Opinion ID: 2570635
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Slusher's Capacity to Settle with State Farm as a Member of the Clients' Group

Text: ¶ 34 Prior to the receipt of the Settlement Letter, the Clients had a binding agreement requiring unanimity for the acceptance of any settlement offer. Upon the receipt of the Settlement Letter, Humpherys contacted the Clients and informed them of the offer and conditions contained in the letter. The Ospitals and the Campbells both rejected the offer after Humpherys' explanation, but Slusher argues that their decision was uninformed because the effects of a reversal, the possibility of a reversal, and the vacatur condition were not fully explained and explored by Humpherys. Slusher's argument fails because both the Ospitals and the Campbells in their depositions were adamant that they rejected State Farm's offer because they were more concerned about preserving the October Opinion than they were about the money. Inez in her affidavit stated that, [i]t was as if State Farm was trying to pay us to keep our mouths shut and to hide what we finally uncovered. When asked if she would have accepted the offer if Slusher had spoken with her and explained to her how much the money meant to him, or if Barrett had advised her that there was a fifty-percent chance the U.S. Supreme Court would grant State Farm's Petition for Certiorari, Inez responded that she would not have changed her mind. The Ospitals in their affidavits stated, We did not feel we could accept the condition that the judgment would have to be vacated as part of the settlement. The Ospitals made their decision based on the principle that a vacatur would be unfair. Besides, they already had a judgment for $145 million payable without the requirement of a vacatur. The Ospitals and the Campbells rejected the $150,000,000 settlement offer not because they were a hundred percent sure that they were guaranteed the awards granted by the October Opinion, but because they were opposed to the idea of vacating the October Opinion's substance. ¶ 35 Slusher further argues that in addition to their failure to fully explore the Settlement Letter terms with the Clients, Appellees failed to fully explore the vacatur condition or to negotiate the settlement terms with State Farm. Once again, Slusher's argument does not pass muster. The Settlement Letter was clear on its terms and did not contemplate negotiation, especially regarding the vacatur. [8] Moreover, Appellees had no control over future negotiations with State Farm because, as disclosed by Zimmerman in his deposition, State Farm would not have negotiated any further unless the October Opinion was vacated. There was no possibility of negotiation; State Farm was adamant that the opinion be vacated, and the Campbells, without whom a vacatur request would be impossible, were equally adamant that there would be no vacatur. Therefore, we find that Appellees' conduct was not the reason why the Settlement Letter offer was rejected nor was it the reason why no subsequent negotiations took place.