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COOK COUNTY RECORD

Thursday, October 17, 2024

State Court

'A downward spiral': Biz groups, legal reformers urge IL high court to nix bid to kill anti-forum shopping rule

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The filings come in response to an attempt by the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association to seize on a dispute over the constitutionality of a controversial state law to win a long sought policy goal, which would funnel lawsuits into Cook, Madison and St. Clair counties, in pursuit of bigger, easier verdicts
Elections

Scandal-struck prominent Cook County judges draw negative election recommendations from legal groups

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The Illinois State Bar Association particularly recommended voters not support the retention bids this fall for Cook County Judges E. Kenneth Wright, Kathy Flanagan and Shannon O'Malley, aka Philip Spiwak. Other judges drawing negative reviews included Lisa Ann Marino and Ieshia E. Gray.
State Court

IL Supreme Court: Lawsuit damages over spouse's wrongful death must still be paid if surviving spouse remarries

By Scott Holland |
Lawsuits

Northwestern, Notre Dame among top U.S. colleges hit with class action over financial aid practices

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A new class action lawsuit says some of America's top colleges and universities have for nearly two decades violated U.S. antitrust law by collectively making it harder for students to obtain need-based financial aid by forcing them to include non-custodial parent income on applications
State Court

IL Supreme Court: Lawyers still can claim fees, even though incomplete agreements didn't comply with court rules

By Scott Holland |
Clients fired attorneys shortly before settling dispute of multimillion-dollar estate
The Business of Law Arrow gray brought to you by Peak

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

Plaintiff Alleges Negligence Against Property Managers Over Parking Lot Fall

By Cook County Record |
A woman's appeal against property managers for injuries sustained in a parking lot fall has been denied by an Illinois appellate court. Rossmid Lopez-Arana sued Brian Properties and others for negligence after falling on ice-covered pavement but failed to prove unnatural accumulation caused her injuries according to judges' ruling.
State Court

Plaintiff alleges used car dealer Nitro Detergent Specialists of fraudulent misrepresentation

By Cook County Record |
Brendan Moore's lawsuit against Nitro Detergent Specialists over alleged fraud in a used car sale has been dismissed with prejudice by an Illinois court. The case centered around claims of concealed damage history in a vehicle sold under an “as is” agreement.
Federal Court

Plaintiff alleges golf course management firm failed in safeguarding sensitive information

By Cook County Record |
A recent class action lawsuit highlights significant concerns over data security after a cyberattack compromised personal information managed by a well-known golf course management company. Filed by William Campe on behalf of affected individuals, this case seeks accountability for alleged negligence in protecting sensitive data like social security numbers from cybercriminals.
Federal Court

Former Employee Alleges Racial Discrimination Against Northwestern Memorial Hospital

By Cook County Record |
Sheila Brown has filed a lawsuit against Northwestern Memorial Hospital citing racial discrimination and harassment during her tenure as an Environmental Service Technician. Filed on September 30th in Illinois' Northern District Court, Brown seeks redress under federal civil rights laws after allegedly facing repeated discriminatory acts without any corrective measures being taken by her employer.
Federal Court

Illinois Resident Alleges Excessive Force by Riverdale Police Officers

By Cook County Record |
Abraham Carmichael has filed a lawsuit against two Riverdale police officers alleging excessive force during an incident where he was not involved in any criminal activity. The complaint includes accusations of false arrest following physical assault by one officer while another failed to intervene despite having opportunities available throughout their encounter together back on February 5th earlier this year; now seeking compensatory damages alongside punitive ones too!
Federal Court

Plaintiff Alleges Skincare Company Website Violates ADA Due To Inaccessibility

By Cook County Record |
Andre Battle has filed a class action lawsuit against Oars + Alps LLC alleging their website violates the Americans with Disabilities Act due to accessibility barriers for visually-impaired users. Filed in Illinois federal court on September 30th, this suit seeks injunctive relief demanding modifications ensuring full usability by blind consumers alongside compensatory damages for discrimination experienced.
State Court

Homeowner Accuses Local Government Over Building Code Violations

By Cook County Record |
A homeowner is challenging local government decisions regarding alleged building code violations at his property in Lansing, Illinois. James Fisher claims procedural missteps led to fines totaling $1000 after disputes over inspection requirements were mishandled by municipal authorities.
Federal Court

Trucking Company Accused of Misclassifying Drivers Under Wage Laws

By Cook County Record |
A lawsuit has been filed against Fremont Trans Inc., alleging illegal labor practices involving driver misclassification as independent contractors instead of employees. Filed by Carlo Jean on October 1st in Illinois federal court, the suit seeks damages for unpaid wages and improper deductions under state and federal laws.
Federal Court

Plaintiff Alleges Airline Violated Religious Accommodation Laws Over Vaccine Mandate

By Cook County Record |
A former employee has filed a lawsuit against United Airlines alleging wrongful termination due to religious discrimination related to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The plaintiff claims violations under Title VII and Florida's Civil Rights Act after being denied a religious exemption request considered untimely by the airline without clear communication or legal basis.

Biometrics class action tags timeclock maker EPay and one of its clients over worker face scans

By Cook County Record |
A class action lawsuit has accused timeclock maker EPay Systems and a facilities maintenance company, All 1 Service, which uses EPay's timeclocks, of allegedly wrongly scanning workers' faces when they punch the clock, allegedly in violation of Illinois' biometrics privacy law.

