A Texas-based law firm accused of improperly using proxy Illinois attorneys to covertly manage lawsuits in Illinois intended to allegedly essentially extort payments from other lawyers trying to close out class action settlements, has agreed to accept a court order barring them from practicing law in Illinois.
State Farm and plaintiffs have agreed to settle protracted RICO litigation for $250 million on the opening day of what was expected to be a long-running trial at federal court in East St. Louis.
Saying they wished to shy away from potentially overthrowing untold numbrs of otherwise purportedly proper terminations and employee disciplinary actions within the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, a state appeals panel has upheld the termination of a Cook County Sheriff’s employee even though the merit board the sheriff uses to review employee discipline and terminations was illegally constituted at the time the officer was fired.
A Cook County judge has ruled the county’s guns and ammunition tax doesn’t violate the Constitution or the rights of firearm owners, saying the tax is little more than an “inconsequential burden” on gun owners.
A Chicago federal judge has allowed Cirque Du Soleil to turn out the lights on a class action lawsuit accusing the entertainment brand brought against it for allegedly sending junk fax ads, allegedly in violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Noting their conclusions could change based on what other cities and utilities may choose to do with information gleaned from homeowners’ energy use, a panel of federal appeals court judges has found Naperville can continue collecting and storing electricity usage data transmitted directly by so-called “smart meters,” even though the data harvest essentially amounts to a governmental search under the Fourth Amendment.
Frances A. Rosinski, Senior Counsel in Clark Hill’s Litigation Business Unit, participated in a mock disciplinary trial at the National Organization of Bar Counsel’s annual meeting in Chicago on August 4, 2018.
A deeply divided Illinois Supreme Court upheld an appellate court decision in favor of a convicted felon fighting the state’s use of his criminal history to terminate his parental rights. In a strongly worded dissension, three of the seven justices warned of judicial overreach and the unintended consequences of new precedent.
The Illinois Supreme Court has adopted new pleading requirements for credit card and debt collection cases, which will result in additional protection for debtors, but also has the potential to lengthen the process, according to one Chicago attorney.
According to an article written by David Christian for The Circuit Rider, The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a Third Circuit Court of Appeals "structured dismissal" ruling in which former Jevic Holding Corp. truck drivers fought being left out of a settlement in the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case
A state appeals panel overruled a Cook County judge, finding a woman may be allowed to continue with her personal injurylawsuit against the company that manages a parking lot near Soldier Field, as they said the Cook County judge may have erred in finding the low pole over which the woman allegedly tripped while leaving an event may not have been as open and obvious as the lower court judge believed.
An Illinois state appeals panel has upheld a Cook County judge's decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought against the city of Chicago and Chicago Park District by a woman who was struck by a bicyclist while running on the 606 Trail, and who argued the city should be held responsible because, she argued, the trail was too narrow to accommodate both bicycles and foot traffic.
A federal judge has rejected Pfizer’s attempt to scuttle a class action accusing the drugmaker of misleading consumers over the actual strength of its maximum strength Robitussin cough syrup, saying a U.S. Supreme Court decision doesn’t necessarily mean the company shouldn’t have to face a nationwide class action in Chicago federal court.
The Illinois Supreme Court has reduced the reach of the legal shield long enjoyed under Illinois state law by cities and other public bodies when faced with personal injury lawsuits, as the high court indicated the rationale advanced by lower court judges in rejecting a woman’s lawsuit over the injuries she sustained tripping on a Danville sidewalk was overbroad.
Saying governments are different from labor unions and other private organizations, a north suburban village and an organization that lobbies on behalf of Illinois city and village governments has asked a federal judge to dismiss a union-backed lawsuit asserting the rights of union members are violated by local governments which use tax money to fund lobbyists to seek reforms opposed by unions.
A state appeals panel has backed an arbitrator’s decision to reinstate a Crystal Lake police officer who was initially fired for allegedly allowing an allegedly intoxicated driver to leave the scene of an accident. The appeals panel, however, also upheld a McHenry County judge's denial of a union's request to impose sanctions on the city for the officer's termination, according to an opinion entered July 5 by the Illinois Second District Appellate Court.
In a deal that could set a precedent for other financially struggling municipalities to follow, the city of Harvey has reached a deal with its police and firefighter pension funds to end a court fight over how much of the money Harvey gets from the state of Illinois the city should be allowed to spend on current day-to-day operations, rather than police and fire department retirees’ pensions.
Mandatory court e-filing for all civil cases is operational in all but three Illinois counties, according to a representative of the company charged with introducing the system.
A state appeals panel has given a lift to a legal action brought against a far northwest suburban school district by the family of a cheerleader, saying the school district may have known enough about the cheerleader’s three concussion events to no longer be protected by state immunity laws.
A Cook County judge has been temporarily removed from the bench, as he faces charges after he dropped a concealed handgun in front of county sheriff’s deputies at the county’s criminal courthouse.
