Jankowski v. Dean Foods

Filing 216

MEMORANDUM Opinion and Order; Plaintiff's motions for conditional judgment 20307 are granted. Judgment is conditioned on the outcome of the supplementary proceedings to discover assets. Plaintiff is directed to serve copies of the citation to discover assets on the third-party insurance providers with a copy of this order attached. The third-party insurance providers Markel Service, Inc., Markel Insurance Co., Markel Global Reinsurance Co., Markel Bermuda, LTD., and Alterra Insurance USA, Inc. will respond within thirty days of service. If the insurance companies challenge the citation and the underlying assumption that they have information onor possession ofthe judgment debtor's assets, then the Court will set a date for a hearing pursuant to Illinois procedure. See the attached order for full details. Signed by the Honorable Iain D. Johnston on 2/17/2021: (yxp, )

Case: 3:16-cv-50103 Document #: 216 Filed: 02/17/21 Page 1 of 3 PageID #:4086

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
WESTERN DIVISION
Richard J. Jankowski,
Plaintiff,

Case No. 3:16-cv-50103

v.

Honorable Iain D. Johnston

Dean Foods Company and Dean Dairy
Holdings, LLC,
Defendants.

Memorandum Opinion and Order
On October 16, 2019, this Court entered a jury verdict in this case in favor of
Plaintiff in the amount of $3,316,443. Dkts. 177–78. Defendants then moved for
judgment notwithstanding the verdict but entered bankruptcy proceedings shortly
thereafter. Dkts. 179–82. In an effort to collect the judgment, Plaintiff filed a
citation to discover assets on several third-party insurance companies, 1 dkt. 202, as
well as motions for conditional judgment against the same insurance companies,
dkts. 203–07.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69 provides that writs of execution to enforce
money judgments “must accord with the procedure of the state where the court is
located, but a federal statute governs to the extent it applies.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
69(a)(1). The State of Illinois provides such procedure under 735 Ill. Comp. Stat.
5/2-1402 and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 277. Section 2-1402 entitles a judgment
Those insurance companies are Markel Service, Inc., Markel Insurance Co., Markel Global
Reinsurance Co., Markel Bermuda, LTD., and Alterra Insurance USA, Inc.
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Case: 3:16-cv-50103 Document #: 216 Filed: 02/17/21 Page 2 of 3 PageID #:4087

creditor to “prosecute citations to discover assets for the purpose of examining the
judgment debtor or any other person to discover assets or income of the debtor” that
are not otherwise exempt. 735 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/2-1402(a) (emphasis added). The
statute further provides for precise language that must be included and explains
that any “procedure for conducting citation proceedings shall be proscribed by
rules.” Id. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 277 governs those proceedings.
Notably, the insurance companies Plaintiff seeks information from are not
parties to this suit. Nor have they ever been. But section 2-1402 allows Plaintiff to
issue investigatory citations to third parties that it believes has information
regarding assets of the judgment debtor. JPMorgan Chase Bank v. PT Indah Kiat
Pulp & Paper, No. 02 C 6240, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83593, at *4 (N.D. Ill. June 14,
2012). Here, the assets in question are proceeds from insurance policies. Therefore,
the citation to discover assets issued to third-party insurance companies is the
proper procedure and creates supplementary proceedings pursuant to the above
state statute and rule.
The third-party insurance companies are directed to respond to the citation to
discover assets with any information regarding assets owned by Defendants Dean
Foods Co. and Dean Dairy Holdings, LLC, if such assets do exist. At this time, the
Court states no opinion regarding whether the purported insurance policies cover
the judgment in this case because those insurance policies have yet to be analyzed.
The third-party insurance companies must be given a chance to be heard.

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Case: 3:16-cv-50103 Document #: 216 Filed: 02/17/21 Page 3 of 3 PageID #:4088

Plaintiff’s motions for conditional judgment [203–07] are granted. Judgment
is conditioned on the outcome of the supplementary proceedings to discover assets.
Plaintiff is directed to serve copies of the citation to discover assets on the thirdparty insurance providers with a copy of this order attached. The third-party
insurance providers—Markel Service, Inc., Markel Insurance Co., Markel Global
Reinsurance Co., Markel Bermuda, LTD., and Alterra Insurance USA, Inc.—will
respond within thirty days of service. If the insurance companies challenge the
citation and the underlying assumption that they have information on—or
possession of—the judgment debtor’s assets, then the Court will set a date for a
hearing pursuant to Illinois procedure.

Date: February 17, 2021
___________________________
Honorable Iain D. Johnston
United States District Judge
Northern District of Illinois
Western Division

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