News from November 2015
South Loop apartment building owners, managers hit with class action over unpaid security deposit interest
A South Loop apartment tenant who believes her landlords wrongly deprived her of interest on her security deposit, which she asserts is owed to her and other tenants under city ordinance, has brought a class action against her landlords, demanding they pay her and others like her double their money back, with interest. Cheryl McPhearson filed the class-action complaint Nov. 25 in Cook County Circuit Court.
Suburban flooding suit vs Metro Water Reclamation among six cases taken up by IL Supreme Court
The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to take up the question of whether U.S. Supreme Court precedent or that of the state’s highest court should hold serve when deciding whether a decision by the Greater Chicago Water Reclamation District to release flood waters and damage private homes in the process constitutes an illegal taking of property. It was one of six cases the state high court agreed to take on appeal.
Not Your Father's trademark court fight brewing over hard root beer labeling
The makers of Not Your Father’s Root Beer are arguing a tweak in the generation is not enough to differentiate a competitor’s slogan from their trademark.Small Town Brewery LLC, the maker of the sweet alcoholic beverage Not Your Father’s Root Beer, is suing Sprecher Brewing Company Inc. over Sprecher’s use of the phrase “Not Your Granddaddy’s Root Beer” on the packaging for its take on hard root beer.
Railway employee blames Norfolk Southern for injuries
A Cook County railway employee is suing his company, alleging negligence for severe injuries he suffered on the job.
Would-be redeveloper of Pittsfield building says sellers misled about the property's size, zoning
A development group with plans to convert a vintage Loop building into a hotel, is suing the sellers, alleging they tried to pull a fast one by misleading them about the structure’s square footage and zoning status.
Stericycle settles with 12 states for $26.75 million for overcharges; Illinois governments to get $3 million back
A Lake Forest-based medical waste disposal company and the 12 states it allegedly overcharged for service have reached a $26.75 million settlement. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office announced the settlement with Stericycle, Inc.
Patient's post-surgery wound leads to suit against health care providers
A Cook County patient is suing a hospital and medical personnel, alleging medical malpractice.
Daughter blames nursing home, physician, hospital for mother's death
A Cook County woman is suing an Evergreen Park nursing home and other health care providers, alleging wrongful death in her mother’s passing.
Estate blames Regency Rehabilitation Center for elderly woman's death
A Cook County man is suing a Niles nursing home and three staff members, alleging negligence in the death of an elderly woman.
Estate administrator alleges doctor, hospital caused patient's death
A Cook County woman is suing a doctor and a Chicago hospital, alleging delayed treatment brought on a patient’s death.
Judge tosses California businessman's $6 million suit vs lawyer alleged to help partner in India freeze him out
A Chicago federal judge has put an end to a California man’s $6 million lawsuit against a lawyer the man alleges helped a former business associate in India remotely freeze him out of the business’ accounts.
Cook County hires vendor for $30 million upgrade of online property tax systems
Cook County’s online property tax information system is getting a $30 million upgrade. Plano, Texas-based Tyler Technologies, the company awarded the contract, will create a system to replace the 40-year-old technology currently in place, improving tax collection and public access to property tax-related information, county officials said.
Legal tussle continues over who should be responsible for sunken haunted barge at Navy Pier
Who should be responsible for the sinking of a haunted barge at Navy Pier last year remains an unsolved riddle, after a federal judge dowsed some counts of a lawsuit surrounding the incident, but gave the plaintiff time to address the issues and file an amended complaint. The barge, a haunted house-style Halloween attraction, sank on Halloween 2014 while it was docked at Navy Pier in a storm.
Sanctions sought vs asbestos trial lawyers for using John Crane Inc. as 'shill' to keep cases in Cook County
Attorneys for defendants in a Cook County asbestos case have brought an action against the opposing counsel in the case, asking the court to punish the plaintiff’s attorneys and the counsel for John Crane Inc., one of the other defendants named in the case, for their alleged use of Crane as a "shill" to prevent defendants from transferring the case and others like it out of Cook County Circuit Court.
State Supreme Court disbars five lawyers, including attorney accused of sexually harassing seven women
The Illinois State Supreme Court has disbarred a Highland Park attorney who a state lawyer discipline panel found had sexually harassed five female former employees, a neighbor and a woman he did not know who was walking down the street. On Nov. 17, the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission announced it had disbarred Paul M. Weiss and four other attorneys, while suspending 13 others.
State Supreme Court declares engineering firms have rights under law to slap liens for unpaid bills
The Supreme Court of Illinois has determined a Rosemont-based engineering firm had a right to file a mechanics lien for unpaid services, contrary to the findings of lower courts, because its work was done with the intent of improving a tract of land downstate.
Judge OKs $11 million Walgreen TCPA class action settlement; lawyers get 36 percent
A federal judge has signed off on an $11 million settlement offered by Walgreen Co. to end a class action lawsuit over the company’s practice of sending prescription reminders to customers’ cell phones - even though more than a third of the settlement award will go to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Chicago pedestrian alleges driver caused injuries
A Chicago man is suing a Park Ridge driver, alleging negligence for striking him in a walkway.
Patrons accuse Chicago bar of lax security in assault case
A Cook County man and woman are suing a fellow bar patron, alleging he assaulted them at a Chicago bar that kept inadequate security.
Cook Circuit Clerk improperly collects fees on motions that aren't 'final,' class action lawsuit says
The Cook County Circuit Clerk’s office has been hit with a potential class action lawsuit, brought by litigants who claim the office has improperly collected fees for interlocutory motions filed over various questions arising while cases are still in process in Cook County Circuit Court. Midwest Medical Records Association filed the class-action complaint Nov. 19, naming Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown, as well as co-defendants Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappasand the county itself.