U.S. Federal Court
Recent News About U.S. Federal Court
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John Crane wants lawsuits vs asbestos attorneys consolidated; law firm argues cases aren’t related
A company that has been frequently targeted by asbestos attorneys now wants the lawsuits it filed in June against two separate firms to be heard before a single judge. -
Smart meter patent plaintiff could be on hook for ComEd's costs in defending against lawsuit
A Chicago federal judge has ruled Commonwealth Edison should be reimbursed for its legal bills in fending off an allegedly inept patent infringement lawsuit concerning smart meters, but the judge still faulted the utility giant for its own conduct in the case. -
Stericycle's profits padded by billing fraud, Florida pension funds class action says
A pair of Florida firefighter pension funds, which hold shares in the suburban Chicago-based international hazardous waste disposal company Stericycle, are seeking a class-action suit in Chicago federal court, asserting Stericycle cost investors millions of dollars by not divulging that much of its business was based on allegedly defrauding customers. -
Demetrio: Legal profession still challenging; lifetime achievement award 'doesn't mean 'See you later'
For Thomas A. Demetrio, who recently received the Illinois Trial Lawyers' Association's lifetime achievement award, the name of the award honoring legendary attorney Leonard M. Ring is among the most gratifying aspects of the recognition. -
Retirees' class action: Wheaton Franciscan, Ascension wrongly claim religious exemption to pension law
A pair of former employees have brought a federal class action suit against Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and Ascension Health hospital chains, accusing the companies of mishandling the employee pension plan and skirting federal pension safeguards by claiming an undeserved religious exemption. -
Nationwide Parmesan cheese wood pulp class actions to be heard in Chicago federal court
Even as new cases continue to sprinkle on, the class action lawsuits that have piled up in recent months in federal courts across the country against Kraft, Walmart, Target, the parent company of Jewel Food Stores and others over the contents of their grated Parmesan cheese, will be headed to Chicago, after a federal judicial panel consolidated the cases and selected a Chicago federal judge to preside over the litigation. -
School bus companies hit Navistar with $70 million RICO suit over defective buses
Two suburban bus companies have accused diesel truck and bus maker Navistar of racketeering, alleging Navistar knowingly sold defective school buses on the front end, and then its affiliated companies continued to reap profits on the back end from money paid by the bus companies to consistently service and repair the buses’ purportedly faulty engines and braking systems. -
Class action vs legal directory Avvo to stay in Chicago federal court, after judge allows lead plaintiffs' swap
Faced with the possibility the class action lawsuit could be transferred to a court more than 2,000 miles away in the Pacific Northwest, the lawyers suing online attorney directory Avvo have swapped in a different Chicago attorney, who also is the son of a once-powerful Chicago alderman, to replace the original named plaintiff, whose history with Avvo could have triggered provisions in Avvo’s user agreement, which could have kicked the case to a federal court in Seattle. -
Giving out mobile number in business emails could be consent to get texts
A text message sent to a real estate agent by a Chicago real estate brokerage seeking recruits didn't qualify as telemarketing or an advertisement under the Federal Communications Commission's definitions, a Chicago federal judge said earlier this year. And since the agent voluntarily provided his mobile phone number to the brokerage in emails several years earlier, the agent didn't have legal leeway to claim he didn't provide his consent, either. -
Metro Water Reclamation District: Working to filter phosphorus from water, despite lawsuits
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the organization responsible for treating much of the Chicago area's sewage, says it is working to reduce the phosphorus content of the treated water it releases back into local rivers and streams, in advance of decisions from judges hearing litigation brought by environmental groups who have alleged the district should be held liable for "unnatural" plant and algae growth in area waterways, fueled primarily by phosphorus. -
California federal judge: Facebook can face privacy class actions under Illinois biometrics law
A federal judge has ruled that even though a putative class-action suit against Facebook – which alleges the company lifted users’ biometric information without permission – was moved from Illinois federal court to California federal jurisdiction, Illinois law regarding privacy will apply in the case. -
Uber hit with class actions from drivers claiming they should be treated as employees under FLSA
In the wake of ride-sharing company Uber’s settlement of class action lawsuits in California and Massachusetts over the company’s classification of drivers as contractors, rather than employees, another class action has been brought in Chicago federal court demanding Uber’s drivers be treated as employees, with the associated rights and benefits, under federal labor laws. -
Hospital council asks court to stop IT vendor from wiping patient data when it goes out of business
A council of more than 30 Chicago-area hospitals has sued its IT provider over the tech firm’s plan to destroy patient data from its servers, saying the action would severely impair the council’s ability to operate a patient-data sharing exchange. -
Federal appeals court: PF Chang's can be sued over potential ID theft from data breach
A Chicago federal appeals panel has given the P.F. Chang’s restaurant chain a case of legal indigestion, by reversing a district court’s dismissal of a class action suit brought by two diners, who claimed they were vulnerable to identity theft, because the chain’s allegedly poor data security allowed hackers to obtain diners’ debit and credit card information. -
Judge wants two lawyers booted from federal court for one year for alleged chicanery
A judge wants two lawyers – one of whose actions he termed “disturbing” – suspended from practicing in Chicago federal district court, because they allegedly made false statements in connection a whistle blower case brought against Tinley Park-based ambulance services alleged to have submitted false claims for reimbursement to government payers. -
Judge douses consumer fraud class action vs Mondelez over whether belVita biscuits need milk
A northwest suburban woman who claimed she was duped by the advertising slogan on a box of breakfast biscuits lost her attempt at filing a class-action lawsuit when a federal judge dismissed her claim. -
Easy Access: Shops hit with ADA accessibility lawsuits likely to be targets of 'serial litigators'
Last year, of the 94 ADA accessibility lawsuits filed in Chicago's federal courts, 77 of them came from just eight plaintiffs. And most of those were represented by one of two legal practices, leading some of those sued to assert they were targeted by serial litigators. -
Easy Access: Chicago shops large & small latest targets of growing trend of ADA Title III accessibility lawsuits
The odds that an individual shop or restaurant could be hit with a disability equal access lawsuit under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act remains small. But the likelihood is increasing, as more lawyers take aim at shops of all sizes, including owners of small mom-and-pop shops in older buildings. -
McCormick Foundation OK to sue over insurance advice blamed for hefty legal bills after Tribune bankruptcy
A state appeals panel has ruled two former major shareholders in the Tribune Company, who are in litigation with creditors, can continue to press their malpractice suit against a prominent Chicago insurance broker for allegedly giving bum advice to change insurance companies, which put the ex-shareholders on the hook for legal costs instead of their insurer. -
Bensenville residents again claim O'Hare runway noise illegal property taking; Chicago takes case to federal court
A group of Bensenville residents whose homes lie in the flight path of a busy newer runway at O’Hare International Airport have made another attempt at suing the city of Chicago for allegedly demolishing their quality of life by allowing the aircraft to roar past 500 feet or less above their homes almost round the clock.