Settlement Agreement – Release – Costs

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Ronald Crosby v. City of Chicago, et al.

Case No.: 18-3693; 19-1439

Officials: KANNE, SYKES, and BARRETT, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Settlement Agreement – Release – Costs

This case is about the scope of a release in a settlement agreement. In 2015, Ronald Crosby settled a lawsuit against Eduardo Gonzalez, a Chicago police officer who allegedly shoved Crosby out of a third-floor window before arresting him. In the settlement stipulation, Crosby released “all claims he had, has, or may have in the future … arising either directly or indirectly out of the incident” against Gonzalez, the City of Chicago, and all future, current, or former City officers. Crosby insists that this release does not bar his new suit against the City and its officers for torts they committed in the course of covering up Gonzalez’s misconduct. We disagree. There is one final matter: costs. Crosby argues that the district court should not have permitted the City to recover the costs that it incurred in procuring court transcripts of Crosby’s state criminal proceedings. As Crosby sees it, the defendants failed to show that their requested costs were reasonable under Rule 54(d). The district court’s judgment and award of costs are AFFIRMED.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.