6th Circuit

Case: 20-1616 Document: 13-1 Filed: 07/06/2020 Page: 1 (1 of 5)
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
100 EAST FIFTH STREET, ROOM 540
Deborah S. Hunt POTTER STEWART U.S. COURTHOUSE Tel. (513) 564-7000
Clerk CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-3988 www.ca6.uscourts.gov
Filed: July 06, 2020
Mr. Matthew P. Allen
Mr. Paul D. Clement
Mr. Jacob Eden Cohen
Mr. Ben M. Gonek
Ms. Judith S. Gracey
Mr. Steven L. Holley
Hariklia Karis
Ms. Erin Murphy
Mr. Michael A. Nedelman
Re: Case No. 20-1616, In re: General Motors, LLC, et al

Originating Case No. : 2:19-cv-13429
Dear Counsel,
The Court issued the enclosed Order today in this case.
Sincerely yours,
s/C. Anthony Milton

Case Manager
Direct Dial No. 513-564-7026
cc: Mr. David J. Weaver
Enclosure
No. 20-1616
FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Jul 06, 2020
DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
In re: GENERAL MOTORS, LLC; GENERAL )

MOTORS COMPANY, ) ORDER
)
Petitioners.
Before: SUHRHEINRICH, GILMAN, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiffs, General Motors, LLC and General Motors Company (“GM”), sued defendants,
FCA US LLC, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., and three individuals (“FCA”), for conspiring to
violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and various state laws. On June
23, 2020, the district judge entered the order that led to this mandamus petition. The order required
CEOs Mary Barra of GM and Michael Manley of FCA (the “CEOs”) to meet in person, without
their legal counsel, “to reach a sensible resolution of this huge legal distraction,” and to personally
report back to the district judge on July 1, 2020, via a public Zoom webinar, on their progress in
settling the case. We stayed the order pending receipt of FCA’s answer. The district judge has
provided a response. GM has filed a reply.
“Any power a lower federal court exercises must have some basis in either an act of
Congress or the Constitution. Otherwise, it has no basis in law.” In re Univ. of Mich., 936 F.3d
460, 465 (6th Cir. 2019). The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide district judges with tools
to manage their busy dockets. See id. Relevant here, at any pretrial conference, the district judge
may consider and take appropriate action on settling the case. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(c)(2)(I). To
No. 20-1616
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facilitate open communication, “settlement conferences should be private, not open to the media
and the public.” In re Univ. of Mich., 936 F.3d at 464.
The district court has since modified the June 23, 2020 order. Counsel may now be
present during the CEOs’ face-to-face meeting and at the pretrial conference, which will be closed
to the public. Mandamus relief is inappropriate if the district court corrects its own errors. In re
Life Inv’rs Ins. Co. of Am., 589 F.3d 319, 325 (6th Cir. 2009). One issue, however, remains. Did
the district judge abuse his discretion when he dictated who specifically had to attend on behalf of
the parties and required that they meet face-to-face?
“If appropriate, the court may require that a party or its representative be present or
reasonably available by other means to consider possible settlement.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(c)(1).
“Whether this would be the individual party, an officer of a corporate party, a representative from
an insurance carrier, or someone else would depend on the circumstances.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16
Advisory Committee Notes (1993 Amendments). “The selection of the appropriate representative
should ordinarily be left to the party and its counsel.” Id. The district judge did not consider or
try the lesser alternative of permitting the parties and their counsel to select their own corporate
representatives and allowing them to confer with one another by any reasonable means, including
by telephone or video conference. Furthermore, the reasons offered by the district judge for issuing
the June 23 order—for example, the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic killing of George Floyd—
are not related to settling the issues specific to this case. The district judge accordingly failed to
provide legally adequate reasons to establish that it was appropriate to order the CEOs personally
to meet face-to-face to consider a possible settlement. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(c)(1); see also In re
Univ. of Mich., 936 F.3d at 464 (concluding that the district court’s desire to have the University
president “explain University policy to his constituents” was “not a valid reason” to order the
No. 20-1616
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president to attend a settlement conference in person). We conclude that despite its subsequent
modification, the June 23 order is not in harmony with the provisions of Rule 16. See In re NLO,
Inc., 5 F.3d 154, 157 (6th Cir. 1993).
We have authority to issue a writ of mandamus under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 and Federal Rule
of Appellate Procedure 21. “However, a writ of mandamus is an extraordinary remedy that we
will not issue absent a compelling justification.” In re Life Inv’rs Ins. Co. of Am., 589 F.3d at 323.
“Only exceptional circumstances amounting to a judicial usurpation of power, or a clear abuse of
discretion, will justify the invocation of this extraordinary remedy.” Cheney v. U.S. Dist. Court
for Dist. of Columbia, 542 U.S. 367, 380 (2004) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
Three conditions must be satisfied. First, GM must have no other adequate means to attain the
relief it desires. Second, GM must show that its right to the issuance of the writ is clear and
indisputable. Third, we must find that the writ is appropriate under the circumstances. Id. at 380–
81; see John B. v. Goetz, 531 F.3d 448, 457 (6th Cir. 2008). We conclude that these conditions
are satisfied.
The relief that GM seeks cannot be obtained by other adequate means such as direct appeal
because, once the in-person meeting occurs, the issue will be moot. The need for mandamus relief
is also clear. An abuse of discretion occurs when “the district court’s decision is clearly
unreasonable, arbitrary or fanciful.” Tisdale v. Fed. Express Corp., 415 F.3d 516, 525 (6th Cir.
2005). Without any prior input from the parties or their counsel, the district judge: (1) singled out
the parties’ highest ranking officers; (2) required that they meet face-to-face; (3) did not account
for the risks involved in traveling during the COVID-19 crisis; (4) ordered them to report back to
the court in only eight days; and (5) took these measures for reasons unrelated to the case. We
No. 20-1616
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conclude that issuance of the writ is warranted. We do not mean to say, however, that the district
judge may not order a pretrial settlement conference and/or mediation in the normal course.
Lastly, we consider GM’s request that its case be reassigned to a different district judge.
“This Court possesses the power, under appropriate circumstances, to order the reassignment of a
case on remand pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2106.” Rorrer v. City of Stow, 743 F.3d 1025, 1049 (6th
Cir. 2014). “Reassignment ‘is an extraordinary power and should be rarely invoked.’” U.S. ex
rel. Williams v. Renal Care Grp., 696 F.3d 518, 533 (6th Cir. 2012) (quoting Solomon v. U.S., 467
F.3d 928, 935 (6th Cir. 2006)). The district judge’s desire for a quick settlement is not so extreme
as to call for such a remedy. Contrary to GM’s claim, neither the comments nor the conduct of
the district judge “establishes that he would not be able to decide fairly this factually complicated
case upon remand.” Hamad v. Woodcrest Condo. Ass’n, 328 F.3d 224, 239 (6th Cir. 2003). We
therefore decline to exercise our power of reassignment here. See Brent v. Wayne Cty. Dep’t of
Human Servs., 901 F.3d 656, 702 (6th Cir. 2018).
The petition for a writ of mandamus is GRANTED to the extent that the district judge
ordered that a settlement conference be held face-to-face and dictated who specifically had to
attend on behalf of the parties. The request for reassignment is DENIED.
ENTERED BY ORDER OF THE COURT
Deborah S. Hunt, Clerk

