CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks are set to meet with Kyle Beach’s attorney Tuesday afternoon to begin settlement talks, according to a letter obtained by the Chicago Tribune.
Last week, Hawks CEO Danny Wirtz instructed his legal team to come to a “fair resolution” with Beach, who sued the Blackhawks in May, accusing the team of negligence in their handling of his 2010 sexual assault allegation against Brad Aldrich, the video coach at the time.
The team commissioned an independent review this summer, and law firm Jenner & Block found that senior management delayed addressing Beach’s complaint by three weeks to avoid interfering with the Hawks’ run to the Stanley Cup.
The team later allowed Aldrich to resign and did not report the allegation to Chicago police.
The team’s lawyers notified Beach’s attorney, Susan E. Loggans, in a letter of several points they wish to address in Tuesday afternoon’s video call.
— “Danny Wirtz and his father, Chairman Rocky Wirtz, are interested in arranging a direct conversation with Kyle so that they can each personally apologize for the manner in which the Blackhawks handled the allegations brought to the organization in 2010 and express their commitment to attempt to resolve this matter in a fair and equitable manner.” The letter invited Beach to propose times for a video call later this week.
— The Hawks told Loggans they don’t plan to oppose a motion she filed Friday to amend Beach’s complaint and will tell the court in a hearing Wednesday. However, “to facilitate settlement, we also would like to propose a 60-day stay of all litigation matters to see if the parties can reach an amicable resolution in this case.”
— The Hawks also will request that Loggans agree to a mediator to help expedite the process. “Within that process, we will discuss your views of what a fair and financial settlement would look like.”
The Hawks also are being sued in a related case. Aldrich pleaded guilty in 2013 to criminal sexual conduct with a Houghton (Mich.) High School hockey player, and that former player has sued the Hawks, alleging willful and wanton conduct.
