UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS 

EASTERN DIVISION 

DR. JENNY H. CONVISER and ) 

ASCEND CONSULTATION IN ) 

HEALTH CARE, LLC, ) Case No. 1:20—cv—03094 

 ) 

 Plaintiffs, ) Hon. Franklin U. Valderrama 

v. ) 

) Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert 

DEPAUL UNIVERSITY, ) 

) 

 Defendant. ) 

JOINT STATUS REPORT 

 Plaintiffs Dr. Jenny Conviser and Ascend Consultation in Health Care, LLC (collectively, 

“Plaintiffs”) and Defendant DePaul University (“DePaul”) (Plaintiffs and DePaul are collectively 

identified as the “Parties”), by and through their undersigned attorneys, hereby submit the following Joint Status Report pursuant to the Court’s June 24, 2024, Order (Docket Entry (“DE”) 138) 

and state as follows: 

1. The Court’s Order directed the Parties to file a joint status report identifying: (a) 

the status of the Parties’ discussions about a potential mediation; (b) whether Plaintiffs have made 

a written settlement demand and whether Defendant has responded to it; (c) whether any depositions have been completed and, if so, the names of those witnesses who have been deposed; and 

(d) confirmed dates for all remaining fact depositions to be taken before the close of fact discovery. 

(DE 138). 

MEDIATION DISCUSSIONS 

2. On April 2, 2024, the Parties appeared before District Court Judge Valderrama on 

their Joint Motion to Extend the Summary Judgment and All Pretrial and Trial Dates in the case. 

(DE 126 and 132.) At the hearing, the Parties discussed the prospects of settlement in the case. 

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Judge Valderrama strongly encouraged the Parties to consider settlement. The Parties asked Judge 

Valderrama, if they were able to agree to mediation, would the Court stay proceedings to limit 

further attorney’s fees (a significant component of settlement discussions). Judge Valderrama informed the Parties he would stay discovery if the Parties agreed to a settlement conference with 

the Magistrate Judge or to participate in private mediation. Judge Valderrama subsequently entered 

an Order memorializing the discussion on the record: “The Court strongly encourages the parties 

to engage in settlement negotiations, and to move the Court for relief as necessary to pursue such 

negotiations.” (DE 132.) 

3. In April and May 2024, counsel discussed the prospects of mediation between 

themselves and with their respective clients. 

4. On May 31, 2024, Plaintiffs agreed to attend a private mediation without precondition. 

5. On June 4, 2024, Plaintiffs communicated a written settlement demand to DePaul. 

6. On June 12, 2024, the Parties conferred through their respective counsel by telephone and agreed to engage a private mediator with the goal of fully resolving this case to avoid 

further litigation and expense. 

7. Between June 12 and 24, 2024, the Parties worked to identify potential mediators 

that would be acceptable to each Party. 

8. On the evening of June 25, 2024, the Parties agreed to mediate with the Honorable 

Eileen M. Brewer of JAMS on August 2, 2024. This was the earliest date that both Judge Brewer 

and the Parties were available to schedule a mediation. 

9. DePaul has not yet made a counteroffer. DePaul will provide a counteroffer to 

Plaintiffs’ demand in advance of appearing at the mediation as part of the mediation process. 

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10. On June 27, 2024, in accordance with Judge Valderrama’s April 2 Order (DE 132), 

the Parties filed a Joint Motion to Stay Discovery (“Joint Motion”) (DE 139) seeking a stay of all 

discovery, summary judgment, pretrial and trial dates until after the Parties complete mediation on 

August 2. 

DEPOSITIONS 

11. In light of the significant progress the Parties have made this month to agree to and 

schedule a mediation on August 2, the Parties have not taken any depositions this month and are 

focusing their efforts on preparing for mediation. 

12. The Parties are awaiting a ruling from Judge Valderrama on their Joint Motion, 

which if granted, will moot the need to complete depositions by the July 30, 2024, fact discovery 

cutoff. As outlined in the Joint Motion, the Parties wish to avoid incurring the burden and expense 

of completing depositions prior to the opportunity to resolve this case on August 2. 

WHEREFORE, the Parties respectfully submit the foregoing Joint Status Report. Should 

the Court require any further information in advance of the July 2, 2024 status hearing, the Parties 

will be happy to provide any requested information. 

   

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Respectfully submitted, 

/s/ Brian P. Paul /s/ Michael S. Popok_______ 

Brian P. Paul Michael S. Popok 

Kerryann M. Haase Zumpanos Patricios and Popok, PLLC 

Michael K. Chropowicz 134 E. 38th Street 

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP New York, NY 

444 West Lake Street, Suite 3200 Telephone: 212.542.2564 

Chicago, IL 60606 Email: mpopok@zplaw.com 

Telephone: 312.222.0800 

Email: bppaul@michaelbest.com Arthur Bresnahan 

khminton@michaelbest.com Zumpanos Patricios and Bresnahan, LLC 

mkchropowicz@michaelbest.com 829 North Milwaukee Avenue 

 Chicago, IL 60642 

Dated: June 27, 2024 Telephone:312.924.3609 

 Email: ab@zplaw.com 

 Amanda J. Brookhyser 

 Zumpano Patricios Popok & Helsten 

 1210 S. Valley View Blvd., Suite 215 

 Las Vegas, NV 89102 

 Email: abrookhyser@zplaw.com 

 

 Dated: June 27, 2024 

 

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned attorney certifies that on June 27, 2024, he filed the foregoing Joint Status 

Report with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF NextGen system, which will send notification of such filing to following: 

Adele P. Kimmel 

Alexandra Z. Brodsky 

Trial Lawyers for Public Justice 

1620 L Street, NW, Suite 630 

Washington, DC 20036 

Email: akimmel@publicjustice.net 

Email: abrodsky@publicjustice.net 

Arthur Besnahan 

Zumpano Patricios and Bresnahan, LLC 

829 North Milwaukee Avenue 

Chicago, IL 60642 

Email: ab@zplaw.com 

Michael S. Popok 

Zumpano Patricios and Popok, PLLC 

134 E. 38th Street 

New York, NY 10016 

Email: mpopok@zplaw.com 

Amanda J. Brookhyser 

Zumpano Patricios Popok & Helsten 

1210 S. Valley View Blvd., Suite 215 

Las Vegas, NV 89102 

Email: abrookhyser@zplaw.com 

/s/ Brian P. Paul 

Attorney for Defendant 

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP 

444 West Lake Street, Suite 3200 

Chicago, Illinois 60606 

bppaul@michaelbest.com 

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