There was a lot of facets to this litigation. We were a part of a different company that got swept up in this mess.
RI reaches settlement with Schilling, others in 38 Studios lawsuit
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation has struck another settlement in the 38 Studios lawsuit worth $2.5 million.
The deal, according to the Corporation, is with former 38 Studios executives Curt Schilling, Thomas Zaccagnino, Richard Wester, and Jennifer MacLean. Their insurer, Starr Indemnity and Liability Company, will foot the bill for the entire settlement.
If the court approves the settlement, it would bring the total recouped through settlements to about $45 million in the ongoing litigation. That is more than half of the state’s $88 million moral obligation bonds.
The only remaining defendant would be First Southwest, which acted as Rhode Island’s financial adviser in the deal. In the past, the company has challenged other settlements in the case.
On Twitter, Curt Schilling – who has not admitted any wrongdoing in case- told Eyewitness News he would likely tell his side of the story to Rhode Island citizens once the settlement is approved. However, he said it might be longer because he could be called to testify if First Southwest doesn’t settle and goes to trial. There is no gag order in the settlement preventing him from commenting.
@StephMachado After this is completed, what's stopping me from telling the whole story to the tax paying citizens of RI?
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) September 19, 2016
@StephMachado @TimWhiteRI Once all is approved I will absolutely.
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) September 19, 2016
Schilling also indicated he would be telling his side of the story on his new radio show.
Retired Superior Court Judge Francis Darigan, who was acting as mediator in the case, spoke to reporters Monday morning about the deal.
He said the commerce corporation’s lawyer Thomas Carlotto determined the chances of getting more money from the former Red Sox ace would have been slim.
“Certainly the most controversial, I suppose from the public’s point of view, would have been the assets of Mr. Schilling, because of his celebrity and his success as a Major League Baseball player,” Darigan said.
“But as of a meeting that I had with Mr. Carlotto and lawyers for Mr. Schilling last Friday, the state was satisfied that after reviewing all of the submissions, not only by Mr. Schilling but the other three defendants, that this settlement was an appropriate one for the taxpayers of the state of Rhode Island,” Darigan said. He never met Curt Schilling in the mediation process.
Darigan said while the exact dollar values of the assets disclosed to Carlotto were confidential, Schilling and the other executives’ total assets did not collectively add up to $2.5 million, the amount of the settlement that will be paid to the state by the group’s insurance company.
Commerce Corp. spokesman Matt Sheaff told Eyewitness News $2.05 million of the settlement would go toward 38 Studios bond payments. The remaining amount would go toward legal fees.
“We are on a quest here to recover, with certainty, as much money as we could to repay the taxpayers of the state of Rhode Island,” said Darin Early, the president of the RI Commerce Corporation.
In the settlement documents obtained by Eyewitness News, all four defendants including Schilling agreed to testify in the upcoming trial with First Southwest, if called upon by the state. When asked, Early said it would be up to legal counsel to call Schilling to the stand.
In a statement, Gov. Gina Raimondo said the state is trying to recoup as much money as possible.
“As I’ve said from the very beginning, 38 Studios was a bad deal for Rhode Islanders and I was against it from the start. My team and I remain focused on recovering as much taxpayer money as possible and we are preparing for trial with the remaining defendant.”
Rhode Island last month reached its biggest settlement in the case, amounting to $25.6 million from Wells Fargo Securities and Barclays Capital Inc.
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