News from October 2024
Administrative Director Declares Illinois Associate Judge Appointed in the Tenth Judicial Circuit
Marcia M. Meis, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced that the Tenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Vincent E. Cail as associate judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit.
Nursing homes can use Pritzker Covid orders to block suits over Covid deaths
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled trial lawyers can't entirely sidestep emergency orders issued by Gov. JB Pritzker at the onset of the Covid pandemic to hit nursing homes with lawsuits over Covid deaths, even though the governor's orders appeared to protect them from such lawsuits
'A downward spiral': Biz groups, legal reformers urge IL high court to nix bid to kill anti-forum shopping rule
The filings come in response to an attempt by the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association to seize on a dispute over the constitutionality of a controversial state law to win a long sought policy goal, which would funnel lawsuits into Cook, Madison and St. Clair counties, in pursuit of bigger, easier verdicts
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.
Notice of Vacancy for at-large Circuit Judge In the Eighth Judicial Circuit
Justice Lisa Holder White of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for an At-Large Circuit Judge vacancy in the Eighth Judicial Circuit.
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.
Attorney General Raoul Charges Adams County Woman With Sexual Assault, Manufacturing and Disseminating Child Sexual Abuse Material
Attorney General Kwame Raoul charged a Quincy, Illinois woman with sexual assault and manufacturing and disseminating child pornography.
IL Supreme Court: Lawsuit damages over spouse's wrongful death must still be paid if surviving spouse remarries
The unanimous opinion said a judgment compensating one spouse for the loss of another through medical malpractice or other harm must still be paid by defendants, even if the judgment includes money for "material services" the other spouse would have provided to the household in the form of completed chores like cooking meals and washing clothes
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.
Attorney General Raoul Announces $52 Million Settlement Agreement With Marriott for Data Breach of Starwood Reservation Database
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 50 attorneys general, has reached an agreement in principle with Marriott International Inc. as the result of an investigation into a large multiyear data breach of one of its guest reservation databases.
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.
Justice Lisa Holder White Announces Formation of Screening Committee to Fill Seventeenth Circuit Vacancy
Justice Lisa Holder White of the Supreme Court of Illinois has announced the formation of a judicial screening committee for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit – Subcircuit 2.
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.
Attorney General Raoul Charges St. Clair County Man With Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material
Attorney General Kwame Raoul charged a Belleville, Illinois man for allegedly possessing child sexual abuse material.
Judge orders former county IT director Dorman to pay $43K in sanction over failed lawsuit
Madison County Associate Judge Ron Motil on Oct. 7 ordered former county IT director Rob Dorman to pay $43,305.50 in fees and costs in one of many lawsuits he's filed challenging his 2020 firing.
Dykema Achieves Mansfield 7.0 Certification Plus Classification
Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced today that the firm has achieved Mansfield 7.0 certification as well as Mansfield Certification Plus status after completing the 12-month certification process in collaboration with Diversity Lab.
Attorney General Raoul Obtains Injunction Over Improper Removal and Storage of Asbestos-containing Materials at Joliet Theatre
Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced his office obtained an agreed immediate and preliminary injunction with the Will County Metropolitan Exposition & Auditorium Authority (Authority) in his office’s ongoing lawsuit against the Authority and two other defendants over their alleged improper removal and storage of materials containing asbestos during a renovation project at the Rialto Square Theatre in downtown Joliet, Illinois.
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.
Thompson Coburn Achieves Mansfield Rule 7.0 “Certified Plus” Designation
Thompson Coburn has again achieved Mansfield Certification "Plus" status, solidifying its position as a leading law firm committed to fostering diversity and inclusion in leadership.
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.