State Court
Judge says Harvey's financial situation makes it impossible to complete road project, rescinds contract
A Cook County judge ruled a road contractor already shorted $2M can't be forced to maintain "temporary" traffic signals in Harvey indefinitely. The judge rescinded the contract and ordered IDOT to take control of the traffic signals, despite falling short of normally required standards
Federal Court
Proposed statewide class action in Southern District court challenges constitutionality of tax deed foreclosures
State Court
IL Supreme Court says a corporation can sue people who allegedly disparaged them in emails to management
State Court
Unopposed Cook County judge candidates appointed by IL Supreme Court to Cook bench early
The new judges include a former Cook County Assistant State's Attorney who famously was blamed for Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's handling of the police killing of Adam Toledo, and later authored a resignation later that blasted Foxx for failures of leadership
Lawsuits
Judge nixes class action vs Abbott over baby formula shortage, says not obliged to maintain formula supply, prices
A federal judge in Chicago dismissed a class action vs Abbott Laboratories claiming the company wrongly profited from increased prices for baby formula sparked by a nationwide shortage that followed Abbott's shutdown of a Michigan plant over alleged bacterial contamination
A new leaked document shows Chicago Teachers Union's president may have not necessarily been joking when she said the next CTU contract would cost taxpayers "$50 billion and three cents," says the Illinois Policy Institute.
From Madison Record
From Madison Record
From Madison Record
Lawdragon names Cozen O’Connor’s Shaw among Top 500 leading U.S. bankruptcy and restructuring lawyers
CHICAGO, July 17, 2023 — Lawdragon has named Chicago attorney Brian Shaw, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring practice, to its 2023 list of the Top 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers.
Cozen O’Connor attorney Matt DiCianni honored with Rising Stars Award from the National Immigrant Justice Center
Matt DiCianni, a labor and employment associate at Cozen O’Connor, has been honored with a Rising Stars Award from the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC).
State Court
Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling hit with genetic privacy class action
Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, a Niles-based bottler and distributor of Coke products, is facing a class-action lawsuit under Illinois's genetic information privacy law.
State Court
Lansing park district sues Lansing Journal for trademark infringement
The Lan-Oak Park District has filed a lawsuit against The Lansing Journal LLC for alleged trademark infringement.
State Court
Biometrics class action: Centene allegedly improperly scanned workers' faces
Centene Management, a Medicaid managed care organization, is facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly violating Illinois' biometrics privacy law.
State Court
Class action accuses Unifin of improper debt collection texts
Debt collector Unifin Inc. and Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC have been hit with a class action lawsuit accusing them of violating federal debt collection laws.
State Court
Truck drivers say Crown Point Logistics allegedly shorted pay, scanned driver faces
Trucking firm Crown Point and affiliated companies accused of allegedly shorting truck driver pay, while also allegedly improperly using onboard cameras to scan drivers' faces while on the job.
Lawsuits
Class action: Everlywell exposes private medical information through tracking pixels
Digital home medical testing company, Everlywell, has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging that it allowed social media giants like Facebook and Google to access people's private health care information.
Lawsuits
Trucking firm EVO hit with biometrics class action over driver face scans
The lawsuit is one of thousands filed against Illinois employers accusing them of allegedly improperly scanning the biometrics of workers on the job.
State Court
Class action: Experian allegedly wrongly reporting consumers' debts discharged through bankruptcy
The lawsuit accuses Experian of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
State Court
Get Fresh Produce targeted by biometrics class action over worker fingerprint scans
Get Fresh Produce, a food service distributor, has been hit with a class action lawsuit for allegedly violating Illinois' biometrics privacy law. The suit accuses the company of improperly requiring workers to scan their fingerprints when clocking in and out of work.
Judge nixes class action vs Abbott over baby formula shortage, says not obliged to maintain formula supply, prices
A federal judge in Chicago dismissed a class action vs Abbott Laboratories claiming the company wrongly profited from increased prices for baby formula sparked by a nationwide shortage that followed Abbott's shutdown of a Michigan plant over alleged bacterial contamination
Antitrust lawsuit accuses Apple of wrongly cornering market for smartwatches
Apple Inc. has been accused of employing anticompetitive strategies to monopolize the smartwatch market, according to a class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Class action: Everlywell exposes private medical information through tracking pixels
Digital home medical testing company, Everlywell, has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging that it allowed social media giants like Facebook and Google to access people's private health care information.
