Madison Record -

Stack certifies chiropractor class action

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:24:00 CST

Stack

Madison County Circuit Judge Daniel Stack certified a LakinChapman class action against Employers Mutual Casualty on Aug. 16.

Illinois health care providers who treated workers compensation patients may belong to the class if Employers reduced payments before reimbursing them.

Stack appointed chiropractor Frank Bemis as class representative.

He appointed LakinChapman and the Campbell & McGrady firm as class counsel.

"The attorneys from LakinChapman LLC have regularly engaged in major complex litigation of the size, scope, and complexity similar to this case and have successfully prosecuted and settled many and varied class actions and other complex litigation," Stack wrote.

Bemis sued Employers in 2005, just before the effective date of a reform law that steered most new class actions to federal courts.

Bemis claimed Employers took discounts through preferred provider organization First Health but didn't meet an obligation to steer patients to providers.

Employers filed a third party claim against claims processor Fair Isaac, seeking indemnity and contribution.

Employers offered Bemis $48 to settle his claim, and he turned it down.

Andrew Kuhlmann of LakinChapman wrote, "In addition to reimbursement of all PPO reductions, plaintiff requests an award of attorney's fees under the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act."

"Moreover, discovery may establish that there are additional First health PPO reductions that Employers took from plaintiff improperly," he wrote.

Stack held a class certification hearing in April and reached a decision in four months.

He set the class period to start on Feb. 1, 2004.

"Employers used the same process to re-price medical bills for Illinois workers compensation claims during the class period," Stack wrote.

"Employers employed a systematic, automatic, and uniform process to take PPO discounts on medical bills relating to Illinois worker compensations," he wrote.

Ted Harvey of Belleville represents Employers.

Richard Lageson of Clayton represents Fair Isaac.

Man sues two drivers for injuries suffered in separate crashes

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:26:00 CST

A St. Clair County man is suing two drivers for injuries he says he suffered in separate car crashes.

Pierce Crawford filed the complaint against Gabriel M. Reynolds and Harry B. Fanning Aug. 20 in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

According to the complaint, the first alleged crash happened in May 2009 when Crawford was driving on Lincoln Highway near Joseph Drive in Fairview Heights. Reynolds allegedly failed to stop, hitting Crawford's vehicle. Crawford says he suffered injuries to his neck, shoulder and lower back.

Crawford accuses Reynolds of speeding, following too closely and failing to pay attention to other vehicles around her. He says her negligence is to blame for the crash and the injuries he suffered in the collision.

Crawford says he was involved in another crash at the intersection of 9th Street and Missouri Avenue in East St. Louis on Oct. 8, 2009. He claims a vehicle driven by Fanning turned at the intersection and hit the side of his vehicle. Crawford says he suffered additional injuries to his neck, shoulder and lower back as a result.

Crawford says Fanning was negligent for driving at an excessive speed, failing to yield to other vehicles and failing to properly use his turn signal.

Crawford is suing each of the drivers for damages of at least $50,000 plus court costs.

Thomas C. Rich is representing Crawford.

St. Clair County Circuit Court Case No. 10-l-431

Driver sued for negligence in 2008 crash

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:24:00 CST

A St. Clair County woman is suing the driver she says is to blame for a car crash that left her with serious injuries.

Illuminada Bley filed the petition against Lawrence D. Elbert Aug. 18 in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

Record show Bley was riding in a car on Horeshoe Lake Road in Collinsville Aug. 21, 2008 when it was hit by a vehicle driven by Elbert.

Elbert is accused of negligence for failing to see the other car and failing to brake or take evasive action to avoid hitting it.

Bley say Elbert's negligence is to blame for severe and permanent injuries she allegedly suffered,along with mental pain and anguish.

Bley seeks damages of at least $50,000 plus court costs. Attorney B. Cannady is representing her.

St. Clair County Circuit Court Case No. 10-L-424

Crowder denies motions to dismiss and stay in atrazine class action

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:54:00 CST

Crowder

Madison County Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder has denied motions to stay and to dismiss a proposed class action against a leading maker of the herbicide atrazine.

