And Jay Westerdal Settlement May Be in the Works — Thought Convergence

TCI and Westerdal getting closer to resolution.

A settlement between Thought Convergence and Jay Westerdal over the former’s buyout of DomainTools’ parent Name Intelligence is closer to reality, court records show. As a result, both parties have requested a postponement (pdf) of deadlines and the trial date.

The parties held a mediation session with the Hon. George P. Schiavelli (Ret) on January 6, of which Schiavelli wrote (pdf):

“…during the mediation, I found The Parties’ counsel to be exceptionally realistic concerning the strengths and weaknesses of the case and able to work well to seek resolution.”

Schiavelli noted that amended pleadings with narrower claims will be filed this stretch. He believes a brief discovery is necessary to reach a potential settlement:

“Though the case did not settle, I believe the Parties made substantial progress identifying the issues and obstacles to settlement and seeking solutions to them. I agree with the parties that further discrete discovery is needed on key issues ahead of a further attempt to reach resolution would be practical.”

In his sworn statement to the court, Schiavelli notes that a settlement is a “realistic possibility”.

A second mediation date is set for Jan 27. If the court grants the extension and a settlement isn’t reached, the fresh court date will be May 11, 2010.