SYRACUSE — After months of working out the details, Oakwood Resorts and the plaintiffs, neighbors with property across Conklin Bay from Oakwood, will enter into mediation at 9 a.m. Monday, March 28, in Indianapolis. Attorney William Baten has been selected as mediator. The neighbors sued last spring about loud music coming from Oakwood, preventing them from using their property.

Originally the plaintiffs approached Dr. Rex Parent requesting mediation last fall. At the time the plaintiffs wanted mediation to take place in Indianapolis with a mediator from Indianapolis.

Parent wanted mediation to take place in Kosciusko County since the case was filed in northern Indiana and he felt a mediator from northern Indiana should hear the case.

After compromising on having mediation take place in Indianapolis, Parent requested mediation take place either a Monday or Friday, days when he is usually in surgery rather than having to reschedule patients in the middle of the week.

He also wanted Mr. and Mrs. Keller and Mr. and Mrs. Freeman, the last four plaintiffs to be deposed, give depositions either before or immediately after the mediation session.

However email correspondence between David Bailey, Parent’s attorney, and Robert MacGill, the plaintiffs attorney, showed Bailey repeatedly asking when the depositions of the Kellers and Freemans would take place. MacGill never addressed that issue, focusing on potential dates for mediation.

Mediation was originally set for Dec. 11, provided the Kellers and Freemen were made available for depositions prior to Dec. 21. However, Dec. 9, Bailey, Parent’s attorney, notified MacGill Parent would not show up for mediation since a date for the depositions had never been set.

MacGill went to Circuit Court Judge Mike Reed asking him to compel Parent’s attendance at a mediation session. Reed ordered Baten to be selected as mediator and all parties were ordered to file a confidential statement of the case Dec. 29 with Baten.

Back on Sept. 17, Oakwood Resorts filed notice to appeal to the Court of Appeals in Indiana seeking appeal from an interlocary order. Transcripts of the case were complete for the court of appeals by Dec. 7. The case has been referred to the District 5 appeals court.