Opinion ID: 787527
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Effect of the Kriedler Settlement on Tropp's Claims

Text: 16 We review de novo the district court's grant of summary judgment, construing all facts and inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Dykema v. Skoumal, 261 F.3d 701, 704 (7th Cir.2001). Summary judgment is proper when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). 17 As the district court noted, both parties recognize that the resolution of [Western-Southern's] summary judgment motion hinges on whether or not Mikos was a class member in the Kriedler class action lawsuit. This is because a release incorporated into an order approving a class action settlement bars subsequent litigation based on the released claims. Cf. Uhl v. Thoroughbred Tech. & Telecomms., Inc., 309 F.3d 978, 985 (7th Cir.2002) (The fact that each individual class member did not know the full extent of the burden she would suffer is unimportant.), (citing Williams v. Gen. Elec. Capital Auto Lease, 159 F.3d 266, 274 (7th Cir.1998) (It is not at all uncommon for settlements to include a global release of all claims past, present, and future, that the parties might have brought against each other.)). 18 Here, Tropp's claim that Western-Southern collected excessive premiums from Mikos on her 1983 insurance policy, in violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, is barred by the terms of release in the Kriedler class-action settlement. Where the terms of the release are clear and explicit, the court must enforce the release as written. Loberg v. Hallwood Realty Partners, L.P., 323 Ill.App.3d 936, 257 Ill.Dec. 394, 753 N.E.2d 1020, 1025 (2001). The settlement agreement, which covered purchasers of policies from 1981 to 1998 (with non-applicable exceptions), included Mikos as a member of the class. There is no dispute that Mikos was properly notified by Rust Consulting, the firm hired to provide notification materials to all class members. Mikos could have opted out of the class after she received notice of the settlement, but did not do so. 19 In addition, Tropp's claim is covered by the definition of Released Transactions in the settlement. The settlement agreement barred claims related to policy charges or premium charges, including the adequacy of the description of those items. (R. 8, Ex. A at 15-18.) Tropp's claim that Western-Southern charged Mikos and others too much in annual premiums is therefore foreclosed by the settlement.