» CASES IN THE NEWS

    I read the opinion in Gress v. Lakhani Hospitality quite some time ago and meant to post about it.  But the opinion got buried with other papers and  finally resurfaced the other day.  The opinion provides much needed clarity to what a plaintiff must show – and perhaps more importantly what a plaintiff is NOT obligated to show – w… Read More

  Colleen Slevin of the Denver Post had an article in the Denver Post the other day about $65.5 million dollar settlement against several companies that bring young women to the United States to work as au pairs.  [An au pair is typically a young woman, from outside the United States who comes here to provide live-in child care to families].   The und… Read More

Jones v. Pneumo Abex, LLC is an interesting asbestos decision out of the Fifth Appellate District in Illinois.  And it likely has asbestos manufacturers concerned.  In Jones, the plaintiffs, John and Deborah Jones, sued Pneumo Abex and Owens-Illinois for injuries John suffered due to asbestos exposure when he worked in construction.  John Jones never worke… Read More

    Defense lawyers have been suggesting other causes of injuries since the Stone Age.  The Fifth Appellate District, in Campbell v. Autenrieb recently handed down a decision that does a nice job of explaining exactly when such testimony is permissible.  In Campbell, the plaintiff was injured when an unleashed dog lunged at Campbell and caused… Read More

A decision out of the Federal District Court in Chicago appears to have broadened the tort of retaliatory discharge a bit. In Van Pelt v. BonaDent, plaintiff Tad Van Pelt had been recruited to work as a sales representative for BonaDent, Inc.  a dental lab.  Van Pelt was hired as an at will employee.  In 2015, Bonadent purchased a laboratory in Chicago. … Read More

  The Fifth Appellate District downstate issued an interesting opinion yesterday involving a friendly dog and a bad fall. In 2012, Paulette Crosson was a certified nursing assistant who provided home health care to patients.  In August and September, 2012, she made multiple visits to a home owned by Pam and Bob Ruzich to provide health services to a Pam… Read More

  Yesterday, a St. Louis jury just absolutely crushed Johnson & Johnson again in another baby powder lawsuit.  Twenty two women[and their families] filed suit claiming that the baby powder they had used for years was the source of their ovarian cancer.  The jury agreed and awarded the group $550 million dollars in compensatory damages AND $4.14 bil… Read More

  I saw this online story by Rachel Seigel of the Washington Post a couple weeks ago.   Jeanette Ortiz worked at a California Chipotle for 14 years.  She had moved up to a General Manager position and was making around $72,000 a year.  Chipotle’s practice going back several years, was to have armored cars swing by and swap out large bills for s… Read More