A motion seeking an additional $374,000 from District 303 in a decade-long lawsuit stemming from the 2001 discovery of mold at St. Charles East High School was denied by a Cook County judge Tuesday morning.
Last month, school board members voted unanimously to pay the Illinois School District Agency $660,000 plus court fees and interest after the court found earlier this year that the district breached its contract with the agency when it received the same sum in settlements from three other insurance carriers as a result of the mold problem.
The agency paid nearly $1 million to defend and settle mold injury claims brought against the district and was seeking an additional $374,000 in pre-judgment interest, according to court documents.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy said on Tuesday that her earlier judgment that the award of $660,000 was appropriate will stand.
“That’s the final ruling of this court,” Kennedy said.
ISDA attorney Daniel Zollner said the agency’s board would decide whether to appeal that decision. The agency has 30 days to file such an appeal.
Superintendent Don Schlomann has previously said he expected the agency to do so.
In 2003, the agency sued District 303, alleging that the district breached its contract with the agency when it received $660,000 in settlements from three other insurance carriers as a result of the mold problem.
The agency argued that it, not the district, was due the settlement money because it helped litigate and pay for costs associated with mold-related injury claims, according to court documents.