Crowder has had the motions under advisement since May in one of six cases brought by attorney Stephen Tillery in 2004 against Syngenta Crop Protection and other manufacturers and distributors of the commonly used agricultural product. Lead plaintiff Holiday Shores Sanitation District and various Illinois municipalities claim atrazine runs off farm fields, contaminates water supplies and causes medical problems.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ruled that atrazine is safe in drinking water up to three parts per billion. But, the plaintiffs contend that even smaller amounts cause health issues.

Earlier this year, Tillery filed a nearly identical class action in federal court in East St. Louis on behalf of water providers in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and other states. That case does not include the plaintiffs in the Madison County suits.

Syngenta had asked Crowder to either dismiss the Madison County case or to stay it until the newer federal suit is resolved.

In an order entered Aug. 31, Crowder wrote that parties to the action should not be dismissed or delayed due to a similar action.

"The court realizes that there is no specific rule that a later filed case does not prevent the stay or dismissal or an earlier filed action," she wrote. "However, the parties are not identical in the newer action and it does not include only Illinois parties."

Circuit Judge Daniel Stack had previously presided over the Madison County cases. For more than two years Stack had under advisement motions to dismiss, and in 2008 he denied them.

Tillery has amended the suits multiple times, prompting the defense to renew its motions for dismissal.

In denying Syngenta's motion, Crowder wrote, "The court does not believe the amendments to the complaint have materially changed the allegations that existed when the prior judge ruled on the motions to dismiss.

"If anything, plaintiffs' have removed some allegations regarding property damage, dimunition in the property values, and the injunctive provisions and request for a remedial plan that were noted as problems and ordered dismissed previously."

Syngenta attorney Alan Nadel of Greensboro, N.C. reacted by saying the company regrets but respects Crowder's ruling.

"As we argued to her honor, we think this is wasteful litigation that will result in costly and unnecessary duplication of judicial effort and resources," Nadel said in a statement.

ISBA offers online Law Ed programs

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:33:00 CST

The Illinois State Bar Association is offering the following online programs:

Wednesday, Sept. 15: Effective Brief Writing & Oral Arguments, a live Webcast presented by the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), will be held from 12 noon to 1 p.m. (CST).

Cost for the course is $30 for ISBA members and $50 for non-members. Registration is available online only through the ISBA FastCLE store at http://isba.fastcle.com/store/seminar/seminar.php?seminar=5791. For more information, log onto the ISBA web site at www.isba.org or call toll free 1-800-252-8908.

This program qualifies for 1.0 hour of credit based on a 60 minute MCLE (Minimum Continuing Legal Education) credit hour.

Friday, Sept. 17: The Health Information Technology for Economic & Clinical Health Act: A Brave New HIPAA, a live Webcast presented by the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 noon (CST).

Cost for the course is $60 for ISBA members and $80 for non-members. Registration is available online only through the ISBA FastCLE store at http://isba.fastcle.com/store/seminar/seminar.php?seminar=5471. For more information, log onto the ISBA web site at www.isba.org or call toll free 1-800-252-8908.

ISBA offers audio Law Ed programs in September

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:19:00 CST

The following continuing legal education programs hosted by the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) will take place via telephone from 12 noon to 1 p.m. (CST) as follows:

Wednesday, Sept. 8: Health Care & Estate Planning: Vital Issues at Each Stage of the Planning Process

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Thursday, Sept. 9: Art of the Equity Deal for Startup and Growth Companies � Part 1

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Friday, Sept. 10: Art of the Equity Deal for Startup and Growth Companies � Part 2

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Tuesday, Sept. 14: Choice of Entity / Form for Nonprofits

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Friday, Sept. 17: Ethics for Business Lawyers

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Tuesday, Sept. 21: Real Estate Joint Ventures: Structure & Finance

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Wednesday, Sept. 22: Real Estate Joint Ventures: Operations & Tax

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Friday, Sept. 24: Fundamentals of Exempt Taxation

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Tuesday, Sept. 28: Art of the Debt Deal for Startup and Growth Companies

Wednesday, Sept. 29: Art of the Debt Deal for Middle Market Companies

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Thursday, Sept. 30: Restructuring Trusts

Cost for each of the ISBA teleseminars is $59 for ISBA members and $119 for non-members. When sharing a phone line at the same location, cost is $59/ISBA member, $119/non-member for the first person and each person thereafter is $49/ISBA member, $109/non-member.

