Freshwater: Will a quick settlement be reached?

I pose that as a genuine question; I have no inside information. But I got to thinking this morning about the legal representation situation in Doe v. Mount Vernon Board of Education, et al in which Freshwater is the sole remaining defendant. Recall that in late April the two insurance company lawyers representing Freshwater in that case, Jason Deschler and Robert Stoffers, petitioned the court to withdraw from representing him. (Freshwater claimed that he fired them.) Two new lawyers, Steven C. Findley and Sandra R. McIntosh, were retained by the insurance company to replace them. Now this billing records mess gets dropped in their laps. One wonders how they’re thinking now that there’s documentary evidence of the shenanigans Hamilton and Freshwater have been pulling on the federal court in that case and how long the insurance company will hold out in settlement talks under these circumstances. Recall that the case is to go to trial July 26.

As I understand the process, Freshwater and Hamilton have to respond to the memorandum in opposition very soon–I think this week–and the judge will make a decision based on the documents submitted. (I was hoping for an oral hearing: I’d be willing to drive 1.5 hours in rush hour traffic to see that!) But this has to put pressure on Freshwater’s insurance company lawyers to reach a settlement before the judge rules, since if the judge grants either of the Dennises’ requests for sanctions (default judgment in their favor or an adverse evidentiary inference against Freshwater regarding the missing material), it will result in the crippling of any defense they might try to put on, and they have to know that. This is speculative, but it now would not surprise me to see a sudden settlement of Doe v. Mount Vernon Board of Education, possibly even this week.