In the interest of efficiency, the Court strongly encourages the parties to engage in a settlement conference with the assigned Magistrate Judge. The parties may request a referral by contacting the Courtroom Deputy.

Parties who participate in a settlement conference with Judge Perry must follow the standing instructions for settlement conferences available at the link below.

Settlement Conference Procedures

Generally speaking, Seventh Circuit decisions hold that dismissals “with prejudice” leave the Court without jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement. Accordingly, in most cases, the parties would be well advised to submit a proposed order that either (a) provides for dismissal with prejudice if the settlement terms have already been fulfilled (e.g., payment has been made), but make no reference to retention of jurisdiction; or (b) provides for the case to be “dismissed without prejudice with leave to reinstate on or before [date far enough in the future to fulfill all settlement terms]” and that “in the event a motion to reinstate is not filed on or before [date far enough in the future to fulfill all settlement terms], the case shall be deemed, without further order of the Court, to be dismissed with prejudice.”