ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S REQUEST TO ATTEND SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE BY TELEPHONE OR VIDEO

[ECF No. 209]

STANLEY A. BOONE, Magistrate Judge.

Plaintiff Edwin Garcia is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

This case is currently set for settlement conference on March 24, 2017, before the undersigned at California State Prison, Corcoran.

On March 2, 2017, Plaintiff filed a request to appear the settlement conference by telephone or video.

Generally, the Court allows inmates to appear telephonically for all pretrial proceedings, however, the Court finds that settlement conference are not productive without the ability to have face to face contact with the participants. Therefore, the Court requires parties to personally appear for settlement conferences. Plaintiff requests that he be allowed to appear by telephone or video, however, the Court's past experience has demonstrated that the California Department of Corrections telephone and/or video conferencing system can be unreliable; and therefore, is insufficient for the purposes of conducting a settlement conference. Thus, the Court finds that it is not practicable to allow an inmate to appear by telephone or video conference at a settlement conference. Plaintiff is advised that he is obligated to litigate the action which may necessitate, among other things, transportation to the court for proceedings. Accordingly, Plaintiff's motion to attend the settlement conference by telephone or video conference is DENIED.

IT IS SO ORDERED.