News from December 2015
Appeals panel sides with Geraci in fight with Mexican billionaire over right to buy downtown Chicago condo unit
Prominent Chicago bankruptcy lawyer Peter Francis Geraci and his wife have beaten back a Mexican mining magnate’s right-of-first-refusal suit, which tried to stop Geraci from buying a Magnificent Mile penthouse above the magnate’s floor. The First District Appellate Court of Illinois ruled in the Geraci couple’s favor Nov. 30, overturning a Cook County Circuit Court decision that had gone against them.
Suburbs add to growing list of towns saying Expedia, other travel sites owe underpaid hotel taxes
Online travel agents are facing legal action from local government agencies across the country, claiming they are being shorted perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars of hotel taxes by the travel sites.
Judge puts to bed Schiller Park woman's try to unmask blogger, says 'defamatory' blog posts actually free speech
A Cook County judge has bid good night to the attempt of a woman involved in Schiller Park community politics to unmask the identity of a local blogger she believes defamed her online, saying the blogger’s allegedly defamatory writings are actually easily identified as constitutionally protected statements of opinion and satire.
Appeals panel: Lawyers must only perform some 'core title' work to earn payments from title insurers, avoid kickback allegations
Two title insurance companies did not participate in an illegal kickback scheme by splitting fees with Chicago area real estate lawyers in return for those attorneys referring clients to them, a divided state appeals panel has ruled, finding lawyers are allowed to be paid fees by the title companies – even fees that may appear large, relative to the work they actually performed – if they perform any work related to clearing a title, at all.
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.
Federal judge declares Chicago red light camera program constitutional, tosses class action vs city, vendors
A federal judge has slapped a permanent stop sign on a class action lawsuit against the city of Chicago and the vendors it uses to administer its red light camera program, as the judge said the city should be allowed under state law and Illinois’ constitution to delegate the task of reviewing potential red light citations to administrators and technicians hired by the vendors.
Amputee accuses Presence Resurrection of malpractice, misdiagnosis
CHICAGO–A Cook County man is suing a medical center, a doctor and his practice group, alleging mistakes in treating him for blood clots cost him his toes.
Norridge couple blames Women’s and Children’s Healthcare for cancer misdiagnosis
CHICAGO–A Cook County couple is suing numerous health care facilities and physicians, alleging the wife’s OB/GYN failed to timely detect and treat her breast cancer, reducing her chances of survival.
Appellate panel says County Board within constitutional bounds to empower Inspector General to investigate Berrios
Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, who also serves as chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, has lost another round in court in his attempt to avoid turning over documents demanded by the county’s Inspector General as part of the IG’s investigation of allegations Berrios’ office improperly granted an assessor’s office employee a special property tax exemption.
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.”
Couple accuses BSH Home Appliances of $200,000 kitchen fire
CHICAGO–A La Grange couple is suing the maker of their household dishwasher, alleging defects they say caused a house fire.
M&J Investors alleges 560 Bartlett did not pay $100,000 in outstanding loans
CHICAGO–A Cook County investment firm is suing 560 Bartlett and two individuals, alleging they refused to repay the $100,000 it borrowed.
Chicago grocer challenges tax bill levied by Illinois revenue agents
CHICAGO–A Chicago grocery and liquor store is suing Illinois, saying the state is attempting to block renewal of its liquor license, allegedly because of unpaid taxes.
Antioch client accuses divorce lawyer of failing to protect assets
CHICAGO–An Antioch man is suing his divorce lawyer, alleging the defendant’s incompetence cost the plaintiff $500,000 in an unfair distribution of marital property.
Chicago couple alleges malpractice against Northwestern Hospital
CHICAGO–A Cook County couple is suing a Chicago hospital and two doctors, alleging an overnight delay of an MRI for the husband’s apparent stroke left him with right side paralysis.
Class action demands Chicago refund all property transfer taxes charged to buyers of Fannie Mae foreclosures
A woman who bought a home last year in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood believes the city improperly charged her taxes on her purchase of the formerly foreclosed property from Fannie Mae, and she has filed a class action to demand the city pay her back, as well as perhaps thousands of others who have paid real estate transfer taxes to the city for property they, too, purchased from either of the federal mortgage giants.
Family of former Blackhawks Steve Montador says NHL's promotion of violence, fighting at fault for players' brain injuries
The family of former Chicago Blackhawks player Steve Montador has joined officially the growing ranks of those suing the National Hockey League over the league’s alleged seeming indifference to the repeated head trauma to its players – trauma the family says eventually contributed to his death in early 2015, at the age of 35, two years after his retirement from the league.
Wife alleges St. James Hospital caused husband’s wrongful death
CHICAGO–A Cook County woman is suing a Chicago Heights hospital, alleging wrongful death in the passing of her 66-year-old husband.
Client accuses two lawyers of legal malpractice in $5 million dispute
CHICAGO–A Chicago man is suing two lawyers, alleging the terms the defendants agreed to in a settlement with family members cost him $5 million.
Daughter blames Kindred Northlake for father’s death
CHICAGO–A Cook County woman is suing a Northlake hospital, alleging it allowed her father’s breathing tube to become clogged, causing his death.