Steve Korris News
Rosenstengel partially denies summary judgment in Chester Mental Health employee's suit alleging failure to accommodate disabilities
EAST ST. LOUIS - Chester Mental Health Center admissions and discharge coordinator Angela Kongeal deserves trial on claims that her employers didn’t accommodate her disabilities, Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel ruled on Feb. 12.
Route 13 Diner cook granted default judgment in overtime pay dispute
EAST ST. LOUIS - Route 13 Diner owner Jimmy Johnson owes more than $3,000 to former cook Dorrine Douglas and more than $7,000 to her lawyer Nathan Volheim of Lombard, U.S. District Judge David Dugan ruled on Feb. 6.
Illinois Supreme Court grants petition for outside judge in Hulme, Dorman suits
SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Supreme Court gave former Madison County Administrator Doug Hulme and former Technology Director Rob Dorman an outside judge for a day to decide if they require an outside judge for good.
More than one third of plaintiffs selected for depositions on paraquat claims have dismissed their cases
EAST ST. LOUIS - Nine of 25 plaintiffs that Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel selected to test the substance of claims that weed killer paraquat caused Parkinson’s disease dismissed their claims in two weeks.
Cates, Mahoney to appeal arbitration ruling in $10 million settlement fee dispute
EDWARDSVILLE - Ryan Mahoney and David Cates, former partners in a $10 million dispute over fees from settlements, both plan to appeal an order of Circuit Judge Sarah Smith awarding each of them a partial victory on arbitration.
McGlynn moves forward with gun ban litigation, says he won't wait for gov to figure out what they actually passed
EAST ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn told Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wells he won’t wait for the state to explain the choices legislators made in the weapon ban they passed last year.
EPA report: No risk of Parkinson's disease from weed killer paraquat
WASHINGTON - Benefits of weed killer paraquat easily outweigh risks, according to regulators at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A report they issued on Jan. 30 assigned no weight at all to a risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Fifth District reverses Jumper on pretrial release of man charged with illegally possessing firearm
MOUNT VERNON - Madison County Associate Judge Ryan Jumper abused his discretion when he ordered release of criminal defendant Demontez Spruill, Fifth District appellate judges ruled on Feb. 2.
East St. Louis consolidated into 13 precincts, resulting in competition among incumbents
EAST ST. LOUIS - Consolidation of precincts resulted in ten incumbent Democratic precinct committee members running against incumbents.
Cates sues Express Scripts, Optum Rx over opioid crisis on behalf of St. Clair County
EAST ST. LOUIS - David Cates of Swansea, as special counsel to St. Clair County, claims pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts and Optum Rx negligently disseminated massive quantities of prescription opioids into the county.
Anderson Hospital seeks Madison County jurisdiction in class action alleging medical information shared with Facebook
EAST ST. LOUIS - Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel must decide whether a class action claim that Anderson Hospital shared private information with Facebook belongs in her court or Madison County.
Graphic Packaging requests approval of nearly $1 million BIPA settlement
EAST ST. LOUIS - Graphic Packaging of Atlanta will pay about $1,000 each to 600 persons who worked at its Centralia plant from 2016 to 2021 to settle a biometric privacy invasion claim, if U.S. District Judge David Dugan approves.
Beckett orders defendants to produce communications in Duebbert's malicious prosecution case
BELLEVILLE - Defendants in former St. Clair County Circuit Judge Ron Duebbert’s malicious prosecution suit must reveal communications among themselves to Duebbert’s forensic expert in person.
Rosenstengel orders depositions of plaintiffs in paraquat MDL over concerns some cases 'do not plausibly allege exposure to paraquat'
EAST ST. LOUIS - Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel, who waited eight months for paraquat lawyers to sweep empty claims from her court, grabbed a judicial broom on Jan. 22 and started the job herself.
Circle K alleges improper service in discrimination suit
EAST ST. LOUIS - Serving a lawsuit on an assistant manager at Circle K on North Belt West shouldn’t count as proper process, Circle K argued at U.S. district court on Jan. 22.
Smith denies motion to compel arbitration on former partner's fraud claims against David Cates
EDWARDSVILLE - Madison County Circuit Judge Sarah Smith partially denied a motion to compel arbitration in a suit alleging attorney David Cates breached a fiduciary duty to former partner Ryan Mahoney and committed fraud.
Daly up for second term as magistrate judge; Lawyers, citizens may provide comments until Feb. 7
BENTON - U.S. Magistrate Judge Reona Daly is up for a second term of eight years after her current term ends in September.
Illinois Supreme Court creates task force to review impact of SAFE-T Act on appellate courts
SPRINGFIELD - Supreme Court Justices appointed five appellate judges to review the impact of the state’s bail reform, the SAFE-T Act, on appellate courts.
Florida man sues Prairie State in St. Clair County over fall from silo
BELLEVILLE - Three months after appellate judges classified a pump as an office to affirm St. Clair County jurisdiction over Prairie State power plant in Washington County, John Lewellyng of Florida sued Prairie State in St. Clair County.
Jurors in federal court award forklift operator $13 million in re-trial over amputated leg
EAST ST. LOUIS - On Jan. 18, jurors in U.S. district court awarded $13,045,776 to former forklift operator Adelaida Anderson of Effingham, who lost a leg after her forklift crushed it.