U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California. (Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM)

U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California has a message for litigants with cases pending on his civil docket: Consider settling. 

The San Francisco jurist issued a general order on the dockets of his civil cases Monday indicating that scheduling conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have made items on his future calendar "highly uncertain."

"At this juncture, no assurances can be given as to when civil trials can be resumed, and if so, whether a further suspension due to public health developments will be necessary," Seeborg wrote. "Accordingly, it would seem to be an optimal time for the parties to initiate or renew an exploration of possible settlement or some other form of alternative dispute resolution."

Seeborg is ordering parties to meet and confer within 30 days of the order to discuss "the prospect of resolution" and file a joint report about the status of the case. Seeborg has asked the parties to stick to a template for the joint report indicating whether they've settled and will be filing the applicable paperwork with the court, that they're making progress and that they'd like to engage in further ADR, or that after a good-faith effort they were unable to reach a settlement.

For those pursuing the ADR route, Seeborg has offered the parties the opportunity to make further requests of the court. He's also offered all parties the opportunity to provide him with further information.

Seeborg's order comes as a general order from Northern District Chief Judge Phyllis Hamilton has barred the beginning of any new jury trials until at least June 1. Some high-profile trials that were set to begin after that date in the district have already been postponed. On May 15, U.S. District Judge William Orrick III vacated a June 8 trial date in a discrimination case brought against Tesla Inc. by workers at its Fremont, California, production facility after previously holding out a sliver of hope that the trial could move forward. Before that, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila said at a hearing last month that he was likely to delay the criminal trial against Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of defunct blood-testing company Theranos, which was originally set for opening statements in early August. 

As for Seeborg, his civil docket includes a class action lawsuit accusing Facebook Inc. of illegally accessing the contact lists, text and call data of smartphones using the Android operation system, a lawsuit against Doordash claiming that the company misclassifies the couriers who use its delivery app as independent contractors, and a lawsuit brought on behalf of New Orleans residents against Uber Technologies Inc. over the company's failure to extend its service for those in need of wheelchair accessible vehicles to the city. 

Read Seeborg's General Order: