Illinois Lawyer Blog
MERCK SETTLES VIOXX CASES
November 27th, 2007
Pharmaceutical giant Merck has agreed in principle to settle all remaining Vioxx lawsuits. The company has agreed to pay $4.85 billion to plaintiffs in 27,000 pending cases. The settlement was cobbled together after juries from New Jersey to California had heard about 20 cases. In the very first case a jury awarded $253 million dollars, but Merck had prevailed…
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ALLSTATE AND STATE FARM SUED FOR CONSPIRACY
November 27th, 2007
The Louisiana Attorney General, Charles Foti, recently filed suit against Allstate and State Farm, accusing the two companies of conspiring to limit payments to policyholders after Louisiana was pounded by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The lawsuit alleges that the two companies worked together to manipulate damages estimates and to low ball claimants who suffer…
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Categories: INSURANCE
ILLINOIS WHISTLEBLOWER ACT DOESN'T IMPACT RETALIATORY DISCHARGE
November 7th, 2007
The First Appellate Court recently came down with an interesting decision involving the Illinois Whistleblower Act, 740 ILCS 174/1. In Callahan v. Edgewater Care, the plaintiff, Melissa Callahan, claimed that she was fired from her position as an admissions clerk in a nursing home for reporting activity that she felt was in violation of state law. Specifically…
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Categories: Uncategorized
MORE DETAILS ON CHICAGO PRIEST ACCUSED OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
October 31st, 2007
More details are emerging about precisely how early Church authorities were aware of alleged sexual misconduct on the part of Rev. Donald J. McGuire. McGuire was a teacher at Loyola Academy in the late 1960’s. In 1969, Rev. Charles Schlax contacted the the president of Loyola, Rev. John Reinke, to complain about McGuire. A young man had complained to Fr.…
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Categories: CATHOLIC CHURCH SEX ABUSE CRISIS
ANOTHER SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUIT AGAINST CHICAGO PRIEST
October 26th, 2007
Just this week, another sexual abuse lawsuit was filed against Rev. Donald McGuire, a Chicago area priest. The lawsuit, filed by two brothers, claims that McGuire sexually abused the two boys at different times. The older brother is claiming abuse from 1988 through 1994, while the younger brother is claiming abuse from 2001 through 2002. In 2006, McGuire was c…
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Categories: CATHOLIC CHURCH SEX ABUSE CRISIS
ANOTHER VERDICT AGAINST CHICAGO POLICE
October 24th, 2007
The Chicago Police Department is not having a particularly good month when it comes to lawsuits. Just a week after a 4 million dollar settlement to a man who claimed he was brutalized with a screwdriver, the Department was back in a federal courtroom in another civil case. This one didn’t work out well for the CPD either. The case originated from a 2001…
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Categories: CASES IN THE NEWS
WHISTLEBLOWER VERDICT AGAINST EYE DOCTOR
October 23rd, 2007
A St. Louis county jury recently awarded a St. Louis woman $95,000 in punitive damages in a whistleblower trial Michelle Fleshner, 35, had sued Pepose Vision Institute, claiming that she was terminated by Dr. Jay Pepose because she had coooperated with a U.S. Department of Labor investigation of Pepose Vision Institute regarding wage and overtime practices. Ms…
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Categories: CASES IN THE NEWS
ILLINOIS TEEN SETTLES WITH POLICE AFTER GETTING TASERED
October 15th, 2007
A south suburban teenager, Travis Alexander, has agreed to settle his lawsuit against a south suburban Chicago Police Department. Alexander sued the Riverdale Police Department after he was tasered and attacked by a police dog. Alexander was 17 at the time of the incident. He and a friend were walking home from a store when they were stopped by a police office…
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Categories: CASES IN THE NEWS
BIG SEXUAL HARASSMENT VERDICT AGAINST MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
October 10th, 2007
As reported last week, a New York jury recently hammered Madison Square Garden[MSG] and its chairman, James Dolan in a sexual harassment suit. Anucha Browne Sanders had sued MSG, Dolan and New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, claiming she had been subjected to a hostile work environment due to crude comments and sexual advances from Thomas. She also alleged tha…
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Categories: CASES IN THE NEWS
ILLINOIS LEGISLATION CAPPING DAMAGES BEING REVIEWED
September 20th, 2007
On September 17, 2007, oral arguments in the lead case challenging the constitutionality of Public Act 94-677[medical malpractice caps] took place in the Courtroom of Cook County Judge Diane Larsen. The case at issue involves Abigaile LeBron, an infant. Her family is alleging medical malpractice led to her severe and permanent injuries. Lawyers on her behalf a…
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Categories: MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
