News from July 2023
Should BIPA plaintiffs who lose pay defendants' legal bills? Yes, says Dior
Fashion designer Christian Dior says courts should send a message to plaintiffs who may bring doomed lawsuits because they believe they can "extract" a settlement from defendant companies, at no risk to themselves
Twitter, newest target in IL biometrics class action over PhotoDNA scans to screen out porn
The lawsuit accuses X Corp, parent company of Twitter, of failing to abide by notice and consent provisions of Illinois' biometrics privacy law before scanning uploaded photos for improper nudity or other sexually explicit content
Glenbard schools to join rapidly growing nationwide lawsuits seeking billions from Snap, TikTok, Meta, Google
The nationwide mass litigation is seeking potentially billions of dollars from some of the biggest operators of social media platforms, accusing them of fomenting a "mental health crisis" among children and teens. Trial lawyers stand to claim a quarter or more of the ultimate take
Barnes & Thornburg Adds Restructuring Partner Ken Kansa In Chicago
Barnes & Thornburg is pleased to welcome Ken Kansa to the firm’s Chicago office as a partner in the Finance, Insolvency and Restructuring Department. Kansa joins the group shortly after the firm added fellow Chicago restructuring partner Aaron Gavant in June, as well as New York restructuring partner Gregory Plotko in February.
Associate Meredith Mandell Appointed to The Illinois Supreme Court
Quinn Emanuel is pleased to congratulate Associate Meredith Mandell on her appointment to The Illinois Supreme Court as an Advisory Counsel.
Filing: City acting in contempt of court by continuing to deny Southside metal recycling facility permit
"This is about whether the city of Chicago is above the law," developers of a South Side metal recycling facility said in a motion, asking a Cook County judge to enforce an administrative judge's ruling that the city had illegally denied the permit it needs to operate its new $80M plant
Class action accuses Google of intercepting income tax data without filers' consent
Lawsuit says Google's analytics tool attached to programs used by tax preparers like H&R Block, TaxSlayer and TaxAct, allowed the company to collect prohibited sensitive data, like adjusted gross income
Meta to pay $68M to end biometrics class action over Instagram face scans; Lawyers could get $24M
Milllions of Illinoisans who have used Instagram since 2015 could be eligible for a cut of the settlement, which could amount to far less in per person payments than from previous similar class actions under Illinois' biometrics privacy law
Appeals panel: Debt collector can't be sued for calling wife's cell phone about husband's debt default
Woman alleged violation of federal law for repeated calls about her husband's debt, but a federal appeals panel says her husband didn't follow the rules to dispute the debt, and she can't be considered a "consumer" protected by federal debt collection laws
IL Supreme Court: IL Dems OK to abolish cash bail, because state constitution doesn't require it
The Democratic supermajority on the court agreed that the state constitution does not block lawmakers from redefining 'bail' to fit progressive policy goals without first amending the state constitution
Lawdragon names Cozen O’Connor’s Shaw among Top 500 leading U.S. bankruptcy and restructuring lawyers
CHICAGO, July 17, 2023 — Lawdragon has named Chicago attorney Brian Shaw, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring practice, to its 2023 list of the Top 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers.
BakerHostetler Welcomes Powerhouse Advertising Partner in Chicago From WPP
Sarah La Voi joins BakerHostetler’s Chicago office as a partner in the firm’s Digital Assets and Data Management Practice Group and a member of the Advertising, Marketing and Digital Media team.
Women’s Initiative Happy Hour on July 19, 2023
On July 19, on the eve of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL)’s annual meeting, Cozen O’Connor’s Women’s Initiative will be hosting an informal gathering over drinks and hors d’oeuvres with the firm’s Chicago-based women attorneys and lobbyists.
NLRB and Restrictive Covenants: Trends in Employment Confidentiality on July 19, 2023
Confidentiality obligations and restrictive covenants are crucial tools employed by organizations to protect sensitive information, trade secrets, and competitive advantages.
Bumble can't end class action over BIPA claims arising from optional photo verification feature
Dating app encourages users to upload images, evaluated by artificial intelligence softwar
Class action: Neovia Logistics targeted by biometrics class action over employee fingerprint scans
The lawsuit brought under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act seeks potentially massive damages on behalf of workers at Neovia's Joliet warehouse
Poultry producers object to deal allowing lawsuit investor Burford to claim control of Sysco's class action
Sysco has asked a federal judge to let new Burford-backed venture pursue its claims against chicken producers in price-fixing suit. The chicken producers say that amounts to 'invalid champerty'
Class action allowed to proceed, for now, vs Blue Diamond over 'smokehouse' almonds
Ruling marks rare win for lawyer who has been described by a judge as a "serial filer of frivolous" lawsuits against food manufacturers and sellers
Mayer Brown partner Jenny Austin named chair of ABA Tax Section's Transfer Pricing Committee
Mayer Brown Tax partner Jenny Austin has been named chair of the ABA Tax Section’s Transfer Pricing Committee, which aims to establish itself as the “most important forum for global transfer pricing issues,” according to ABA.
Appeals panel agrees to dismiss class action accusing UChicago, Google of patient privacy violations
7th Circuit judges say class action doesn't allege anyone was actually harmed by the data collection project designed to help Google build tech to help anticipate patient needs