ROES 1 through 25, inclusive. Cross-Defendants
David Nuffer District Judge
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DENYING PLAINTFFS' MOTION TO COMPEL MEDIATION
Paul Kohler Magistrate Judge
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel Mediation.Whether to compel mediation is within the district court's discretion.The Court “has authorization by local rule and [its] inherent authority to order mediation as a way of managing the litigation before it.”“Of course, a district court's inherent powers are not infinite.” Inherent powers must be used in a way reasonably suited to the enhancement of the Court's processes; exercised in a manner that comports with applicable statutes, rules, and procedural fairness; and used with restraint and discretion.When mediation is forced upon unwilling litigants, it stands to reason that the likelihood of settlement is diminished. Requiring parties to invest substantial amounts of time and money in mediation under such circumstances may well be inefficient.
Docket No. 31, filed December 11, 2023.
See Pierce v. Underwood, 487 U.S. 552, 559 n.1 (1988).
United States v. Ridley's Family Mkts., Inc., 525 F.Supp.3d 1355, 1357 (D. Utah. 2021); see also In re Alt. Pipe Corp., 304 F.3d 135, 143 (1st Cir. 2002).
In re Alt. Pipe Corp., 304 F.3d at 143.
Id.
Ridley's Family Mkts., 525 F.Supp. at 1357-58.
Id. at 1358.
Given the procedural posture of this case, including the recent withdrawal of counsel for Defendant Weir, the Court finds that mediation will not be beneficial at this time. It is therefore
ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel Mediation (Docket No. 31) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.