Scott Holland News
Judge: Class action vs Precor over faulty treadmill sensors can proceed
Exercise equipment manufacturer Precor failed in its quest to get a judge to scuttle a federal class action complaint, which alleged the company sold treadmills it knew included inaccurate heart rate sensors.
Ex-pharmacy manager accuses Mariano's of mishandling blood glucose tests, employees' fingerprints
A former Mariano’s pharmacy manager who accused the grocer of mishandling medical testing equipment also said the company improperly stores its employees’ biometric data.
Appeals panel: Lawyer not allowed to keep $600K fee for qui tam unpaid sales tax suit vs My Pillow
A state appeals court has ruled a lawyer who had individually sued pillow maker My Pillow, ostensibly on behalf of the state of Illinois for unpaid taxes, is not allowed to keep roughly $600,000 in legal fees he had claimed as part of the litigation.
Cook Co. judge wrong to refuse transfer of asbestos case with no links to Cook
A state appeals panel has overruled a Cook County judge who had refused to transfer to Winnebago County an asbestos exposure case involving a plaintiff who had worked at industrial facilities in Winnebago, and couldn't say for sure he had even been exposed to asbestos in Cook County at all.
Judge: No right to make broadcasters pay for airing pre-1972 songs
A federal judge in Chicago scuttled a class action over music royalties, saying no law allows a couple who otherwise own the rights to many chart-topping tunes from the 1950s and ‘60s to exact payment from broadcasters who play their songs.
Chicago City Hall: Contractor hired to install electric car charging stations on hook for $1M fraud
The city of Chicago said the company it hired to install electric vehicle charging stations didn’t live up to its end of a $1 million contract.
Seventh Circuit: Patent law can't be used to press asbestos exposure liability claims
A federal appeals panel in Chicago has upheld lower courts’ dismissal of several asbestos exposure lawsuits brought against door maker Weyerhaeuser Company and Owens-Illinois Inc., saying their dispute with Weyerhauser should be handled under Wisconsin’s workers compensation law, and their claims against Owens-Illinois don’t belong in court at all.
Lawsuit vs NHL over substance abuse, death of hockey player Boogaard dismissed
A federal judge has agreed with the National Hockey League and dismissed the complaint brought by the family of deceased professional hockey player Derek Boogaard, who died following a purported drug overdose.
Ex-state senator sues IL over 'unconstitutional' skipped paychecks, years after supporting skipped pay
Ex-state Senator Mike Noland, D-Elgin, is suing the state of Illinois to force the comptroller to get the money he claimes was denied him during a decade in office - even though he voted for the measure he now claims is illegal.
Judge: Driver has established enough potential unpaid OT to allow class action vs taxi dispatcher
A driver’s class action complaint, accusing a taxi dispatcher of not paying him and other drivers like him overtime and wrongly deducting from their pay, will be allowed to proceed after a federal judge refused to fully dismiss the action.
Challenge to Chicago landmarks ordinance cleared again to proceed; appeals court orders new judge
Two Chicago property owners have – again – won the chance to press ahead with their legal challenge to the city of Chicago’s designation of their neighborhoods as historical landmarks, after a state appeals panel – again – slapped down a Cook County judge’s decision to dismiss their lawsuit, and ordered a different judge to take a crack at the case.
Class action: Gather app improperly uses users' phones to send 'spam-vites' to friends, other contacts
An Illinois man who said he received unsolicited text messages is accusing the developers of the Gather app of violating federal telecommunications law in designing a product which allegedly raids a user’s phone’s contacts list and sends more spam text messages inviting others to install the app.
Judge breaks up janitors' wage class action vs O'Hare cleaning contractor Scrub Inc.
A federal judge has broken up a class action involving hundreds of airport janitors who had accused cleaning contractor Scrub Inc. of shorting them pay, as the judge said the only thing the janitors truly had in common is that they all worked at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Lawsuit: Fired Cook correctional officers should be rehired, because merit board included illegal member
A former Cook County correctional officer who had been terminated in 2015 has asked a judge to order the county to reinstate him and others like him, after a state appeals court found the board that fired them included a member who was never validly appointed.
Lids store managers say parent companies owe them for unpaid overtime: Class action
A group of Lids store managers have filed a federal class action complaint against the hat retailer’s parent companies, alleging they were not properly compensated for overtime work.
Chicago Public Schools try again to persuade court to order fix of 'discriminatory' school funding
After their first attempt to obtain a court order to compel a rewrite of the state's education funding rules was rebuffed, the Chicago Public Schools have renewed their legal challenge, again asking a Cook County judge to force changes in a school funding system they call discriminatory.
VRBO operator HomeAway challenges Chicago short-term rentals rules, says favor Airbnb
Short-term home rentals company HomeAway, which operates VRBO and other short-term home rentals listings sites, has sued the city of Chicago over its ordinance regulating such businesses, asserting the young policy that’s already been challenged several times in court is indecipherable to home renters and the listing services, and has the effect of favoring Airbnb, VRBO’s largest competitor.
Class action OK'd vs Oakton Community College over decision to no longer hire SURS pensioners
An age discrimination class action against Oakton Community College after the college decided to no longer hire those collecting pensions through the State Universities Retirement System will be allowed to proceed, after a federal judge weighed in on the matter.
IL Supreme Court: IHSA may oversee public high school sports, but not a public body subject to FOIA
In an unanimous opinion, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed the Illinois High School Association – the organization which partners with high schools to oversee high school athletics across the state – does not need to share its documents with the public under the Freedom of Information Act.
Female Northwestern grad student: HarperCollins, author published private info to twist sex assault tale
Another lawsuit has been filed in a three-year dispute about alleged sexual assault involving a Northwestern University professor, as a female graduate student has accused publishing house HarperCollins and an author of embarrassing her by exposing private details to make the professor she accused of sexual assault a sympathetic figure.