Jonathan Bilyk News
Big money biometrics privacy class actions enriching handful of lawyers at expense of IL economy, new report claims
A report from the Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Illinois says seven plaintiffs' class action firms account for nearly 70% of all class actions active in Chicago area courts under the stringent Biometric Information Privacy Act, commonly known as BIPA
IL gun ban foes ask SCOTUS to review IL Sup Ct ruling; Petition says two Dem justices who refused recusal defied high court
State Rep. Dan Caulkins and other gun owners from Macon County say the U.S. Supreme Court needs to undo the Illinois high court's ruling on the "assault weapons" ban, because they could not receive a fair hearing when two justices, who already were endorsed by anti-gun groups, got millions of campaign cash from Gov. Pritzker
Verizon, AT&T customers can keep up suit vs T-Mobile, claiming Sprint merger raised their rates
A judge said plaintiffs had done enough to establish a "reasonable inference" that the T-Mobile/Sprint merger had created "anticompetitive effects" that boosted everyone's bills
IL OK to ban 'assault weapons,' so long as state says those guns are 'dangerous' and too similar to 'military' weapons: Appeals court
A 2-1 panel of the Seventh Circuit Appeals Court in Chicago refused to block Illinois' 'assault weapons' ban from being enforced. A dissenting judge said the ruling conflicts with SCOTUS rulings, and effectively subjects Americans' Second Amendment rights to a 'military veto'
Judge says anyone who ever spoke to Alexa device in IL could be included in huge biometrics class action vs Amazon
A federal judge says neither Amazon's user agreement - which warns users their voices will be recorded - nor Amazon's inability to identify a non-user's voice can defeat a class action under Illinois' biometrics law accusing Alexa of improperly "learning" users' voices
Appeals panel: JAMA doesn't need to give trial lawyers emails about spiked Zantac study article
Illinois appellate judges ruled a man who is suing GSK over alleged Zantac cancer link can't sidestep Illinois' reporter's privilege to force the Journal of the American Medical Association to reveal the identity of a government official who communicated with JAMA editors before they spiked a story on a Zantac cancer study in 2020
'The evidence is clear:' Poultry producer Sanderson Farms wins at trial, says proves no conspiracy to inflate chicken prices
While competitors opted to settle for hundreds of millions of dollars, chicken producer Sanderson Farms opted to defend itself at trial before a jury, and won. The verdict can still be appealed.
IL, 32 other states sue Facebook, Insta parent Meta for allegedly 'addicting, exploiting' kids
The lawsuit filed in California accuses the social media giant of deceiving society about the allegedly addictive qualities of its social media products, including Facebook and Instagram, and the alleged societal harms those products allegedly cause
IL Supreme Court: No $1M award for family of man killed by Chicago cops while fleeing burglary
The Illinois Supreme Court said the slain man's accomplices should be allowed to resume their lawsuits accusing Chicago Police of excessive force for firing 76 shots into their getaway van
Appeals panel: Employers don't owe OT for 'incidental' work if workers don't record the hours
A federal appeals court tossed out a jury verdict that had ordered ATM maker NCR to pay a field tech more than $250,000 for allegedly unpaid OT performed off the clock
No injury, no barriers? IL Sup Ct to decide if 'no-injury' standard for big money biometrics lawsuits applies to other laws, too
Walgreens has won the chance to ask the state high court to decide if plaintiffs' lawyers can press big money class actions in Illinois state courts under a federal identity protection law, despite no harm caused by a technical violation of the law, and despite rulings across the country that they can't do so
IL Supreme Court upholds 'assault weapons' ban; Decision does not address 2nd Amend claims
In seeming 4-3 decision, court's majority says gun ban doesn't violate equal protection rights. Dissents divided, as Pritzker-backed justice says the law wrongly allows cops to keep gun rights, and conservatives say lawmakers unconstitutionally OK'd the law
'Stupid and unconstitutional:' Raoul blocked by federal judge from enforcing IL abortion 'misinformation' law
A Rockford federal judge granted a preliminary injunction sought by pro-life groups and so-called crisis pregnancy centers, who said Illinois, under Gov. JB Pritkzer and Attorney General Kwame Raoul, was attempting to use the new law to silence abortion opponents unconstitutionally
IL appeals panel ends lawsuit in which Pritzker accused of helping friend defraud state
A state appeals court in Springfield says Attorney General Raoul within his power to pull plug on suit, despite political implications against Gov. JB Prtizker
IL pregnancy center law unconstitutional attempt to stifle speech of abortion opponents: Lawsuit
The law empowers Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, a staunch supporter of unlimited abortion rights, to use a state consumer fraud law to investigate, prosecute and potentially fine and shut down pro-life pregnancy centers if Raoul believes they are spreading "misinformation" about abortion
Appeals court: IL Supreme Court must rein in lawmakers' abuse of legislative process
A Springfield appeals panel has called on Illinois' highest court to do more than just 'bluster' and follow through on threats to police state lawmakers who rely on prior leniency from the state Supreme Court to all but ignore constitutional rules governing how laws must be passed
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
IL Supreme Court: State OK to completely abolish cash bail, because state constitution doesn't require it
The Democratic supermajority on the Illinois Supreme Court agreed that state lawmakers are OK to redefine 'bail' to meet progressive policy goals without first amending the state constitution
Appeals court to decide if Raoul can kill off lawsuit, potentially embarrassing for Pritzker
IL A/G says plaintiff hasn't proven A/G is acting under political pressure to seek to dismiss a lawsuit against politically connected ex-state worker accused of defrauding state for $500K, allegedly under protection of Gov. JB Pritzker's office
Appeals court: Lawsuit can resume challenging constitutionality of feds' across-the-board ban on gun ownership by felons
A divided appeals panel says a Supreme Court ruling means lower courts can't simply agree with governments that they have the authority under the Second Amendment to categorically deny gun ownership rights to those convicted of felonies, or other "dangerous" people