Archdiocese of Milwaukee v. OneBeacon Insurance Company

Filing 11

ORDER signed by Judge Rudolph T. Randa on 8/7/2014 DENYING 9 Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Alternative Dispute Resolution. (cc: all counsel) (cb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
In re Archdiocese of Milwaukee,
Debtor.

Bankruptcy Case No. 11-20059-SVK

ARCHDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE,
Plaintiff,
-vs-

Adv. Proc. No. 14-02031-SVK
Case No. 14-C-264

ONEBEACON INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant.

DECISION AND ORDER

This matter comes before the Court on the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s motion
to compel the defendant, OneBeacon Insurance Company, to engage in mediation. As
a general rule, parties cannot and should not be forced to engage in non-binding
mediation. In re African-Am. Slave Descendants’ Litigation, 272 F. Supp. 2d 755
(N.D. Ill. 2003). If OneBeacon is unwilling to participate in mediation, there is good
reason to believe that such an effort would be a waste of time and money. Id. at 760
(“When mediation is forced upon unwilling litigants, it stands to reason that the
likelihood of settlement is diminished. Requiring parties to invest substantial amounts
of time and money in mediation under such circumstances may well be inefficient”)
(quoting In re Atlantic Pipe Corp., 304 F.3d 135, 144 (1st Cir. 2002)).

The Archdiocese’s motion to compel alternative dispute resolution [ECF No.
9] is DENIED.
Dated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 7th day of August, 2014.
BY THE COURT:

__________________________
HON. RUDOLPH T. RANDA
U.S. District Judge

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