District Judge White reassigned our settlement judge. The settlement conference will now be before Magistrate Judge Bernard Zimmerman sometime before February 18, 2005.
Judge Zimmerman, like all settlement judges, will not be involved in other aspects of the case (like making discovery or dispositive motion rulings). The parties will appear in person before Judge Zimmerman and, if there's room for negotiation, he will work towards resolving the dispute before the case proceeds further on the litigation front.