Both the Independent Glass Association (IGA) and Safelite Glass Corp. have indicated that their preference concerning the suit filed by the group is to settle their differences out of court.

Marc Anderson, IGA executive director, said at a meeting of the Minnesota Independent Auto Glass Association in St. Paul last week that the Columbus, Ohio based company had tried to dissuade it from filing the suit, but the effort and negotiations ran out of time.

"Our goal is to stop illegal steering and however that can be accomplished, in or out of a court, is what we want to do. Accomplishing it with Safelite's cooperation would be the best possible way to do so and we could both make the lawsuit go away," he said.

In response, a spokesman for the Ohio company stated, "Over the last year, Safelite made good faith efforts to understand and resolve the concerns of the Independent Glass Association without involving the courts. We are very disappointed with the IGA's decision to embroil its members in what will be a lengthy and expensive litigation. We will vigorously defend against this suit."

For complete information on the suit see The March to Court: The IGA Files Its Landmark Lawsuit in Federal Court.