Steve Korris News
Plaintiff lawyer offers to drop defendant in exchange for not removing injury case, removal notice says
EAST ST. LOUIS - Lawyer Branden Stein claims lawyer Joseph Bartholomew offered to dismiss an Illinois defendant from an injury suit in exchange for a promise not to remove a Georgia defendant to U.S. district court.
Judge quashes subpoena of doctor's tax and financial records in crash suit
BENTON - Rich, Rich and Cooksey of Fairview Heights didn’t convert a client’s treating physician to a retained expert, Senior U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert ruled on Oct. 31.
Caseyville opposes CSX motion to dismiss flood lawsuit; 'Tracks are knowingly inoperable'
EAST ST. LOUIS - Caseyville claims CSX railroad can’t plead that the village’s lawsuit over a flood interferes with railroad operations when it hasn’t used the track since the flood.
Former St. Clair County HR director claims Chairman Kern, others defamed him
EAST ST. LOUIS - Former St. Clair County human resources director Frank Bergman claims county board chairman Mark Kern defamed him and improperly terminated his employment.
Judge Rosenstengel: Newer Paraquat plaintiffs can't dodge exposure subpoenas
EAST ST. LOUIS - Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel ruled on Oct. 28 that 402 plaintiffs in nationwide litigation of claims that weed killer paraquat caused Parkinson’s disease must serve subpoenas for proof of exposure.
Law firm opposes motion to disqualify opposing legal malpractice expert
BENTON - Quinn Johnston law firm of Peoria, facing a malpractice suit, claims product liability lawyer Joseph Bleyer of Marion can explain actions of lawyers in a product liability case to a jury as well as a legal malpractice expert.
New retaliatory discharge suit against ESL Housing Authority details alleged sexual harrassment
BENTON - Jacqueline Powell, former interim director of the East St. Louis Housing Authority, sued the authority’s board over conduct of former board president Shonte Mueller 10 days after Mueller sued the city for removing her from the board.
Nameoki Township granted summary judgment in residents' suit claiming they were banned from premises
EDWARDSVILLE - Nameoki Township didn’t ban former township clerk Nick Cohan and wife Sheilby Cohan from public offices as they alleged, Madison County associate judge Ron Motil ruled on Oct. 8.
Parent opposes OTHS motion to dismiss suit challenging residency; Says evidence 'irrelevant, specious'
EAST ST. LOUIS - Niesha Anthony told the truth when she registered daughter Zariah at O’Fallon Township High School according to her counsel Mark Schuver of Belleville.
Pritzker answer in weapon ban case: 'Lack knowledge on impact of citizens' arms against British empire'
EAST ST. LOUIS - Governor Pritzker doesn’t believe the American experiment might not have begun if not for citizens taking up arms against the British empire's overreach, according to one of his answers to a plaintiff challenging his weapon ban.
Syngenta, Chevron say plaintiffs feign disbelief over implausible Paraquat claims
EAST ST. LOUIS - Syngenta and Chevron claim Paraquat lawyers who oppose dismissal of 586 suits pretend that they haven’t repeatedly revealed implausible cases on their docket.
Caseyville misses deadline to respond to flood lawsuit; Judge mulls dismissal
EAST ST. LOUIS - Caseyville sued CSX railroad for causing a flood but missed a deadline for responding to a motion to dismiss the suit.
ESL housing authority board member and police officer sue over alleged corruption
EAST ST. LOUIS - City leaders fired housing authority board member Shonte Mueller and assistant police chief Nicholas Mueller because she tried to clean up the housing authority and he protected her, according to a suit they filed at U.S. district court on Oct. 15.
Disbarred lawyer seeks to change plea in federal fraud case
EAST ST. LOUIS - Jason Caraway of Belleville, who the Supreme Court suspended for spending money that belonged to clients, seeks to change his plea on wire fraud charges.
St. Clair County first responders settle pay dispute lawsuit
BENTON - St. Clair County emergency management employees Ann Ellis, Candis Cross and Tina Joaquin agreed to settle claims that the county shorted their pay.
Asbestos defendant wants fraud settlement to carry weight in RICO suit against Simmons firm
CHICAGO - J-M Manufacturing of Los Angeles claims fraud allegations that lawyer Scott Peebles of California settled with the Simmons Hanly Conroy firm of Alton carry enough weight to support its racketeering and fraud suit against the firm in Illinois.
In protracted GP asbestos bankruptcy, plaintiff lawyers ask for three more years of discovery
CHARLOTTE - Lawyers who for five years have resisted efforts of Georgia Pacific entity Bestwall to expose crooked asbestos suits asked Bankruptcy Judge Laura Beyer for three more years to prove they caused no harm.
More voluntary Paraquat dismissals in MDL; Total dropped reaches nearly 1,200
EAST ST. LOUIS - In a single day Alabama lawyer Gary Anderson voluntarily dismissed 26 suits claiming weed killer paraquat caused Parkinson’s disease and in a single day Mississippi lawyer Madison Keyes voluntarily dismissed 18 paraquat suits.
Prisoner's 18-year effort to secure second trial gets new life at Fifth District
MOUNT VERNON - Fifth District appellate judges granted prisoner Charles White a hearing and a fresh lawyer on his 18 year old petition for a second trial.
Prisoner serving 182 year sentence settles excessive force case against cop
BENTON - Menard penitentiary resident De’Angelo Higgs and East St. Louis settled an excessive force claim against former police officer Leland Cherry on Sept. 30.