Doe 4 v. Freeburg Community Consolidated School District No 70 et al

Filing 103

ORDER GRANTING 98 MOTION to Continue Settlement Conference filed by Freeburg Community Consolidated School District No 70, Herschel Parrish, Lawrence Meggs, Clarence Haege. Settlement Conference RESET for 11/15/2017 at 9:00 AM in East St. Louis Courthouse before Magistrate Judge Donald G. Wilkerson. Clerk/Defendants to mail order as directed. Signed by Magistrate Judge Donald G. Wilkerson on 10/18/2017. (sgp)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
)
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
FREEBURG
COMMUNITY)
CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO)
)
70, et al.,
)
)
Defendants.
JOHN DOE 4,

Case No. 3:14-cv-674-NJR-DGW

ORDER
WILKERSON, Magistrate Judge:
Now pending before the Court is the motion to continue settlement conference filed by
Defendants on October 13, 2017 (Doc. 98). The Motion is GRANTED.
This matter was set for a settlement conference in which the parties and their attorneys
were to appear along with Defendants’ insurance companies, who ultimately may be the payees of
any settlement that the parties may achieve. One of these insurance companies, RSUI Indemnity
Company, recently received an adverse ruling from the St. Clair County Circuit Court: Judge
Stephen R. Rice found that it had a duty to defend Defendants in this suit.1 As such, RSUI is an
integral party for settlement purposes. So too are AIG/Lexington Insurance Company, which
provides excess insurance, and County Mutual Insurance Company, which may also be found to
have a duty to defend and/or indemnify. Without the presence of representatives with settlement
authority from these insurance companies, a settlement conference would be futile.
Settlement conferences are mandatory in this District. See Local Rule 16.3. In order to
permit AIG the opportunity to evaluate Plaintiff’s claim in light of the recent state court ruling, the
1

Judge Rice did not address whether RSUI had a concomitant duty to indemnify.
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settlement conference is CONTINUED to November 15, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. in the East St. Louis,
Illinois Federal Courthouse before the undersigned. In order to ensure that the settlement
conference is fruitful, a representative with full settlement authority from each of Defendants’
insurance companies shall be present. The failure to appear shall result in monetary sanctions and
any other sanctions that may be appropriate.
To that end, the Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to mail this Order to each of those insurance
companies at the addresses set forth below. Defendants shall also mail to the general counsel of
each of their insurance companies a copy of this Order to ensure the attendance of an appropriate
representative by October 25, 2017 (and file a notice of same with the Court).
Attorney Neil Holmen,
Walker, Wilcox & Matousek (RSUI Insurance Company)
One North Franklin Street
Suite 3200
Chicago, IL 60606
Charles Creamer
AIG/Lexington Insurance Company
99 High Street, 24th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
Charles Creamer
AIG/Lexington Insurance Company
PO Box 25790
Shawnee Mission, KS 66225
Keith Carlson
Carlson Law Office (County Mutual Insurance Company)
875 North Michigan Avenue
Suite 2800
Chicago, IL 60611
IT IS SO ORDERED
DATED: October 18, 2017

DONALD G. WILKERSON
United States Magistrate Judge
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