Dan Churney News
Father of track athlete with disability says IHSA needs new qualifying times to let son, others compete
The father of a physically disabled Evanston Township High School track athlete, who doesn’t need a wheelchair, is seeking a federal injunction to force the Illinois High School Association to give his son and other runners like him a different qualifying time – as it also gives wheelchair-bound athletes – so they can compete equally in state championships alongside non-disabled competitors.
Malibu Media loses porn piracy case vs Doe after no downloaded materials found on Doe's computer
A Chicago federal magistrate judge laid low a lawsuit by Malibu Media - a litigious online skin flick distributor - which alleged an internet pirate infringed its copyright by downloading two dozen movies without permission, saying Malibu failed to present computer forensics evidence backing its claim.
Chicago to pay $3 million to settle claims it discriminated vs cop candidates who lived in U.S. less than 10 years
The city of Chicago has quickly assented to the U.S. Department of Justice’s contentions it discriminated against foreign-born police applicants by requiring applicants to have lived in the U.S. for 5-10 years before applying.
As part of a settlement agreement announced in Chicago federal court, the city has agreed to pay $3.1 million in the class action brought by the Justice Department on behalf of 47 onetime police officer applicants.
Appeals panel: OK for bank, ad agency to settle for zero dollars, thwart accountant's countersuit vs bank in embezzlement suit
An Illinois appeals panel has backed a Cook County judge’s ruling that Bank of America and a Chicago advertising agency didn’t pull a fast one on a Skokie accountant, by reaching a zero-dollar settlement in a $1 million embezzlement lawsuit, saving the ad agency untold sums in legal fees and shielding the bank from the accountant’s countersuit.
Judges disagree if county can sue, but appeal won't slow Cook's predatory lending suit vs HSBC
A Chicago federal judge will not slow down Cook County’s predatory lawsuit against HSBC, denying a request from HSBC to place the county’s legal action on hold to allow a federal appeals court to iron out differing opinions among local federal judges as to whether the county actually has standing under federal law to sue HSBC and other banks over allegations the banks discriminated against borrowers based on race and worsened local housing markets.
7th Circuit says gambling losers can't use IL law to sue online poker sites to recoup losses
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago has upheld lower court rulings, saying it’s a bad bet to try to use Illinois state law to recoup gambling losses from the hosts, rather than the winners, of online poker games.
Appeals court removes class representative from junk fax action, says named plaintiff is 'tool' of lawyer
In a sharply worded 2-1 decision, the Illinois First District Appellate Court in Chicago overturned a lower court decision and barred a plaintiff from serving as representative in a class-action suit involving allegedly unsolicited faxes, describing the plaintiff as a "tool'"of his lawyer.
Class action status stripped from lawsuit alleging wage-hour missteps vs firm providing workers to Caterpillar
A Chicago federal judge has stripped the class action status from a lawsuit that alleged a Caterpillar contractor rooked Joliet workers out of overtime pay, with the judge describing the claims of 94 plaintiffs as too individualized to pursue as a whole.
Motel operators ask U.S. Supreme Court to mow down amounts Chicago can fine for violations of city weed ordinance
Attorneys for a Skokie motel corporation are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to establish the formula for courts to use in determining whether state and local fines are over the top, as they challenge federal court dismissals of their lawsuit alleging fines charged by the city of Chicago under its weed ordinance are excessive under the U.S. Constitution.
Condo owners facing eviction get just one chance in court to challenge legitimacy of fees
Condominium owners who wish to challenge the legality of fees charged by their properties’ owners associations don’t get two chances in court to do so, an Illinois state appellate panel has found, upholding a Cook County judge’s dismissal of an evicted condo owner’s suit over association assessment late fees, saying the owner should have raised the issue when he was evicted three years before. The appellate order was filed Dec. 17 under Supreme Court Rule 23.
Federal judge dampens suit claiming Sears sells flammable riding mowers
Acting on a motion to dismiss, a Chicago federal judge has pruned a class action lawsuit brought by four people against Sears, which alleges the retailer sold defective lawnmowers prone to burst into flames.
Lawsuit alleging Big Lots job applications disclose too much moved from Philadelphia to Chicago federal court
A Pennsylvania-born putative class-action suit, which alleges the nationwide retailer Big Lots violated federal law by overstocking job applicant disclosure statements with too much information, has landed in Chicago federal court. The one-count suit, between Aaron Abel and Big Lots Stores, Inc., was filed Nov. 2 in Philadelphia County Court and transferred to Chicago Dec. 15.
Judge flushes plumber's harassment suit alleging Elk Grove building officials conspired against him
A plumber's harassment suit against Elk Grove Village has gone down the drain in Chicago federal court, with a judge saying no evidence was presented that a village inspector orchestrated a campaign by village employees to hassle the plumber for refusing to loan tools to the inspector.
Lawsuit claiming Ashley Madison faked female member profiles to dupe male customers headed to federal court
A Cook County man’s lawsuit, which alleges the Ashley Madison adultery website not only failed to protect personal information from hackers, but also two-timed male members through fake female profiles, could be headed from circuit court to Chicago federal court. In September, Matthew Lisuzzo filed a 10-count putative class-action suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Avid Life Media Inc., and the company’s law firm, Barnes & Thornburg.
Whether buyer knows it or not, landmark designation not insurable home title encumbrance, court says
The First District Illinois Appellate Court in Chicago slammed the door on a South Side homeowner’s claim, which blamed prior owners for not disclosing that the 99-year-old house’s title is burdened by landmark designation and demanded her title insurer compensate her for the oversight. The appellate court’s decision was rendered Dec. 14.
Amazon can use rejected settlement offer to fight background check class action, judge says
A Chicago federal judge has ruled a plaintiff, who is leading a putative class action suit against Amazon for allegedly rejecting his job application after a background check turned up what the plaintiff said is a bogus report of a drug conviction, can’t stop the online retailer from using the plaintiff’s decision to reject a settlement offer as a defense to ward off the class action suit.
Appeals panel sides with Geraci in fight with Mexican billionaire over right to buy downtown Chicago condo unit
Prominent Chicago bankruptcy lawyer Peter Francis Geraci and his wife have beaten back a Mexican mining magnate’s right-of-first-refusal suit, which tried to stop Geraci from buying a Magnificent Mile penthouse above the magnate’s floor. The First District Appellate Court of Illinois ruled in the Geraci couple’s favor Nov. 30, overturning a Cook County Circuit Court decision that had gone against them.
Condo foreclosure doesn't eliminate new owners' obligations to pay past owners' association fees, IL Supreme Court says
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled unpaid condominium association assessments are not erased through foreclosure, unless the new owner forks over their first post-purchase assessment payment on time, otherwise they have to pick up the tab. The high court’s decision was delivered Dec. 3 by Justice Thomas Kilbride, with the rest of the court concurring.
Would-be redeveloper of Pittsfield building says sellers misled about the property's size, zoning
A development group with plans to convert a vintage Loop building into a hotel, is suing the sellers, alleging they tried to pull a fast one by misleading them about the structure’s square footage and zoning status.
State Supreme Court declares engineering firms have rights under law to slap liens for unpaid bills
The Supreme Court of Illinois has determined a Rosemont-based engineering firm had a right to file a mechanics lien for unpaid services, contrary to the findings of lower courts, because its work was done with the intent of improving a tract of land downstate.