Meadows
Madison County Circuit Judge William Mudge has ordered a woman to turn over financial statements and other documents needed to end both her 2007 divorce and a civil suit filed a year later by her husband of more than 20 years.
Plaintiff Thomas Dodd sought the order in his suit against his soon-to-be ex-wife Carol Dodd claiming that she refused to turn over documents needed to execute a settlement reached in mediation last month.
Thomas Dodd and his wife filed for divorce in 2007.
A year later, Thomas Dodd sued Carol Dodd, Ameren Services Company and the Granite City Steel Federal Credit Union.
In that suit, Thomas Dodd claims that Carol Dodd left him for days without help, food or water after he fell in the bathtub of the couple's home.
He then alleged that Carol Dodd forged his signature to empty his retirement accounts held by Ameren to the tune of $180,000.
He claims she then forged his name again to enter accounts for the money at the credit union.
The plaintiff claims that Ameren and the credit union were negligent in accepting the alleged forgeries.
The defendants denied the claims.
Ameren and the credit union filed counterclaims against Carol Dodd.
Mudge ordered the parties to mediation last year.
In December 2010 Mudge ordered Carol Dodd to appear at mediation scheduled for Jan. 7 at the office of mediator Michael Constance.
A settlement resulted from that meeting.
Under the settlement, Thomas Dodd will get the more than $180,000 from his retirement accounts. That money is currently in an escrow account at the Bank of Edwardsville.
He will also receive $10,000 in emotional distress damages.
The Dodds will split their remaining property in half.
According to his Jan. 26 motion, Thomas Dodd's attorney, Thomas Burkart, had attempted to get needed financial documents from Carol Dodd's attorney Alexander Wilson to no avail.
Neither Carol Dodd nor her attorney appeared at a Feb. 4 hearing, although Burkart and a representative for Thomas Dodd did. Ameren attorney Gary Meadows and attorney for the credit union James Craney also appeared.
Mudge's Feb. 4 order approves the settlement among the parties.
He also granted the motion to compel production of the financial documents held by Carol Dodd within five days of that order.
Should she fail to do so, attorney fees may be assessed against her.
Earlier this week, the case file did not indicate whether or not Carol Dodd had complied with the judge's order.
The case is Madison case number 08-L-606.