News from July 2005
Byron holds CMC hearings
Madison County Circuit Judge Nicholas Byron held a case management conference (CMC) docket on July 27. Here is what happened:
New Lawsuits: Friday, July 29
Fresh from the courthouse:
Moran sets trial date in suit against Ramon's
Circuit Judge George Moran A diner at a popular Mexican restaurant in Collinsville, who claims she slipped and fell on an uneven floor, will have her day in court Feb. 21, 2006.
Punitive damages not allowed in high speed case against Alton PD
Madison County Circuit Judge Nicholas Byron ruled in favor of the Alton Police Department July 22 when he granted its motion to strike punitive damages from the complaint of Delphya A. Coleman. She filed a six-count $300,000 suit April 7 seeking actual and punitive damages stemming from a high-speed chase on May 24, 2004.
Too many Goliaths...
St. Louis plaintiff’s attorney Stephen Tillery’s Madison County lawsuit against South African diamond maker DeBeers uses as its rationale a claim that the company is a “cartel.”
The mineral man
Meet Stephen Tillery, plaintiff’s attorney and now, thanks to Madison County’s 3rd Circuit Court, the State of Illinois’ all-powerful precious minerals market regulator.
Requiem for a heavyweight
As the regular SIDEBAR reader knows, this column likes to make a point using a movie as the central image.
En garde Monsieur Hopkins!
To the editor:
August 1-5
Air Products & Chemicals
New class action interrupts dog days in Madison County
Ending a near three-month drought of class action lawsuits since a restrictive federal law was enacted, Alton plaintiff’s attorney Lanny Darr filed suit against Affirmative Insurance Company because it would only reimburse him $18.90 per day for a rental vehicle.
Depositions quashed, but Granite City judgment awaits hearing
Judge Matoesian In its fight against a Madison County Circuit Court judgment, Granite City attorney Jane Unsell learned she cannot question the characters whose dubious real estate transaction ended up costing the city $104,259.17.
New Lawsuits: Thursday, July 28
Fresh from the courthouse:
Friday August 5
8:30 a.m.
From shotgun to rifle: Delaware docket shifting from mass tort to product liability
Delaware Superior Court. Judge Slights is pictured first in top row. WILMINGTON, Delaware - On the fourth day of a nationally significant asbestos trial, the lawyers settled, the jury turned into a focus group and the judge decided to rewrite his case management order.
New Lawsuits: Wednesday, July 27
Fresh from the courthouse
Thursday August 4
8:30 a.m.
Son sues nursing home for deceased mother's poor care
Eunice Smith Home Seigle Hayes, the son of Irma Hayes, filed suit against an Alton nursing home alleging it failed to provide his mother with appropriate medical care and treatment, which eventually led to her death.
Class action against world's largest diamond miner certified in Madison County
Circuit Judge George Moran, Jr. Madison County Circuit Judge George Moran, Jr. certified a class action case against international diamond giant De Beers of Luxembourg because the defendant failed to appear or respond to the complaint.
Mother sues Casey's for floor buffer incident
Casey�s General Store in Alton Mildred Parker filed a $75,000 suit on her daughter's behalf against Casey’s General Store in Alton claiming an employee ran over her left foot with a floor buffer.
Metro-East doctor pleads guilty to fraud
John Petrovich, M.D., 46, a Granite City surgeon and target of at least 15 medical malpractice cases, pled guilty on July 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to one felony charge of health care fraud.