Avery et al v. City of Milwaukee et al

Filing 204

ORDER signed by Judge J P Stadtmueller on 12/19/2022. IT IS ORDERED that counsel for the named parties in the above captioned action file a statement as to their position on the matter of unsealing the parties' final settlement report, ECF No. 196 , on or before January 20, 2023; and IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court is directed to mail a copy of this Order to Michael Miller at the address he provided with his second letter, ECF No. 203 . (cc: all counsel and mailed to Michael Miller)(rcm)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
WILLIAM DAMON AVERY,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 11-CV-408-JPS

v.
CITY OF MILWAUKEE, DETECTIVE
GILBERT HERNANDEZ, DETECTIVE
DANIEL PHILLIPS, DETECTIVE
KATHERINE HEIN, DETECTIVE
TIMOTHY HEIER, DETECTIVE KEVIN
ARMBRUSTER, and DETECTIVE
JAMES DEVALKENAERE,

ORDER

Defendants.
On October 24, 2022, the Court received a letter from non-party and
interested member of the public Michael Miller (“Miller”) requesting that
the Court unseal the parties’ final settlement report, ECF No. 196, in the
above-captioned matter. ECF No. 201. The above-captioned matter was
terminated on December 7, 2017, following a stipulation of dismissal as to
the claims against the then-remaining Defendants. ECF Nos. 198, 199. In his
letter, Miller represented that Detective Katherine Hein (“Detective Hein”),
a Defendant in the above-captioned matter, “might be a witness” at a
motion hearing that he has in an unrelated state action on November 17,
2022. ECF No. 201 at 1. Miller explained that the above-captioned matter
included a “Brady claim,” which Detective Hein “allowed her lawyers to
settle.” Id. Miller believes that a copy of the final settlement report will assist
him in crossing Detective Hein at his motion hearing.

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On October 27, 2022, the Court issued an Order on Miller’s letter and
denied the request without prejudice, explaining:
The Court had ordered the parties to file their final settlement
report under seal in its September 7, 2017 trial scheduling
order. ECF No. 193 at 7. This was due to the “policy interest
in facilitating and encouraging settlements, an interest which
is well-served by preserving the confidentiality of parties’
communications.” Franklin United Methodist Home, Inc. v.
Lancaster Pollard & Co., 909 F. Supp. 2d 1037, 1046 (S.D. Ind.
2012). In order to now unseal the document, therefore, the
Court would require the input and/or position(s) on the
matter from the parties in the above-captioned action. See, e.g.,
Cnty. Materials Corp. v. Allan Block Corp., 502 F.3d 730, 740 (7th
Cir. 2007) (while the public “has an interest in what goes on
at all stages of a judicial proceeding, that interest does not
always trump the property and privacy interests of the
litigants”). Given that the Court requires the position of the
parties in the matter before making a determination, it would
not be able to reach a decision prior to Miller’s motion hearing
on November 17, 2022.
ECF No. 202.
On November 28, 2022, Miller filed a second letter with the Court,
explaining that his request is no longer time-sensitive, but that he still
wishes to view the final settlement report, ECF No. 196, to assist with his
unrelated state action. ECF No. 203. Consequently, the Court will order that
counsel for the named parties in the above-captioned action file a statement
as to their position on the matter of unsealing the parties’ final settlement
report, ECF No. 196, on or before January 20, 2023.1 If the Court does not
Given that this action was closed almost five years ago, and that counsel
listed on the docket may no longer be employed by the entities that represented
the named parties, the Court will place a courtesy telephone call to the entities that
represented the named parties to ensure that the named parties are on notice of
this deadline.
1

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receive any filings from the parties, it will unseal the document. If the
document is unsealed, Miller will be able to access it on PACER.2
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that counsel for the named parties in the abovecaptioned action file a statement as to their position on the matter of
unsealing the parties’ final settlement report, ECF No. 196, on or before
January 20, 2023; and
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court is directed
to mail a copy of this Order to Michael Miller at the address he provided
with his second letter, ECF No. 203.
Dated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 19th day of December, 2022.
BY THE COURT:

J.P. Stadtmueller
U.S. District Judge

The Court notes parenthetically that information regarding the settlement
is already available to the public at https://milwaukee.legistar.com, by clicking on
the “Legislation” tab and searching for this case.
2

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