IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS 

EASTERN DIVISION 

D. A., A.A., and Lucinda del Carmen 

Padilla-Gonzales, 

 

 Plaintiffs, 

 v. 

The United States of America, 

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs 

and Human Rights, and Heartland 

Human Care Services, Inc., 

 Defendants. 

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Case No. 20-cv-3082 

Hon. Martha M. Pacold 

JOINT STATUS REPORT 

 

Plaintiffs, D.A., A.A., and Lucinda del Carmen Padilla-Gonzales, through 

their counsel, Defendant United States of America, through its counsel, and 

Defendants Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights and 

Heartland Human Care Services, Inc., through their counsel, hereby submit the 

following joint status report: 

1. On July 21, 2021, the Court order that its stay issued on May 19, 2021 

“shall remain in place for the time being.” Dkt. 53. The Court ordered the parties to 

submit a joint status report by September 17 to update the Court on the status of 

settlement negotiations and to report any requested extensions or modifications of 

the stay. Id. 

2. Since that order, Plaintiffs and the United States have made 

meaningful progress towards settlement and have met at least 12 times to further 

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settlement efforts. Plaintiffs’ counsel and the United States, along with a group of 

counsel who are coordinating negotiations on behalf of plaintiffs and claimants, are 

engaged in a nationwide effort to settle district court cases and pending 

administrative tort claims arising from family separations at the U.S./Mexico 

border that occurred during the prior administration. While progress has been 

made, due to the scale and complexity of the effort, additional time is needed to 

achieve a resolution of these matters. 

3. Accordingly, Plaintiffs and the United States jointly request that the 

stay entered as to Plaintiffs’ claims against the United States should be extended by 

another 60 days—up to and including November 16, 2021. 

4. With respect to the Heartland Defendants, Plaintiffs and the 

Heartland Defendants jointly request that the Court make a referral to Magistrate 

Judge Cox, the magistrate judge assigned to this case, for the purposes of holding a 

settlement conference as to Plaintiffs’ claims against the Heartland Defendants. 

5. Since the stay was entered, counsel for Plaintiffs and the Heartland 

Defendants engaged in further settlement discussions but were not successful in 

achieving resolution of those claims. The Heartland Defendants proposed that the 

matter be referred to Magistrate Judge Cox for further mediation. Plaintiffs 

considered this proposal and agreed to attempt to resolve their claims against the 

Heartland Defendants via mediation before a magistrate judge. 

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6. Accordingly, the parties agree that a referral to Magistrate Judge Cox 

to hold a settlement conference1 with Plaintiffs and the Heartland Defendants 

would be beneficial at this time. 

[SIGNATURES ON FOLLOWING PAGE] 

 

 

1

 Plaintiffs currently live in North Carolina. Because of concerns related to the 

pandemic and health of Plaintiffs, as well as Plaintiffs’ school and work schedules, 

Plaintiffs will need to attend any settlement conference remotely. 

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 Respectfully submitted, 

 

 /s/ Sarah Grady 

 Sarah Grady 

 Attorney for Plaintiffs 

 

Anand Swaminathan Conchita Cruz 

Sarah Grady Zachary Manfredi 

Steve Weil Asylum Seeker Advocacy 

Loevy & Loevy Project 

311 North Aberdeen St., 3rd Fl. 228 Park Ave., Ste. 84810 

Chicago, IL 60607 New York, NY 10003 

(312) 243-5900 (248) 840-0744 

 

 

 /s/ Philip MacWilliams 

Philip MacWilliams 

Attorney for the United States of 

America 

 Philip D. MacWilliams 

Trial Attorney 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Division, Torts Branch 

Benjamin Franklin Station, P.O. Box 888 

Washington, DC 20044 

(202) 616-4285 

phil.macwilliams@usdoj.gov 

 /s/ Kurt Mathas 

Kurt Mathas 

Attorney for the Heartland 

Defendants 

Kurt Mathas 

Nasir Hussain 

Saranya Raghavan 

Winston & Strawn LLP 35 

West Wacker Dr. 

Chicago, IL 60601 

(312) 558-5600 

kmathas@winston.com 

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

 

 I, Sarah Grady, an attorney, hereby certify that on September 17, 2021, I 

caused a copy of the foregoing to be filed using the Court’s CM/ECF system, which 

effected service on all counsel of record. 

 

 

 /s/ Sarah Grady 

 Sarah Grady 

 Attorney for Plaintiffs 

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