Dana Herra News
Appeals panel: Justice Park District must pay $18.5M to family of boy who drowned at day camp
The Justice Park District appealed the $18.5 million verdict against it, arguing the court did not allow it to mount a proper defense in the drowning of a child at a day camp.
Judge tosses wiretapping charges from class action vs Bose over claims it used an app to eavesdrop on users' listening choices
State eavesdropping charge also dropped as judge determines Bose was a 'party' to 'intercepted' communications
Appeals court: Deutsche Bank doesn't have unlimited tries to dismiss, refile foreclosure actions
Appellate court rules mortgage lenders can't keep filing foreclosure actions after voluntarily dismissing them
Court reverses judgment for Direct Auto in man's lawsuit over rescinding of policy after his car was stolen, crashed
A man who claims his discount car insurer sells policies it never intends to pay out will have another chance in court after judges with the Illinois Second District Appellate Court reversed summary judgment granted to the insurer.
Supreme Court: Rights of nursing home residents outweigh rights of nursing homes in discharge proceedings
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that following the intent of the state’s Nursing Home Care Act – to protect the rights of nursing home residents – is more important than following the letter of the sometimes contradictory law.
Appeals court: Company must honor agreement promising pensioners health care for life
CHICAGO -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that a pension agreement that promised retired steelworkers and their families health care for life must be honored, even though the underlying benefits agreement was terminated by a successor to the original employer.
Appeals court says kids of man killed in Airbnb fire in Maine can't sue in Cook County
The children of a Chicago man killed in a fire at an Airbnb might be able to pursue their lawsuit against the people and companies they hold responsible for the fire, but they can’t do it in Illinois.
BNSF OK to not hire obese rail worker; ADA doesn't cover job applicants for possible future disability: Appeal panel
CHICAGO -- Employers prohibited by the Americans With Disabilities Act from discriminating against job applicants with disabilities may decline to hire an able-bodied person at risk of developing a disability in the future, according to an Oct. 29 ruling by the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
IL Supreme Court: Court order tops FOIA in dispute over Daley grand jury materials
In finding a government watchdog group can’t get access to grand jury materials involving former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in the manslaughter case against the mayor’s nephew, the Illinois Supreme Court has declared a court order to seal grand jury documents will trump the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
Judge: 'Too many assumptions' in man's Medicare fraud class action vs United Healthcare over home visits
A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit a man attempted to bring against his insurance company, ostensibly on behalf of the federal government, claiming the UnitedHealthcare was defrauding Medicare by scheduling unnecessary in-home nurse visits for him and others.
Co-defendants in case from 3-car I-88 wreck can't pull man back in who caused it while DUI, but settled
A man who caused a three-car crash while driving under the influence of cocaine on Interstate 88 near Naperville, and later settled with a woman severely injured in the crash, cannot be reintroduced into the woman’s lawsuit to diffuse responsibility from other defendants in ensuing litigation, a state appeals court has ruled, rejecting assertions the driver’s DUI conviction indicated his actions that caused the crash were intentional, rather than merely negligent.
Online college claims accreditation agency made it a ‘sacrificial lamb’ to appease Congress
Ivy Bridge, a defunct online college, has brought to Chicago federal court its lawsuit against an accreditation agency it says made the college a “sacrificial lamb” to prove to Congress that the agency had not become lax in accrediting nontraditional institutions.
Delivery drivers sue trucking firms, Amazon as joint employers, say broke law by not paying OT
A pair of former delivery drivers has filed a class action lawsuit against the trucking company that employed them and against Internet behemoth Amazon, the merchant whose cargo they were delivering and who they allege acted as their "joint employer," saying the companies wrongly didn't pay overtime, making them earn less than what state and federal law requires.
Former bus attendant for special needs students delivers class action vs CPS over unpaid wages
A former bus attendant for the Chicago Public Schools has delivered a class action lawsuit against the state’s largest school district alleging he and others like him worked hours for which they were never paid.
Panel: 'Pay-when-paid' contract language means contractor owes sub even though stiffed by customer
A contractor must pay its subcontractor for excavation work on an abandoned development site, even though the developer who hired the general contractor never paid its bills, an appellate court ruled.
Appeals court sides with California online retailer in tax suit, overturns $100K in fees in qui tam action
An appeals court found a California retailer is not liable for failure to collect Illinois use tax for catalog and Internet sales, and also threw out more than $100,000 in attorney’s fees a lower court had awarded the law firm that brought the qui tam action.
Big U.S. sales of Androgel sink Belgian drugmaker Besins' try to toss 'Low T' drug class action suit
A federal judge has denied a Belgian drug maker’s attempt to remove itself from a massive class-action lawsuit that claims testosterone replacement drugs caused harm to patients taking them for off-label conditions.
Data breach class action vs Barnes & Noble falls apart after judge finds victims suffered no injury
A federal judge has dismissed an attempt by customers of Barnes & Noble to sue the bookseller over a 2012 data breach they say exposed them to an increased risk of identity theft.
Suburban nonprofit theater not property tax exempt because not 'charitable,' panel says
A suburban community theater troupe will not receive a property tax exemption on its theater, after a state appellate court upheld previous findings by the state and a trial court that the theater, while nonprofit, is not charitable enough to qualify for an exemption.
Woman whose foot was severed by firecracker in park can't sue Chicago Park District: Appeals court
A woman whose foot was severed after a firework, detonated by two men visiting a Chicago park, exploded near her, cannot hold the Chicago Park District liable for her injuries, an appellate court has ruled.