Sargent Logistics accused in class action for scanning truck drivers' faces on the job

By Cook County Record |
A class action lawsuit has accused trucking company Sargent Logistics of allegedly improperly scanning the faces of workers in the company's delivery vehicles, allegedly in violation of Illinois' biometrics privacy law.

Northwestern, Notre Dame among top U.S. colleges hit with class action over financial aid practices

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A new class action lawsuit says some of America's top colleges and universities have for nearly two decades violated U.S. antitrust law by collectively making it harder for students to obtain need-based financial aid by forcing them to include non-custodial parent income on applications

Class action accuses Lakeshore Recycling of wrongly scanning trash collectors' faces while in their trucks

By Cook County Record |
A class action lawsuit has accused waste collection company Lakeshore Recycling of allegedly wrongly scanning its trash truck drivers' faces while they are on the job, allegedly in violation of Illinois' biometrics privacy law.

Jury orders ex-Acadia owner McCaskey to pay former server $4.5M over alleged online harassment

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A Cook County jury agreed chef Ryan McCaskey, former owner of the Acadia restaurant in Chicago, allegedly used internet aliases to try to mask a campaign of online harassment against ex-Acadia server Cody Nason in retaliation for sharing embarrassing stories about McCaskey to an Instagram account

Lawsuit: CTU has wrongly refused for years to release financial audits, show how spending members' dues

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four Chicago Teachers Union members, who say the union has violated its own rules in hiding spending reviews from its own members since 2020.

Lawsuit against Gotion not done yet, plaintiffs say, after judge calls first version 'unanswerable'

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A Kankakee County judge said a group of Manteno residents trying to pull the plug on a huge lithium battery plant whose owners have ties to the Chinese Communist Party and which is backed by Gov. Pritzker have more work to do to back their claims officials rammed through an illegal project

IL Supreme Court questions if Smollett special prosecution wrongly undermined Foxx, set bad precedent

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments concerning actor Jussie Smollett's bid to reverse his conviction for staging an infamous fake racially-motivated attack in 2019, that spurred a politically-motivated outcry of sympathy and demands for justice from Kamala Harris and other left-wing politicians and celebrities

Lawsuit: Anti-cop bias, politics at COPA producing 'tainted' investigations into Chicago police conduct

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A deputy administrator at Chicago's Civilian Office of Police Accountability says he was fired after shining light on alleged bias and political motives at the office under its current top administrator

IL Baptists plan to appeal ruling that IL abortion coverage mandate doesn't violate religious rights

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A Springfield judge agreed with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul that the state's abortion health insurance coverage mandate doesn't violate religious objectors' rights because they can still buy health insurance from other states

Unions can defend vs attempts to force IL to clean up voter rolls, judge says

By Jonathan Bilyk |
A federal judge in Chicago has given two powerful labor unions the right to fight in court against a lawsuit brought conservative activist groups seeking to force the state of Illinois more stringently comply with federal law requiring the state and local election authorities to purge voter rolls of dead and otherwise ineligible voters

Did IL just try again to ban E-Verify? New law could leave employers facing hard choices, big challenges

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The new law could leave Illinois employers facing a choice between abiding by competing state and federal immigrant employment laws and requirements, and leave Illinois facing another day in court defending a law which could stand in defiance to federal laws governing immigrant work eligibility

Jury orders Avon to pay $24M to former janitor with mesothelioma

By Jonathan Bilyk |
After a month-long trial, a Cook County jury said Avon owes $24.4 million because the man allegedly contracted mesothelioma lung cancer from being exposed to asbestos-contaminated talc products at the company's Morton Grove facility in the 1980s

'A downward spiral': Biz groups, legal reformers urge IL high court to nix bid to kill anti-forum shopping rule

By Jonathan Bilyk |
The filings come in response to an attempt by the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association to seize on a dispute over the constitutionality of a controversial state law to win a long sought policy goal, which would funnel lawsuits into Cook, Madison and St. Clair counties, in pursuit of bigger, easier verdicts

Plaintiff alleges used car dealer Nitro Detergent Specialists of fraudulent misrepresentation

By Cook County Record |
Brendan Moore's lawsuit against Nitro Detergent Specialists over alleged fraud in a used car sale has been dismissed with prejudice by an Illinois court. The case centered around claims of concealed damage history in a vehicle sold under an “as is” agreement.

Former Employee Alleges Racial Discrimination Against Northwestern Memorial Hospital

By Cook County Record |
Sheila Brown has filed a lawsuit against Northwestern Memorial Hospital citing racial discrimination and harassment during her tenure as an Environmental Service Technician. Filed on September 30th in Illinois' Northern District Court, Brown seeks redress under federal civil rights laws after allegedly facing repeated discriminatory acts without any corrective measures being taken by her employer.

Cook Courts clerk casts doubts on official numbers touting success of IL criminal justice reforms

By Jonathan Bilyk |
Cook County Circuit Clerk Iris Martinez is calling for an independent analysis of court data being used to trumpet the success of Dems' criminal justice reform measures, saying an analysis by her office shows far more people are skipping court dates than are being acknowledged by official numbers

Cook County Judge Carl Boyd suspended from hearing cases after charged with domestic battery

By Jonathan Bilyk |
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