News from June 2024
When is a suspect too dangerous to release? Answers may come from two appeals
SPRINGFIELD - Supreme Court Justices picked two cases to guide local and appellate judges in deciding when to declare a suspect too dangerous to release.
Appeals panel: Non-Facebook users can't sue Meta for biometric face scans that couldn't ID them
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that a San Francisco federal judge wasn't wrong to unplug a lawsuit accusing Facebook-parent Meta of allegedly violating an Illinois biometrics privacy law by using its photo upload system to scan photos for faces, even of non-users
Class action plaintiffs, lawyers could get stake in facial recognition firm Clearview under deal
The "creative" settlement would allow potentially many thousands of class member plaintiffs and their lawyers to scrape together millions of dollars from tech startup Clearview, which was sued for alleged violations of Illinois' biometric privacy law and other privacy statutes
Maune Raichle lawyers can't appeal $402K contempt order until Bestwall bankruptcy case closes
CHARLOTTE - Lawyers at Maune Raichle in St. Louis could lose licenses and face malpractice suits over contempt and sanction orders at bankruptcy court in North Carolina, according to appellate judge Robert King of the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia.
Speaker Welch asks IL high court to toss ruling barring Dems from blocking many GOP candidates from fall ballot
A Springfield judge had ruled Democrats violated the constitutional rights of Republican candidates by passing a law weeks after the primary election barring them from getting on the ballot to challenge Democratic incumbents this fall because they didn't first run in the primary election
Man sues church claiming wrongful expulsion; Case goes to federal court as First Amendment question
EAST ST. LOUIS - William Rogers of Wood River seeks a court order preserving his membership in Roxana Church of the Nazarene.
Attorney General Raoul Charges Suburban Man Over Allegedly Lying on Foid Card Application
Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that his office charged a DuPage County man with forgery and falsifying information on a Firearms Owners Identification (FOID) card application submitted to the Illinois State Police (ISP).
State's weapon ban expert - 'rain making trauma surgeon' - on administrative leave
Surgery professor Martin Schreiber filled 100 pages with his credentials as Gov. Pritzker’s expert on assault weapons but didn’t mention that Oregon Health and Science University placed him on administrative leave.
Illinois Supreme Court Assigns Hon. Raylene Dewitte Grischow to Fourth District Appellate Court
Justice Lisa Holder White and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the assignment of Seventh Circuit Judge Raylene DeWitte Grischow to the Fourth District Appellate Court.
IL to get $29M from $700M J&J talc settlement deal with states
The settlement will end legal actions launched by 43 states accusing Johnson & Johnson of allegedly misleading consumers about the safety of its talc baby powder and body powder products. The company has denied its products cause cancer, as other plaintiffs have claimed in thousands of other lawsuits
Pig weaners' defense: Gender transitioning claimant's suit 'literally gasping for factual air'
EAST ST. LOUIS - Sis-Bro pig weaning business of New Athens moved on May 28 to dismiss a suit of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging hostility and constructive discharge against a worker in gender transition.
No MDL for teen video addiction lawsuits, judicial panel decides
WASHINGTON - Judges with authority to assign a single judge for suits from many districts denied a petition to consolidate 15 claims that video games cause addiction.
Attorney General Raoul Advocates for Increased Oversight of Private Equity Health Care Transactions and Practices
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a multistate coalition of 11 attorneys general, submitted a comment letter in response to the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services’ request for information regarding consolidation in health care by private equity.
Fox Rothschild Attorneys Nationwide Selected to 2024 Chambers USA List
Fox Rothschild is pleased to announce that the following attorneys were selected for inclusion in the list of 2024 Chambers USA ranked lawyers.*
Illinois Supreme Court sides with prosecutors in St. Clair Co. murder case
SPRINGFIELD - Supreme Court Justices ruled on June 6 that St. Clair County murder defendant Trenton Jefferson, facing a third trial on an indictment from 2011, can’t claim jurors at his second trial decided he didn’t fire the fatal shot.
Administrative Director Declares Illinois Associate Judge Appointed in the First Judicial Circuit
Marcia M. Meis, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced that the First Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Kelly R. Phelps as associate judge of the First Judicial Circuit.
Judge dismisses another Hulme and Dorman lawsuit; Haine says litigation costs to taxpayers now exceeds $480K
An out-of-county judge has dismissed a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by former Madison County administrators Doug Hulme and Rob Dorman, who were fired by county board members in 2020.
IL Supreme Court says ambiguous language in insurance policies doesn't necessarily 'stack' liability limits in multi-vehicle accidents
Unanimous ruling affirms appeals court's stance to deny a bus driver's quest for $7M payout stemming from a multi-vehicle crash on I-74 in McLean County in 2018.
Grischow, judge who blocked Pritzker's school mask mandate, selected to serve on Springfield appeals court
The Illinois Supreme Court announced it would assign Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow to serve on the state's Fourth District Appellate Court. Grischow notably issued an order in 2022 declaring Gov. Pritzker had illegally issued 'emergency orders' requiring students wear masks in school
Property owners can appeal tax assessments before paying full property tax bill, Supreme Court says
5-2 ruling goes against Shawnee School District 84 and Jackson County in their dispute with power plant owner Grand Tower Energy Center. Jackson County had valued the power plant property to have a taxable value of $31.5 million. Om appeal, the taxable value was slashed to $3.3 million, reducing the tax owed to a fraction of original bill