6th Circuit

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Case: 20-1616 Document: 13-1 Filed: 07/06/2020 Page: 1 (1 of 5)

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

Filed: July 06, 2020

Mr. Matthew P. Allen

Mr. Paul D. Clement

Mr. Jacob Eden Cohen

Mr. Ben M. Gonek

Ms. Judith S. Gracey

Mr. Steven L. Holley

Ms. Erin Murphy

Mr. Michael A. Nedelman

Re: Case No. 20-1616, In re: General Motors, LLC, et al

The Court issued the enclosed Order today in this case.

s/C. Anthony Milton

cc: Mr. David J. Weaver

In re: GENERAL MOTORS, LLC; GENERAL )

Before: SUHRHEINRICH, GILMAN, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges.

provided a response. GM has filed a reply.

and the public.” In re Univ. of Mich., 936 F.3d at 464.

the parties and required that they meet face-to-face?

Inc., 5 F.3d 154, 157 (6th Cir. 1993).

of Appellate Procedure 21. “However, a writ of mandamus is an extraordinary remedy that we

“Only exceptional circumstances amounting to a judicial usurpation of power, or a clear abuse of

Human Servs., 901 F.3d 656, 702 (6th Cir. 2018).

attend on behalf of the parties. The request for reassignment is DENIED.

ENTERED BY ORDER OF THE COURT

Deborah S. Hunt, Clerk

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