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Insurance company intends to settle lawsuit with SU over costs of Bernie Fine subpoenas

An insurance company Syracuse University sued over the costs of preparing subpoenas related to the Bernie Fine investigation intends to settle, according to a letter filed in Onondaga County Supreme Court on Friday.

The one-page letter, from Ken Frenchman, SU’s attorney, says both parties have agreed to a settlement and that papers will be sent in soon. The terms of the settlement weren’t laid out in the letter.

SU sued the insurance company for breach of contract on Aug. 22, 2012 after it refused to cover the university’s financial losses for preparing the subpoenas. In court documents, the university has said the process cost “millions of dollars.”

In March, Onondaga County Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood ruled National Union Fire Insurance Co. must cover SU’s losses. That decision was held up in an intermediate state appellate court on Dec. 27.

Fine, a former associate head men’s basketball coach, was fired on Nov. 27, 2011 after he was accused of sexually assaulting two former ball boys. He has denied all wrongdoing and wasn’t charged after an almost year-long federal investigation.



At press time, neither Frenchman, Kevin Quinn, SU’s senior vice president for public affairs, nor Robert Novack, the lawyer for the insurance company, could be reached for comment.

Asst. News Editor Ellen Meyers contributed reporting to this article.





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