Dan Churney News
Appeals court: Towns can empanel multiple local electoral boards to resolve conflicts of interest
An Illinois appeals panel has upheld a Cook County judge, who ruled suburban Hazel Crest can convene multiple electoral boards to hear objections to candidate nominations, because regular board members are disqualified, in that they are also candidates facing the objections.
Man did not sidestep bankruptcy court by playing coy, waiting to file personal injury suit: Appeal panel
A bankrupt plaintiff did not try to do an end-run around the bankruptcy court by hiding a personal injury lawsuit from his list of pending claims, an Illinois appeals panel said, reversing a lower court decision that dismissed the lawsuit against the Blain’s Farm & Fleet retail chain.
IL Supreme Court: Worker can't collect from U.P. for injuries under federal law unless railroad at fault
The Illinois Supreme Court has derailed a Downstate appellate ruling, saying a railroad employee, who sued his employer under a federal liability law for injuries suffered in an accident, cannot collect damages from the railroad if a third party was completely at fault.
Appeals panel: Bock & Hatch lawsuit vs McGuireWoods over blog posts not a SLAPP, can continue
A state appeals panel in Chicago has slapped down a motion by one law firm to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a rival firm on SLAPP grounds, saying the suit isn't trying to choke off defendants' free speech, as protected by anti-SLAPP law, but rather concerns alleged attacks on the plaintiff firm’s reputation.
Repeated automated debt collection calls are a 'concrete injury' under Spokeo, federal law, judge says
A Chicago federal judge has refused to dismiss a suit, brought by a woman against a debt collection company, ruling the woman could have suffered a “concrete” harm when the company allegedly violated the federal Telephone Consumers Protection Act, by repeatedly phoning her after she told them to stop.
Lawsuit: Lenders, commercial real estate players ran racket to bilk 'unsophisticated' investors of assets
A group of plaintiffs have filed a racketeering suit in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging that for more than 10 years, several major players on the commercial real estate and financing scene have swindled hundreds of victims out of millions of dollars through loans based on inflated appraisals of hotels and motels across the Midwest.
Court: IL Property Tax board should win battle over value of Loop high rise across from Union Station
A Chicago appeals court has backed the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board’s decision to peg the value of a West Loop high-rise, situated across from Union Station, at $74 million, brushing aside the owners’ contention it was actually worth $58 million, saying the owners were given a fair shake and their appraisal was “unreliable” and “confusing.”
IL Supreme Court: Cop fired for misconduct can't relitigate termination via grievance, arbitration
The Illinois Supreme Court has overturned an appellate ruling, saying a onetime Peoria-area police officer lost his right to union grievance procedures in a misconduct matter when he first submitted to a police board hearing, which resulted in the termination of his employment.
Full public discussion of departing schools superintendent's deal not required, IL Supreme Court says
The Illinois Supreme Court has affirmed lower court rulings that a Springfield school board was not required to publicly go into detail about a superintendent’s separation agreement and ensure the public understood the agreement – as the Illinois Attorney General asserted – but rather it was sufficient for the board to summarize the nature of the agreement to the public.
Appeals court: Lawsuit vs Megabus over 2014 Indiana crash to stay in Cook County, not Hoosier state
A Chicago appeals panel has affirmed a lower court ruling that blocked a request by nationwide transportation company Megabus, and other defendants in a traffic crash injury suit, to shift the case from Cook County to rural Indiana, where the crash occurred, because of convenience.
Appeals panel: 'Political' lawsuit vs 2011 Pawar aldermanic opponent costs 47th Ward businessmen $52K
A Chicago appellate panel has affirmed a lower court ruling that two North Side businessmen must pay the legal costs incurred by a failed aldermanic candidate while fighting their defamation lawsuit, because the suit was “politically motivated.”
Appeals panel says Sears data disclosure doesn’t harm credit card holders, so suit is tossed
A Chicago appeals courts has affirmed a lower court ruling that shelved a class-action suit against Sears, Roebuck & Co., which alleged the retail giant sold credit card holders’ personal data to telemarketers, because card holders took no financial hit as a result of Sears’ action.
Appeals court: IL didn't overstep in cutting nursing homes' Medicaid pay; homes can't sue in Cook courts
A Chicago appellate panel has affirmed a lower court finding that a suit lodged by scores of nursing homes, alleging Illinois state government excessively cut its Medicaid reimbursements to the nursing facilities, should be pursued in the Illinois Court of Claims rather than Cook County Circuit Court, because the state did not overstep its authority as to how it calculated the reductions.
Green groups fighting Metro Water Dist over phosphorus limits not engaged in 'double-speak': Judge
A Chicago federal judge has refused to sink a lawsuit by environmental activists alleging the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago has polluted waterways with excessive levels of phosphorus, ruling the district failed to show the activists contradicted themselves, by arguing in state court environmental permits do not significantly restrict phosphorus discharges, while arguing in federal court the permits do impose such restrictions.
Judge nixes countersuit claiming 'troll' 'seeded' porn vids online to expose targets for copyright suits
A Chicago federal judge has dismissed the counterclaim by a defendant in an adult movie copyright infringement case, who tried to escape the lawsuit against him by arguing pornographers had set him up to be sued by planting their skin flicks on an internet medium known for facilitating video piracy.
City Hall can't tax mortgage transfers, because mortgages don't equal ownership, appeals panel says
A state appeals panel in Chicago has ruled the city of Chicago can’t impose its real estate transfer tax on mortgage assignments for two properties – one on the Gold Coast – because mortgages don’t confer ownership, and so are not “beneficial interests” as defined by the tax ordinance.
Appeals panel: N. Riverside can't claim hardship to skirt police, fire pension obligations
A Chicago appeals court has ruled a state hearing officer was within his discretion when he decided not to swallow a suburban village's contention it didn't contribute to fire and police pensions, because of financial hardship brought on by the Great Recession and its impacts on the village’s economy.
Woman can't sue Chase for distress over contractors sent to secure foreclosed home: IL Supreme Court
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled plaintiffs need to suffer “physical impact” to pursue a lawsuit claiming negligent infliction of emotional distress, saying a lender had not breached the bounds of decency by sending contractors to change the locks and perform other maintenance on her home, which was in foreclosure, while she was still inside.
Divided appeals court says lawyer can't sue Indiana prosecutors over embezzlement charges, statements
A Chicago federal appeals panel, in a partial 2-1 decision, cited tort immunity in upholding the dismissal of a Michigan lawyer’s suit against county and state officials in Indiana, for an allegedly malicious prosecution of her in an embezzlement case.
IL Supreme Court: Law shields homeowners from suits over snow removal, not 'unnatural' ice
The Illinois Supreme Court has put the freeze on certain slip-and-fall suits, by affirming an appellate ruling that the Illinois Snow and Ice Removal Act immunizes homeowners against suits arising from weather-caused slippery sidewalks, but not from ice buildup caused by negligent drainage.