Class action accuses PanAmerican Consulting of allegedly misleading consumers into futile debt settlement tries
PanAmerican Consulting, a debt settlement provider, is facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly misleading consumers and worsening their financial conditions.
Judge shelves class action vs. The Children's Place for allegedly selling clothing containing PFAS
Kennelly rules plaintiffs have standing but failed to state a claim
New Trier wrongly refused requests for records to explain decision to cancel Holocaust Remembrance Day: Lawsuit
Education reform group Parents Defending Education has sued New Trier Township High School District claiming administrators violated Freedom of Information law by refusing to provide PDE with staff communications that may discuss the Holocaust or conflict in Gaza.
Gun advocates seek summary judgment in constitutional challenge to state's "Carry Ban" for gun owners under age 21
Gun advocates and their members under the age of 21 are asking the court to grant summary judgment in their constitutional challenge against Illinois’ “Carry Ban” for gun owners between the ages of 18 and 20.
Appeals court: Lawsuits vs Smith & Wesson over Highland Park massacre belong in Lake County court
A federal appeals panel, led by a judge who has repeatedly upheld "assault weapons" bans, has ruled that gun makers can't use their regulatory relationship with the federal government to keep themselves from being sued in state court when criminals use their weapons to commit mass murder
Maag files expert witness list disclosure in challenge to 'assault weapons' ban
Wood River attorney Thomas Maag filed an expert witness disclosure on behalf of the Langley plaintiffs in their constitutional challenge to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s law banning so-called “assault weapons.”
Raoul asks IL Supreme Court to dismiss cross-appeal on claim that firearm liability law violated the three readings rule
In response to a challenge to the state's firearm liability law, Attorney General Kwame Raoul is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to dismiss Wood River attorney Thomas Maag's cross-appeal on the three readings rule for lack of jurisdiction.
Coalition seeks to let IL voters deliver message on parents' rights in November
Thousands of volunteers aligned with conservative social policy groups across Illinois are seeking signatures to place an advisory referendum on the fall ballot asking voters if they believe Illinois law should require parents' consent before children receive non-emergency medical care or therapy
IL lawmakers advance law to limit 'annihilative' payouts faced by business under biometrics law
The Illinois State Senate approved SB2979, which would explicitly limit the amount of money trial lawyers and plaintiffs can demand businesses pay under the Biometric Information Privacy Act. The law has spawned thousands of lawsuits generating hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees
KCIC: Madison, St. Clair Counties were top asbestos jurisdiction in 2023; Cook County saw greatest increase
Madison and St. Clair Counties again saw the most asbestos case filings for 2023 nationwide, and Cook County saw the highest increase in filings according to a report by KCIC, a Washington D.C.-based technology and management consulting company.
Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling hit with genetic privacy class action
Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, a Niles-based bottler and distributor of Coke products, is facing a class-action lawsuit under Illinois's genetic information privacy law.
IL Supreme Court says a corporation can sue people who allegedly disparaged them in emails to management
The state high court agreed that a corporation can be defamed in emails to executives and other employees. The court said the dispute between shipping logistics competitors FourKites and project44 is an example of instances in which such emails don't amount to a "corporation talking to itself"
Judge: Title IX plaintiffs can use IL law to retroactively demand 'emotional distress' damages
The Illinois law, known as the Civil Rights Remedies Restoration Act, was enacted this year specifically to restore the ability of certain plaintiffs to use "emotional distress" claims to boost their potential payouts under civil rights lawsuits, in defiance of a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision to limit the ability to do so
'De facto invisible': High costs, court rules, lack of online access can block public from monitoring 'public' court proceedings
A settlement has resolved a class action vs federal courts over fees charged to access online court documents. But high costs for certain records and varying court rules about public access to court records in Illinois and elsewhere create a legal patchwork that mostly limits public view into the courts
Cook County Judge Carl Boyd suspended from hearing cases after charged with domestic battery
Cook County Circuit Judge Carl Boyd was charged with domestic battery in an incident Chicago Police say left a woman with a cut on her cheek from broken glass. Boyd has served on the Cook County bench since 2012