Roger Lockhart, a teenager, lost the sight in one of his eyes. He alleged that this was due to the negligence of Dr. Ramon Patel. A summary jury trial was conducted, and the advisory jury awarded the plaintiff $200,000. The court held several formal and informal settlement conferences following the SJT. The court directed that the defense attorney attend a settlement conference on November 3, 1986 and that he bring with him a representative of Dr. Patel’s liability insurance carrier, who possessed authority to settle the case. The defense attorney appeared on November 3, but the insurance representative with settlement authority did not. The insurance carrier sent an adjuster instead. The court responded by (1) striking the defendant’s pleadings, (2) declaring the defendant in default, (3) setting the trial for the following day, limited to the question of damages, and (4) set a hearing to show cause why the insurance carrier should not be punished for criminal contempt of the court. Does the court have the right to strike the defendant’s pleadings because of the insurance carrier’s failure to send a representative to attend the settlement conference?