Registrants will receive call-in information and program materials via e-mail 24 hours prior to the program.

For more information about the new ISBA Teleseminar programs, visit: http://www.isba.org/cle/teleseminar or call toll free 1-800-252-8908.

Memorial seeks summary judgment in case where 'resource hospital' is at issue

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:10:00 CST

Schoemaker

Memorial Hospital's motion for summary judgment in a 2008 wrongful death case is being opposed by plaintiffs who claim Memorial serves as a resource hospital for the Illinois Emergency Medical System, and is therefore responsible.

Plaintiffs Joseph and Kathryn Broussard are seeking at least $750,000 and other relief over the death of their son, C.B., who was delivered by caesaraen section following a March 2007 auto accident.

At issue in the case is whether Memorial, as resource hospital, is responsible for sending a pregnant trauma patient to a hospital without the capacity for handling obstetrics emergencies.

According to their original complaint, Kathryn Broussard was nine months pregnant when she was injured in an accident on the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge near East St. Louis.

A MedStar ambulance and its paramedics transported Kathryn Broussard and her daughter, Nina Broussard, to the closest trauma center, Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital.

Kathryn Broussard was eventually transferred to Barnes-Jewish Medical Center in St. Louis.

C.B. was delivered on March 2, 2007 following a drop in his heart rate and died the same day.

Memorial claims that because it was not involved in the treatment of C.B., it is not liable in his parents' suit, even though it was part of an emergency network.

The plaintiffs moved to strike Memorial's summary judgment move on Aug. 23.

On the same day, fellow defendant MedStar Ambulance Inc., the company that transported Kathryn Broussard from the accident scene, moved to settle.

Approval of that settlement is pending.

Other defendants in the case have been dropped or settled.

In their sixth amended complaint, the Broussards claim that Memorial Hospital, in its role as resource hospital, is responsible for educating emergency medical providers within its region and for certifying EMTs.

The Broussards claim that as part of its oversight of the EMT program, Memorial is responsible for monitoring both emergency and non-emergency transports.

They claim that Memorial knew that Kenneth Hall, where Kathryn Broussard was taken, did not have obstetrics services or the capacity to deal with an obstetric emergency like theirs.

The suit claims that despite that knowledge, the defendant chose to allow its ambulance to take Kathryn Broussard to a hospital that could not handle her situation.

The suit claims the defendant did not properly educate EMTs about the care needed for pregnant trauma cases, did not put into place protocol for the transport of such patients, did not notify the Illinois Department of Public Health about the lack of obstetric capabilities at Kenneth Hall and showed conscious disregard for Kathryn Broussard and her son.

In its memorandum in support of the summary judgment motion, Memorial argues that Kathryn Broussard's condition at the time she was placed in the ambulance did not indicate she or the baby was in distress.

The hospital claims that it was never involved with C.B.'s treatment.

It argues that Kenneth Hall was the closest facility and that due to the accident on the bridge, an ambulance could not have taken Broussard to a Missouri facility.

It claims Kathryn Broussard agreed her condition did not worsen while she was at Kenneth Hall.

Memorial claims that Kenneth Hall could have rejected taking Kathryn Broussard. Memorial claims Kenneth Hall could have directed the EMTs to take her to a different facility.

It also claims that EMT Angela Ashford, who was one of those transporting Kathryn Broussard, never contacted it to ask whether Broussard would be better off going to another hospital although she could have under the standard operating procedure.

It claims that Kenneth Hall had some obstetrics equipment and doctors on site who could handle pregnant trauma patients.

Memorial denies that it was responsible for Kenneth Hall's failure to submit its protocols to the state and that it does not train all of the EMTs within the service system.

Memorial argues the plantiffs have not shown how its conduct was willful and wanton and are trying to impose a greater duty on the hospital than that required by the law.

