Dana Herra News
Investment group connected to Aon founder Pat Ryan says data analytics firm swindled them out of millions
A wealthy and politically connected Chicago family is suing an executive they claim cheated them out of stock worth hundreds of millions of dollars to fulfill his own aspirations and allegedly cut out the investors on the cheap after their usefulness as a springboard had ended.
Cook County: State must pay millions owed to fund child support collection program
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and lawyers acting on behalf of parents owed child support have asked the federal courts to step in to force the state of Illinois to pay up what it owes to cover the costs of enforcing the collection of child support, saying the state’s failure to pass a budget to fund the program has cost Cook County millions, harms the parents and their children and threatens the future viability of the program.
Say cheese: Class actions begin to pile up vs Kraft, Walmart over Parmesan cheese contents
Class action lawsuits against Kraft Heinz and Walmart have begun to accumulate in the aftermath of a February news investigation turned up evidence of wood-based fillers in the companies’ grated Parmesan cheese products.
Judge allows lawsuit to proceed vs Sprint over claims company's background check forms break law
A potential class action lawsuit claiming Sprint violated consumer protection laws when it ran credit checks on job applicants will proceed, after a federal judge refused the company’s motion to dismiss.
Class action says Pepperidge Farm needs to treat in-store display workers as employees, not contractors
A federal class action lawsuit claims cookie and cracker maker Pepperidge Farm has exploited the workers who deliver, set up and maintain its product displays in supermarkets and other stores, treating these workers like employees, but classifying them as independent contractors, contrary to labor law.
Online lawyer directory Avvo hit with class action for allegedly wrongly profiting from lawyers' 'professional ID'
A Chicago attorney has filed a class-action lawsuit against Avvo, an online directory that allows consumers to search for attorneys by city, name or area of practice, claiming the website is making money from her information and that of other lawyers without permission.
Class action says Ford knew about 'inherent defect' in PowerShift transmission, never told car owners
A Plainfield woman has brought a class action suit against Ford, claiming the automaker knew the PowerShift transmission it offers on Fiestas and Focuses is defective, but has never publicly acknowledged the defect or offered restitution to vehicle owners.
Appeals panel: Circuit judge erred in not giving female domestic violence victim order of protection
The First District Appellate Court of Illinois expressed strong disapproval of a Cook County circuit court judge’s handling of a domestic violence case, in which the alleged victim’s request for an order of protection was denied and a less-stringent civil restraining order was issued instead.
Judge tosses Illinois privacy law class action vs Facebook over photo tagging; California cases still pending
A federal judge has dismissed an Illinois man’s attempted class action lawsuit against Facebook, contending the social media provider’s photo sharing platform violates Illinois privacy law. In dismissing the matter, however, the judge said the court in this case only lacked jurisdiction to rule in the matter, and stopped short of rendering an opinion on the lawsuit’s allegations against Facebook.
Appeals panel: Airlines aren't breaching contract when put passengers' checked bags on separate flights
An airline is under no obligation to make sure passengers and their baggage are transported on the same flight, an Illinois appeals court ruled, upholding a decision of a Cook County judge in dismissing a class action lawsuit on the question. Plaintiff Gina Spadoni had filed a single-count class-action lawsuit against United Airlines in Cook County Circuit Court in 2014, claiming the airline breached its contract with her when it placed her baggage on a different flight.
Chicago surgery center OK'd to sue malpractice insurer for refusing settlement, costing $4 million
The 900 North Michigan Surgical Center can proceed in its bad faith lawsuit against its malpractice insurers, after a Chicago federal judge said there was sufficient evidence to believe the medical practice has a legal leg to stand on in contending its insurers needlessly cost the practice $4 million by deciding to take a malpractice case to trial and refuse a “sympathetic” plaintiff’s offer to settle the matter for $1 million.
Not likely jury would've believed for-profit colleges tried to pocket admission reps' bonuses, judge says
A federal court has denied a man’s attempt to sue his former employer, a Schaumburg-based operator of several for-profit career education colleges, over its termination of a bonus incentive program he says cost him thousands. U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown granted summary judgment in December to defendant Career Education Corporation, which operates Le Cordon Bleu College, American Intercontinental University and Colorado Technical University.
Four Loko makers can't force insurer to defend them against intoxication death, injury suits
The makers of Four Loko, a cross between malt liquor and an energy drink, are on their own in defending against six lawsuits claiming consumption of the beverage led to injuries or deaths, after a state appellate court ruled the company’s insurer is not obligated to indemnify it. Chicago-based Phusion Projects Inc. and Phusion Projects LLC, makers of Four Loko, sued Selective Insurance Company of South Carolina in Cook County Circuit Court.
Doctors not gellin' with custom orthotics claims from makers of Dr. Scholl's inserts
A group of podiatrists is not gelling with advertising claims made by the makers of over-the-counter foot care brand Dr. Scholl’s over just how "custom" is the fit of the brand's retail orthotic inserts. Podiatrist Lowell Scott Weil and Des Plaines-based Weil Foot and Ankle Institute LLC, which employs 17 podiatrists, filed a class action lawsuit Dec. 22 in Chicago federal court against Dr. Scholl’s parent company, Bayer AG, and its subsidiaries.
Flight attendants wage, hour class action vs Skywest moved to Chicago federal courts, to join already pending action
A class-action lawsuit claiming SkyWest Airlines systemically underpays its flight attendants was transferred Dec. 9 from a federal court district in California to Chicago federal court, joining a virtually identical class action already pending against the airline in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
IL Supreme Court: Plaintiffs don't get to change judges simply because they withdraw, refile suit
The Illinois Supreme Court has shot down a plaintiff’s attempt to change judges after she dropped a lawsuit and then re-filed it, saying her attempt to “reset the clock” on the process was a loophole those who wrote the rules did not intend to be exploited. State law allows each party to a lawsuit to request one substitution of judge without cause, as long as the motion is made before the judge has ruled on matters of substance in the case.
Cook County, home rule municipalities can tax slot machines, video gaming terminals, appeals panel says
In a pair of decisions, a state appeals panel again upheld the ability of Cook County and other home rule units of local government in Illinois to tax slot and video gaming machines. Both cases, docketed in court records as Case No. 13-L-050995 and Case No. 14-CH-7357, named Lemont-based Accel Entertainment among the plaintiffs, and both were decided by the same panel of three judges.
Facebook: Face tagging software doesn't violate Illinois biometric info law, contra class action
Contending its photo tagging technology doesn’t violate Illinois’ law forbidding the sharing of certain biometric information, Facebook has asked a judge to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by a non-Facebook user who claims he and other people who do not have accounts on the social media site have been harmed by the site’s photo Tag Suggestions feature.
Bumble Bee Tuna faces class action over legally fishy advertising on omega 3 levels
A class action lawsuit has been cleared to move forward against Bumble Bee Foods, claiming the food packager improperly labeled its canned tuna to promote health benefits it may not have been legally entitled to advertise, after a federal judge threw back the food company’s motions to dismiss. Plaintiff Joseph McMahon, filing as an individual and class representative, has claimed Bumble Bee had no legal right to label its canned tuna and other seafood as an “excellent source of Omega-3s.”
Former store workers cleared to bring wage, hour class action against Family Video
A federal judge was not swayed by Family Video’s “creative” arguments against granting class certification in a lawsuit filed by a group of the retailer’s former employees, allowing the litigation to move forward under both federal and Illinois wage and hour laws.