Steve Korris News
Prison worker's Covid mask lawsuit can proceed on religious exemption argument
EAST ST. LOUIS - U.S. Magistrate Judge Gilbert Sison ruled on Jan. 23 that former Centralia prison worker Garrett Rose can proceed with a claim that his employer fired him for not wearing a mask in 2022.
'Centreville Citizens' on raw sewage: We need faster relief than regulators propose
EAST ST. LOUIS - Centreville Citizens for Change, which sued Cahokia Heights four years ago to stop living with raw sewage, find that the city, the state and the U.S. plan to start solving their problem without listening to them.
Treasurers in tax sale lawsuits: Sue the property buyers
EAST ST. LOUIS - Plaintiffs who claim counties took properties from delinquent taxpayers without compensating them should sue those who bought the properties through the counties, treasurers of St. Clair and Madison counties argue at U.S. district court.
Yandle to decide jurisdiction in dispute between Schlafly brewer and Highland developer
BENTON - U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle gets to decide whether a dispute between brewer David Schlafly and contractor Daniel Werner of O’Fallon over a renovation project in downtown Highland belongs in her court or St. Clair County circuit court.
Bestwall says asbestos sample paints picture of 'questionable conduct by plaintiffs and counsel'
CHARLOTTE - From 430,000 asbestos suits Georgia Pacific entity Bestwall selected 221 to support its theory that plaintiffs inflated settlements by concealing evidence of other exposures.
Judge sets hearing in defamation lawsuit; Target raises anti-SLAPP defense
BELLEVILLE - Circuit Judge Patrick Foley set a Feb. 14 hearing on a motion to dismiss a defamation suit that St. Clair County board member Gerard Scott Junior filed against Brad Van Hoose of Belleville 15 months ago.
Mother opposes doctor's move to stay alleged drugs-for-sex overdose case
EAST ST. LOUIS - Bonnie Lilly of St. Clair County, who claims at U.S. district court that physician Craig Spiegel caused the overdose of her daughter Nicole Laux, opposes a motion to stay the claim until his criminal case in Missouri has ended.
Retired Scott AFB operator can pursue class action against BX over credit card receipts
CHICAGO - Retired Scott Air Force base radio operator Linda Thompson, who proposed in 2022 to lead a national class action in St. Clair County circuit court against Exchange stores on Army and Air Force bases, can start litigating in 2025.
Former IDOT worker settles alleged partisan firing lawsuit
EAST ST. LOUIS - Former Illinois transportation department employee Shelly Shevlin of Freeburg settled a claim that former governor Bruce Rauner terminated her for partisan motives.
EEOC targets New Athens farmers over former employee's transgender discrimination claims
BENTON - Civil rights law that President Johnson signed with Martin Luther King looking over his shoulder now protects a person who has had two genders, two nationalities, three names and two phony social security numbers.
Freight broker not legally responsible in driver's injury crash suit
CHICAGO - U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle correctly ruled that Shawn Montgomery of Missouri can’t sue C.H. Robinson Company of Minnesota for arranging the trip of a truck that hit his truck, Seventh Circuit appellate judges ruled on Jan. 2.
Local assistant AG defending prisoner suits abruptly leaves office
SWANSEA - Jesse Jones Gray, who as an assistant attorney general defended Illinois against civil suits of prisoners and other plaintiffs for 11 months, left his job in December.
Another group of Paraquat plaintiffs face possible dismissal
EAST ST. LOUIS - Paraquat litigation leaders Sarah Doles of Florida and Kahldoun Baghdadi of California invited Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel to order 40 plaintiffs to show why she shouldn’t dismiss their claims.
Defendant Geo Snapshot says it will go broke if not allowed to settle BIPA suit
EAST ST. LOUIS - Global photography platform Geo Snapshot of Australia claims it might not survive if it can’t settle a suit alleging that its facial recognition violates Illinois law.
Insurer dismisses former Caraway law partners from malpractice policy suit
BENTON - Berkley Insurance dismissed Daniel Broombaugh of St. Louis and Cheryl Fisher of Swansea from a suit seeking a declaration that a malpractice policy of their former firm doesn’t cover misappropriation of client funds by their former partner Jason Caraway.
Judge Gilbert rejects proposed $825K police brutality default judgment
BENTON - Senior U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert rejected a recommendation to award $825,035.97 to Dorian Hendricks as default judgment on an excessive force suit against East St. Louis police on Dec. 12.
Fertility clinic, genetic lab settle lawsuit over child born with physical abnormalities
EAST ST. LOUIS - Lindsey Cordes and John Cortes of St. Louis settled a claim that Vios fertility clinic and Advagenix genetic laboratory caused Lindsey to give birth to a daughter with physical anomalies.
Regulators sue East St. Louis over failure to improve sewer system
EAST ST. LOUIS - National and state environmental agencies sued East St. Louis at U. S. district court on Dec. 11, claiming the city didn’t keep commitments it made last year to improve the sewer system.
Lawyer for Cahokia Heights' residents slams sewage settlement: 'They deserve much more'
EAST ST. LOUIS - Water regulators propose a tiny $30,000 penalty for years of sewage violations in Cahokia Heights out of sympathy for the city’s poverty in a consent decree that depends on the city to pay for improvements.
McGlynn dismisses middle car driver from crash suit
EAST ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn dismissed a claim that Zachary Langley of Caseyville contributed to a highway crash without moving.