In their motion to strike the summary judgment plea, the Broussards allege that the motion could not be heard Aug. 23 as it was filed Aug. 17.

The Broussards also point out that the filing exceeds the page limit set by the court.

The case had been set for trial late last month.

However, St. Clair County Circuit Judge Patrick Young granted a request by the plaintiffs to continue the trial date.

A new date has not yet been set.

The plaintiffs were also given 14 days to file their response to Memorial's summary judgment move.

Young set the motion for hearing Sept. 22.

Roger Denton and others represent the plaintiffs.

Donald Schoemaker represents the hospital.

Stephen Mudge represented MedStar.

The case is St. Clair case number 08-L-068.

Lakin and Freed-Weiss class action battle for fees and control continues in N.J,

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:57:00 CST

Lakin

NEWARK, N.J. � Brad Lakin of Wood River and Paul Weiss of Chicago, who apparently resolved a public battle in 2008, waged it in secrecy this year.

They kept it quiet in arbitration until Weiss's firm, Freed and Weiss, asked U.S. District Judge Jose Linares of Newark for an injunction ending the arbitration.

Weiss claimed the former Lakin Law Firm sought to disturb an allocation of legal fees that Linares ordered in a class action settlement.

Weiss claimed Lakin aimed to litigate issues Linares had previously decided.

Weiss lost privacy and gained nothing, for Linares denied an injunction on Aug. 18.

Linares found he lacked jurisdiction because the dispute was never presented to him or decided by him in connection with the class action.

Linares wrote that the arbitration related entirely to an agreement between the firms.

He wrote that it sought to resolve a narrow dispute over an alleged breach of the agreement.

He found insufficient evidence that Lakin tried to frustrate the orderly allocation of fees.

Lakin and Weiss teamed 12 years ago, when Lakin started a class action practice.

For six years they loaded the Madison County docket with class actions.

They sued Sprint telephone company in 2004, on behalf of Jessica Hall of Pontoon Beach, over fees for early contract terminations.

Circuit Judge Nicholas Byron certified Hall to lead a national class action.

In 2006, the partnership between Lakin and Weiss broke down.

Richard Burke left Lakin and continued associating with Weiss.

Burke sued Lakin, and Lakin countersued Burke.

Weiss sued Lakin in Cook County, and Lakin sued Weiss in Madison County.

Litigation raged throughout 2007, ending with a settlement early in 2008.

During the dispute, Weiss and Burke had started a class action against Sprint in federal court at Newark.

At first their class excluded the class Hall represented in Illinois, but through settlement negotiations the new class swallowed the Hall class.

Lakin objected to the $17.5 million settlement, claiming he would have obtained better terms in Madison County.

He accused Weiss and Burke of running a "reverse auction," bargaining downward in order to settle before other lawyers could settle similar claims in other courts.

Lakin urged Linares to disqualify Weiss and Burke as class counsel.

Lakin argued that Linares should award no fees to Freed and Weiss, claiming they performed little work beyond copying Hall's case.

Linares rejected Lakin's arguments last year, and he included Freed and Weiss when he distributed more than $5 million in fees.

Last October, Lakin filed an arbitration complaint with JAMS, a Chicago firm.

Charles Chapman, of LakinChapman, wrote that Freed and Weiss breached the 2008 agreement by filing a suit similar to Hall's without Lakin's permission.

Chapman wrote that Freed and Weiss breached the agreement by negotiating a settlement in New Jersey without permission.

He wrote that Lakin sustained damages no less than $2 million.

He wrote that Freed and Weiss also breached the agreement by trying to settle a Lakin class action against Allstate without permission.

"FW attempted to negotiate the attorneys' fees before an agreement was reached on the class relief," he wrote.

He wrote that Lakin anticipated fees no less than $15 million, but negotiated only $9 million in fees and expenses due to Freed and Weiss's conduct.

He wrote that Lakin sustained damages no less than $1 million.

This June, an arbitrator ruled that Lakin presented a justiciable controversy.

In July, Weiss turned to Linares for help.

