Dan Churney News
Plaintiff: Baking company Aryzta owes dough for clunky fight over locale for lawsuit over worker fingerprints
The plaintiff in a putative class action suit accusing the bakery company which puts out the Otis Spunkmeyer and La Brea Bakery brands of violating an Illinois biometric privacy law by not telling workers how their fingerprints were handled, is now claiming the company is refusing to pay a portion of the plaintiff's legal costs, as ordered by a federal judge.
Judge cites SCOTUS' Bristol-Myers decision to gut class action over Body Fortress dietary supplement
A Chicago federal judge has relied on the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Bristol Myers Squibb decision to gut a suit against the makers of a dietary supplement, who allegedly made bogus claims about its effectiveness, saying non-Illinois claimants can't participate in a suit in Illinois.
Church's fired gay music director tries harassment claim to negate church's 'ministerial exception' defense
A man who lost his federal lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Chicago, which claimed the church wrongly fired him from his music director job at a suburban church for marrying another man, is back in court for another try, arguing the church's ministerial exception defense doesn't apply, because the harassment he allegedly suffered was not ecclesiastical in nature.
Appeals court says Children's Hospital of Illinois responsible for doctor contractors in malpractice case
A Downstate appeals panel has reversed a Peoria judge's dismissal of a malpractice suit against Children's Hospital of Illinois, the suit alleging the facility was at fault for the loss of a baby's vision, saying the hospital could be liable for actions by doctors, even though the doctors were contractors to the hospital, because the hospital presented them as employees.
Cook deputy says 'sham' merit board had no power to fire her in 2011 over personal misconduct charges
A former Cook County Sheriff's Office sergeant, fired for alleged off-duty incidents involving alcohol, is suing Sheriff Tom Dart, claiming the sheriff's Merit Board had no authority to sack her, because board members were serving interim, rather than six-year terms as required by law, making the board a “sham.”
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IL high court says Chicago Park District off the hook for bicyclist's injuries on Lakefront Trail
The Illinois Supreme Court has tossed an appellate court decision in a suit, which claimed the Chicago Park District was liable for a bicyclist's injury on the city's Lakefront Trail, saying a Cook County judge was right to declare the district immune from liability, because the trail is a recreational pathway.
Judge saws off $5.9 million verdict against Sears in wrench patent dispute suit vs Loggerhead
A Chicago federal judge has thrown a wrench into a jury's $5.9 million verdict for a suburban toolmaker, who alleged retail giant Sears copied his patented design for an implement for removing nuts and bolts, saying Sears deserves a new trial because one of her jury instructions was based on a faulty definition of a tool term made by a prior judge in the five-year-long case.
Judges: Discontented developer should have delivered documents to ex-partners in Ritz-Carlton Residences suit
A Chicago federal appellate court has upheld the dismissal of a suit brought by one of the developers of Chicago's Ritz-Carlton skyscraper, who alleged his onetime partners cut him out of the profits, saying the disgruntled developer's failure to turn over financial records to his ex-partners for their defense preparation justified razing his case.
Classifieds site Backpage alleges Cook County Sheriff 'lied' to hide documents in sex trafficking injunction case
Online classifieds site Backpage.com is alleging in federal court that Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, in his effort to shut down the site on grounds it facilitates sex trafficking, wrongly withheld thousands of discovery documents from Backpage, fraudulently claiming the documents were confidential, because they were the product of an attorney-client relationship.
Judge: EEOC has turned over enough documents to Dollar General in hiring bias suit
A Chicago federal magistrate judge has largely rejected Dollar General's effort to squeeze more information from federal regulators in their efforts to defend against a discrimination suit against the discount retail chain, which alleges the company's job applicant screenings are geared to keep out blacks.
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Judge: Legislative immunity no cover for ex-Tinley development head sued by village for housing project mess
A Chicago federal judge has refused to toss a suit by suburban Tinley Park against a former village development director, which alleged the ex-director's misrepresentations caused the village to come under federal investigation and pay $2.5 million to settle a suit brought by the would-be developer of a dormant low-income housing project.
IL Supreme Court: Citibank has no claim on sales tax refunds from bad auto loans
The Illinois Supreme Court has upended Cook County and appellate rulings, saying Citibank has no claim to $1.6 million in state sales taxes paid through defaulted auto loans, because such tax refunds should go to the auto dealer, not the lender.
Ex-attorneys allege members of influential O'Brien clan owe $2.1 million fee for estate struggle
A pair of law firms based in Chicago's Loop are alleging in a lawsuit a daughter and grandson of Chicago's well-heeled, politically connected O'Brien family have refused to pay the firms $2.1 million in fees wracked up fashioning a settlement in court fights over the family estate.
Lawyers to seek $8M of proposed $24M settlement of shareholder suit vs drugmaker Akorn
From a lawsuit against suburban-based drugmaker Akorn, a settlement has grown in Chicago federal court, which could hand $8 million to lawyers for pursuing the class action suit against Akorn Pharmaceuticals, alleging the company misled investors.
Light maker wants to sock it to Chicago City Hall, contractor, alleging rigged $160M lighting project
A suburban manufacturer of electric lighting units is blowing its fuse, and as an outlet is in federal court, alleging the city of Chicago, a municipal financing group and an energy service provider short-circuited the bidding process for a huge public lighting modernization project, to exclude the manufacturer's lights in favor of General Electric products.
Appeals panel: Cook judge wrong to order new trial in malpractice suit v. Northwestern Medicine
A Chicago appellate court has tossed a Cook County judge's “unreasonable” decision to grant a new trial for a plaintiff in a malpractice suit, saying the trial judge was wrong to declare the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation had failed to furnish home health care records to the plaintiff, as justices said Northwestern didn't hide the records and plaintiff had access to them anyway.
Divided federal appeals panel says Chicago can bar women from baring breasts
A divided U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's ruling that the city of Chicago is within its rights to ban women from going topless in public, even if a woman is trying to use the First Amendment to get a gripe off her chest about how the law allegedly treats women unfairly.
Federal appeals court tosses antitrust injunction that goes too far in car dealer software suit
A Chicago federal appeals panel has scrapped an injunction won by a Wisconsin business against a Hoffman Estates-based provider of software to car dealers, with the court saying the injunction improperly distorts the marketplace.
Drug maker AbbVie wants to slip from $140M verdict, says jury ignored evidence
North Chicago-based drug company AbbVie is urging a federal judge to trash a verdict ordering it to cough up $140 million, because its testosterone therapy drug AndroGel contributed to a man's heart attack, contending it has no liability because AndroGel was approved by the FDA.
Appeals panel nixes coroner's report as evidence in medical malpractice, wrongful death suit
A Downstate appellate court has backed a Champaign County judge's decisions in a medical malpractice trial involving a woman's death, which ended with a verdict against plaintiff, saying the judge was right to bar some of plaintiff's evidence, including a coroner's report and death certificate.