Judge Crowder
Five days after Madison County Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder told attorneys in a Lakin Law Firm class action to resolve disputes within guidelines she set or bring the disputes back to her one by one, they brought one back to her.
Jeff Millar of the Lakin firm objected Nov. 14 to a notice from Cincinnati Insurance that its attorneys would depose Gail Imel as corporate representative of plaintiff Frank Bemis.
He objected to Cincinnati information requests as overly broad and unduly burdensome.
Crowder had signed an order Nov. 9, setting broad guidelines and telling attorneys to confer and "determine if it would be necessary for the court to go through each objection to each interrogatory and request to produce individually."
"If they are still unable to resolve their differences, counsel are to contact the court for a setting dealing with each individual interrogatory or request," she wrote.
The order followed a hearing at which Crowder ordered Bemis, a chiropractor, to produce records explaining how he sets the fees he charges.
Millar told her Bemis would produce records if Cincinnati identified all the patients it has paid Bemis to treat.
Cincinnati argued that Bemis should identify the patients.
Despite Crowder's hope for an agreement, the dispute remains hers to resolve.
The Lakins have proposed many class actions with Bemis as plaintiff, claiming insurers improperly reduced payments for his treatments.