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Class action objector hawk Ted Frank will be allowed to intervene in investor lawsuit, challenging 'mootness fees'
Federal appeals panel derided busywork to generate attorney payments, says a lower court judge was wrong to block attorney Ted Frank from intervening directly in proceedings over whether lawyers unfairly reaped fees for cases vs Akorn they quickly mooted
IL Supreme Court: Law restricting where registered sex offenders can live is constitutional
Kane County man who ended up sleeping in his car after he was ordered out of his home because a daycare was in operation nearby still has a chance to plead his individual case. But the law, on its face, does not violate constitutional rights, the state high court ruled
Cook County jury orders Johnson & Johnson to pay $45M in talc powder asbestos verdict
Jurors agreed a woman who died of mesothelioma likely contracted her illness from using talc baby powder and other products which allegedly may have contained asbestos fibers. Such studies have been assailed by critics as 'junk science'
Ex-Onward restaurant owner pressing on with court fight vs Loyola over restaurant's demise
Restaurateur Michael Olszewski says Loyola University undermined and "kicked to the curb" the Onward Rogers Park fine dining restaurant into which Olszewski said he sunk more than $1M, at Loyola's request. The university says Olszewski "caused problems" for years and didn't pay rent during the Covid shutdowns
Privacy class action firms jockey for control of 23andMe data breach claims; Edelson calls for new approach
Data privacy class action firm Edelson P.C. is seeking to control 40 class actions, potentially worth huge money, against 23andMe for allegedly allowing genetic info to be stolen in a data breach. In a new filing, Edelson is asking courts to reconsider how they decide which lawyers should lead
Glock seeks to take Chicago's anti-gun lawsuit to federal court
Firearms maker Glock has filed a motion to remove Mayor Brandon Johnson's lawsuit, in partnership with anti-guns rights activists, from Cook County's courts to federal court. The lawsuit claims Glock's semiautomatic pistols are too easily modified into "machine guns"
Judge says Harvey's financial situation makes it impossible to complete road project, rescinds contract
A Cook County judge ruled a road contractor already shorted $2M can't be forced to maintain "temporary" traffic signals in Harvey indefinitely. The judge rescinded the contract and ordered IDOT to take control of the traffic signals, despite falling short of normally required standards
Proposed statewide class action in Southern District court challenges constitutionality of tax deed foreclosures
EAST ST. LOUIS - Illinois counties violate the U.S. Constitution when they hold and sell liens on properties with overdue taxes, former homeowners and a business in East St. Louis alleged at district court on April 10.
IL Supreme Court says a corporation can sue people who allegedly disparaged them in emails to management
The state high court agreed that a corporation can be defamed in emails to executives and other employees. The court said the dispute between shipping logistics competitors FourKites and project44 is an example of instances in which such emails don't amount to a "corporation talking to itself"
Unopposed Cook County judge candidates appointed by IL Supreme Court to Cook bench early
The new judges include a former Cook County Assistant State's Attorney who famously was blamed for Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's handling of the police killing of Adam Toledo, and later authored a resignation later that blasted Foxx for failures of leadership
Judge nixes class action vs Abbott over baby formula shortage, says not obliged to maintain formula supply, prices
A federal judge in Chicago dismissed a class action vs Abbott Laboratories claiming the company wrongly profited from increased prices for baby formula sparked by a nationwide shortage that followed Abbott's shutdown of a Michigan plant over alleged bacterial contamination
Judge: Title IX plaintiffs can use IL law to retroactively demand 'emotional distress' damages
The Illinois law, known as the Civil Rights Remedies Restoration Act, was enacted this year specifically to restore the ability of certain plaintiffs to use "emotional distress" claims to boost their potential payouts under civil rights lawsuits, in defiance of a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision to limit the ability to do so
IL lawmakers advance law to limit 'annihilative' payouts faced by business under biometrics law
The Illinois State Senate approved SB2979, which would explicitly limit the amount of money trial lawyers and plaintiffs can demand businesses pay under the Biometric Information Privacy Act. The law has spawned thousands of lawsuits generating hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees
Student claims CPS ignored sex assaults by ex-dean at Little Village H.S., part of culture of grooming, abuse at CPS
The lawsuit claims the male dean impregnated the student twice, and forced her to get two abortions despite being underaged. He allegedly claimed to be her parent to sidestep a parental notification law that Illinois lawmakers have since repealed. The suit claims other staff knew, but did nothing
New Trier wrongly refused requests for records to explain decision to cancel Holocaust Remembrance Day: Lawsuit
Education reform group Parents Defending Education has sued New Trier Township High School District claiming administrators violated Freedom of Information law by refusing to provide PDE with staff communications that may discuss the Holocaust or conflict in Gaza.
Appeals panel closes lid on class actions vs Abbott from people never harmed by contaminated Similac baby formula
Judges said the claims in the case from people whose children never ingested any allegedly contaminated Similac baby formula are no different than if someone were to sue a restaurant because someone else became ill from food poisoning
KCIC: Madison, St. Clair Counties were top asbestos jurisdiction in 2023; Cook County saw greatest increase
Madison and St. Clair Counties again saw the most asbestos case filings for 2023 nationwide, and Cook County saw the highest increase in filings according to a report by KCIC, a Washington D.C.-based technology and management consulting company.
Salvi firm, Wise, Morrissey end dispute over fees for cases Salvi grabbed amid Wise, Morrissey tiff
A confidential settlement among the firms and attorneys was announced in court last week, resolving the action filed by Salvi to protect its fees from 21 cases that moved to the firm with a former Wise Morrissey lawyer.
Wow Bao says never scanned customer faces, letting biometrics class action continue would be 'injustice'
In a case with potentially far-reaching implications, the Asian-themed fast food chain says it never possessed nor authorized customer face scans at self-service ordering kiosks, meaning it can't be face the risk of a potentially huge payout under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act in this case
Coalition seeks to let IL voters deliver message on parents' rights in November
Thousands of volunteers aligned with conservative social policy groups across Illinois are seeking signatures to place an advisory referendum on the fall ballot asking voters if they believe Illinois law should require parents' consent before children receive non-emergency medical care or therapy