"LakinChapman apparently does not feel bound by this court's orders or the orderly process for fee resolution established by this court," wrote James Cecchi of New Jersey.

"This action offends and interferes with this court's jurisdiction, and creates a dangerous precedent for parties' ability to settle class action cases," he wrote.

"One law firm cannot be permitted to upend, for its own benefit, a process established by this court and accepted by over 20 law firms," he wrote.

He wrote that "the arbitrator, with an obvious financial incentive to keep the claim going, has decided to allow Lakin to proceed."

For Lakin, Anthony Coviello of New Jersey answered on Aug. 2 that the arbitration didn't seek fees from the Sprint settlement.

He wrote that it sought compensation for the loss of opportunity to settle the Hall case.

"The application before this court is merely the latest attempt by FW to avoid its contractual obligations," he wrote.

"FW's suggestion that the arbitration implicates all the law firms who participated in the settlement is simply false," he wrote.

He recommended that Linares treat it as a side issue between Illinois law firms, and Linares adopted the recommendation.

Meanwhile, Lakin's appeal of Linares's earlier decisions remains pending at the Third Circuit in New York.

The appeal asks if Linares should have disqualified Weiss and Burke.

It asks if he should have let Hall conduct discovery into circumstances of the settlement.

It asks if he should have approved the settlement under the circumstances.

Conductor blames railroad operators for disabling knee injuries

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:15:00 CST

A former train conductor is accusing multiple railroad operators of violating the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA).

Bill A. Axe filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railway Co., Consolidated Rail Corp., American Premier Underwriters, Inc. and National Railroad Passenger Corp., also known as Amtrak, Aug. 23 in Madison County Circuit Court

Axe says he was employed by the defendants as a train conductor when he was diagnosed with severe knee injuries. He argues the injuries were caused by the negligence of his employers and made worse by climbing and riding on locomotive engines during the course of his career.

Axe accuses the railroad operators of negligence for failing to provide reasonably safe conditions and methods of work, failing to enact a comprehensive ergonomics program, failure to provide adequate training, safety equipment and for failing to provide protection from exposure to cumulative trauma. Axe also blames the defendants for failing to provide a safe way to get on and off locomotives and failing to properly inspect, maintain or repair its tracks.

Because of the defendants' alleged negligence, Axe argues he has suffered serious, painful and permanent injuries to his knees, related nerves and soft tissue. He says he has and will continue to suffer pain and mental anguish, affecting his ability to work and enjoy life.

Axe says he is owed compensation under FELA. He is asking for damages of $50,000 from each of the three defendants along with court costs.

Attorney Ryan M. Furniss of St. Louis is representing Axe.

Madison County Circuit Court Case No. 10-L879

Ambulance company moves to dismiss suit by EMT fired after punching patient

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:43:00 CST

Van Dorn

An ambulance company that fired one of its EMTs after he allegedly punched a combative patient claims that it had every right to fire plaintiff Jason Hayes, even if he was defending himself.

Hayes' previous complaint was dismissed earlier this year by St. Clair County Circuit Judge Lloyd Cueto without prejudice.

Plaintiff Jonathan Hayes is suing Mission Care of Illinois for damages of at least $50,000 and costs in his retaliatory discharge suit.

Hayes claims that he was defending himself when a seizure patient became violent as Hayes and his fellow EMTs arrived to transport him to the hospital in January 2008.

During the altercation, Hayes punched the patient, after he claims to have suffered blows and saw others at the scene attacked as well.
Hayes claims he was wrongfully fired for protecting himself and others.

Mission Care, in its Aug. 19 motion to dismiss the amended complaint in the suit, claims that Hayes does not plead any specific public policy that protects his actions.

Further, the company claims, it can fire anyone it wants.

"It is well established under Illinois law, [that] an employer may discharge an employee for any reason or no reason," the motion reads.
The motion also contends Hayes is not a proper party to his own suit because he filed for bankruptcy after the suit's filing.

The suit was previously dismissed in May.

Morgan Scroggins represents Hayes.

Mission Care is represented by Erick VanDorn and Amie Needham.

The case is St. Clair case number 10-L-20.