The mayor of a small suburban community west of Chicago thinks the village was unfairly “singled out” for underfunding police and fire pensions in the years during the recession when revenue was low.
The parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster and other chain restaurant brands has won a legal victory after a federal appeals panel refused to certify a class action over unpaid vacation time, saying the restaurant group’s change to its “anniversary pay” policies shouldn't subject it to a class action lawsuit.
A Chicago appeals courts has affirmed a lower court ruling that shelved a class-action suit against Sears, Roebuck & Co., which alleged the retail giant sold credit card holders’ personal data to telemarketers, because card holders took no financial hit as a result of Sears’ action.
A Chicago appellate panel has affirmed a lower court finding that a suit lodged by scores of nursing homes, alleging Illinois state government excessively cut its Medicaid reimbursements to the nursing facilities, should be pursued in the Illinois Court of Claims rather than Cook County Circuit Court, because the state did not overstep its authority as to how it calculated the reductions.
A state appeals panel in Chicago has ruled the city of Chicago can’t impose its real estate transfer tax on mortgage assignments for two properties – one on the Gold Coast – because mortgages don’t confer ownership, and so are not “beneficial interests” as defined by the tax ordinance.
A Chicago appeals court has ruled a state hearing officer was within his discretion when he decided not to swallow a suburban village's contention it didn't contribute to fire and police pensions, because of financial hardship brought on by the Great Recession and its impacts on the village’s economy.
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled plaintiffs need to suffer “physical impact” to pursue a lawsuit claiming negligent infliction of emotional distress, saying a lender had not breached the bounds of decency by sending contractors to change the locks and perform other maintenance on her home, which was in foreclosure, while she was still inside.
A state appellate panel has ruled an entrepreneur must pay his former attorneys for representing him in an arbitration matter against Giordano’s, which revoked his two franchise licenses after accusing him of violating his non-compete agreement.
An Illinois appeals panel has backed up a Cook County judge in declaring the law should be interpreted to allow a write-in candidate who is seeking to win a judicial seat against a former law clerk accused of impersonating a judge to receive votes cast for her on Election Day. However, neither the appellate justices nor a Cook County judge have yet declared the write-in candidate the winner of the Nov. 8 election, saying the answer to that question should come from the Illinois Supreme Court.
The Chicago Transit Authority will need to pay a group of its part-time bus drivers more than $7 million after a state appellate panel upheld an arbitrator’s determination the bus drivers’ union was correct in believing the CTA had overworked the drivers, in violation of their collective bargaining agreement.
The Illinois Supreme Court has put the freeze on certain slip-and-fall suits, by affirming an appellate ruling that the Illinois Snow and Ice Removal Act immunizes homeowners against suits arising from weather-caused slippery sidewalks, but not from ice buildup caused by negligent drainage.
The state’s highest court has declared Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios must comply with subpoenas issued by the county’s Inspector General, saying a Cook County ordinance empowering the Inspector General to “detect, deter and prevent corruption, fraud, waste, mismanagement, unlawful political discrimination or misconduct in the operation of County government” can be constitutionally applied to investigations of potential misconduct in the offices of elected county officials, like Berrios.
A Chicago appeals panel has reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a suit against the Anthropologie retail chain, saying a customer with a bowel disease can sue the company under a state restroom access law for not letting her use an employee bathroom, which caused her to soil herself in public.
A Chicago appeals panel ruled the former Empress Casino Joliet and its insurers can try to recoup $84 million in deductibles and claims from a kitchen grease removal service, but not from construction contractors, in connection with the 2009 blaze that gutted the casino during renovation work.
General contractors and home builders could face increased litigation and liability risk for home defects in light of a recent Illinois appellate court decision, essentially tossing out a defense employed by home builders in home warranty cases.
A state appeals panel has cut through a complex web of legal malpractice actions brought by a man who had essentially alleged many of his ex-lawyers had conspired with intercity bus operator Greyhound Lines to keep him from suing over his wife’s death in a bus accident 15 years ago. The appellate order upheld a circuit court ruling on the consolidated cases that has involved several Illinois attorneys and more than 25 appeals.
A bicyclist who injured himself in a Lakefront Trail fall will get another day in court in his complaint targeting the Chicago Park District for failing to fix a crack in the pavement he said caused his spill.
The question of whether voters wish to restrict the number of terms some of their elected officials can remain in office received resounding support in the village of Crestwood and the cities of Harvey and Calumet City. And in the village of Broadview, the results of the vote won’t be known until and unless the Illinois Supreme Court weighs in on whether the referendum question passed legal muster.
In a 2-to-1 decision, a Chicago appeals panel has ruled a referendum aiming to limit the village president in suburban Broadview to two terms is not confusing, as an objector has claimed, and so can be on Tuesday’s ballot, allowing Broadview to be one of four Cook County communities in which voters can limit the number of terms in office some elected officials can serve.
The Chicago Commission on Human Relations acted properly in awarding more than $68,000 in legal fees to a lesbian couple who had complained their building’s owners association had harassed and discriminated against them for being lesbians, a state appeals panel has ruled.
