HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, Jr., District Judge.
G. Donovan Conwell, Jr., lead counsel for Defendants General Capacitor Co. Limited, Jianping Zheng aka Jim Zheng; General Capacitor International, Inc.; and General Capacitor, LLC (collectively "Defendants") hereby applies to this Court for permission to appear telephonically at the Case Management Conference set for February 28, 2017 at 2:00 pm.
The Court can permit a party to attend a case management conference by telephone. Adv. Comm. Note to 2015 Amendment to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(1)(B)("The conference may be held in person, by telephone, or by more sophisticated electronic means."). See also Civil L.R. 16-10(a) in connection with initial case management conferences. ("Requests to participate in the conference by telephone must be filed and served at least 7 days before the conference . . .").
There is good cause to allow Defendants' lead counsel to appear telephonically. Defendants' lead counsel's office (and residence) is in Tampa, Florida. Declaration of George Donovan Conwell, Jr., ¶ 2, filed concurrently herewith. While Defendants' lead counsel appeared in person for the recent Case Management Conference and Mediation Hearing, Defendants' lead counsel can effectively attend and meaningfully participate in the Case Management Conference, via telephone. Id. Defendants' lead counsel will have full authority to make decisions about any issue that may come up during the conference. Id. Additionally, co-counsel Perry J. Narancic, will appear in person at the Case Management Conference. Therefore, there will be no impact on the efficacy of the Conference and there is good cause to allow Defendants' lead counsel to appear telephonically.
For the foregoing reason, Defendants, respectfully requests that this Court grant the instant application. [PROPOSED] ORDER
GOOD CAUSE appearing therefore, Defendants' counsel G. Donovan Conwell, Jr., lead counsel for Defendants General Capacitor Co. Limited, Jianping Zheng aka Jim Zheng; General Capacitor International, Inc.; and General Capacitor, LLC, may appear telephonically at the Case Management Conference set for February 28, 2017 at 2:00 pm. Counsel shall contact CourtCall at (866) 582-6878 to make arrangements for the telephonic appearance.
IT IS SO ORDERED.