Dana Herra News
Dozens of suing Will County deputies may not collect additional pension benefits, but four still may be owed, appeals panel says
The Will County Sheriff’s Office may have been correct in denying dozens of deputies additional pension benefits to which they may have believed they were entitled, but may have erred in misclassifying four of the deputies now suing, a state appellate court has ruled.A three-justice panel for the Illinois Third District Appellate Court found at least four Will County deputies may be entitled to additional pension benefits and remanded their lawsuit against the county, the sheriff’s office and Sh
Worthless auto loan insurance add-on prompts class action vs auto loan finance company
A Chicago woman has filed a class-action lawsuit against the finance company that handled her car loan, claiming she was misled into buying a useless contract addendum. In the complaint filed Aug. 31 in federal court in Chicago, plaintiff Joyce Pettye is suing Fort Worth, Texas-based Santander Consumer USA Inc., claiming the company violated the Truth in Lending Act and the Illinois Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act.
Shareholder sues to block Merge Healthcare sale to IBM, says deal not best company can get for medical imaging tech
A shareholder in Chicago-based medical imaging company Merge Healthcare has filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court in an attempt to stop the company’s pending merger with IBM. Andrei Savu claims Merge’s board of directors acted against shareholders’ best interests when they agreed to the merger.
Chicago South Shore prep school council members sue to remove fellow council member, undo council votes since April
Four members of a Chicago prep school’s local school council have filed suit against the other council members and have asked the court to nullify every vote the board has taken since April, claiming they illegally installed a council member to fill a vacancy and have since used that action to ram through a number of spending actions by the slimmest of margins.
Arbitration, no class action for music service subscriber who got text message after downloading app
The questions of whether and how much a music streaming service will need to pay for sending a text message to one of its subscribers must be decided in arbitration, a federal judge has ruled. Plaintiff Megan Craddock filed a putative class action lawsuit against Beats Music LLC, claiming the company violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act when it sent her a text message informing her of special offers on the company’s website.
Purchase of IP rights to headphones doesn't obligate purchaser to pay unpaid wages judgment
A man awarded more than $100,000 in unpaid wages cannot force the creditors of his defunct ex-employer to cover the liability, according to an opinion issued Aug. 12 by a state appellate panel. The appellate ruling upheld the judgment of a Cook County Circuit Court judge.
CPS building engineer OK to head to trial over claims school principal falsely accused her of misdeeds
A former Chicago Public Schools building engineer who claims a CPS principal repeatedly targeted her with false accusations of criminal activity and other misdeeds will be allowed to continue with her retaliation lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Education.
Fliers' suit vs United over senior discount program crashes over lack of written contract
A fourth attempt by a pair of airline travelers to sue United for reducing their perks under a seniors program fell flat on Aug. 10, when a three-justice panel of the Illinois First District Appellate Court upheld the Cook County Circuit Court’s dismissal of the case.
Northwestern student cleared to press claims university didn't respond quickly, strongly enough to his sex harassment claims
A Northwestern University student on the verge of earning his M.D. will be allowed to move forward with a sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the university, after a federal judge said he should be allowed the chance to support his allegations Northwestern had not responded as strenuously to his sexual harassment complaints as it did for female students lodging the same complaints.
Increased risk, but not actual ID theft, not enough to sustain data breach suits vs Advocate, appeals panel says
The theft of laptop computers from one of Illinois’ largest health care providers may have increased the possibility millions of people whose information was stored on those computers could suffer identity theft. But the mere possibility this may occur is not enough to allow a group of plaintiffs to continue with a lawsuit against Advocate Medical Group over the computer thefts, a state appellate panel has ruled.
Robbins power plant owner sues companies who left plant unsafe to passing aircraft, people on site
Dangerous alterations to a defunct power plant in Robbins, allegedly including disconnected aircraft warning lights on a tower structure, disabled fire suppression systems, and cut, live wires left easily accessible, have prompted the owner of the property to file suit against two companies he allowed to remove equipment from the site. The suit was filed July 31 in Cook County Circuit Court.
OT lawsuit vs Chicago 7-Eleven franchisee tossed after pay stubs show 'Misc Pay' rather than time-and-a-half
Saying the reasoning underpinning the case was “circular,” a federal judge on Aug. 3 threw out a lawsuit by a former convenience store employee who claimed she was never paid for overtime hours she worked, despite pay stubs showing “miscellaneous pay,” which ultimately may have meant she earned more than time-and-a-half for extra hours on the clock.
Insurer must defend former Zion mayor, economic development director, but not city, in suit over minor league stadium
The city of Zion cannot rely on its insurance company to cover all of its losses arising from a breach of contract lawsuit filed when the city failed to build a promised stadium for a minor league baseball team, which included actor Kevin Costner among its ownership group.
Intellect Wireless, lawyers ordered to pay HTC $4 million over patent suit tossed for 'inequitable conduct'
A Chicago federal judge has ordered Intellect Wireless and its former lawyers to pay more than $4 million in legal costs and interest to HTC, a wireless phone maker, in the aftermath to Intellect’s loss in court over its claims HTC had infringed its patents. The judge found Intellect’s former attorneys, Raymond Niro, Paul Gibbons, David Mahalek and Paul Vickrey, jointly liable.
Boeing removes 19th suit filed in Cook County over Asiana Flight 214 crash to federal court
Another lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court against The Boeing Company related to a fatal 2013 plane crash in California has been removed to federal court, joining 78 similar suits. Case No. 1:15-CV-06412 marks the 19th lawsuit surrounding the crash filed in Cook County.
Meat refiner files suit vs. contractors, sellers of foam filler that caused fire at factory
A Chicago-based maker of cooked and refined meat products has filed suit against construction businesses it holds accountable for a 2014 fire at its facility in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood.
Monopolistic prom queen or just belle of the ball? Judge tosses antitrust suit vs Chicago area dress boutique
An antitrust lawsuit unraveled last week when a federal judge ruled in favor of a Chicago-area dress shop accused by one of its competitors of stitching together a monopoly on the local prom dress market.
Fliers launch antitrust class action vs American, United, Southwest, Delta airlines, allege collusion on airfares, capacity, fees
A class action lawsuit has been launched against the four major U.S. airlines, riding the wings of a federal investigation into whether the airlines colluded to keep domestic airfares high, even as their costs have fallen..
$3 million Class action dismissed vs AT&T over $3.99 fee added to U-verse vacation hold bills
A class action lawsuit brought by a Chicago man against AT&T Inc. for $3 million over a $3.99 monthly surcharge applied to his U-verse television service bill has been dismissed.
Galena plumbing inspector: City fired him for enforcing building code vs. certain projects
A former city plumbing inspector has sued the city of Galena for $8 million, claiming he was fired for doing his job too well.