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.
Madison County Circuit Judge George Moran assigned the trial date at a case management conference on July 27.
Marilyn Rudolph states that on May 16, 2004, she fell when walking from the cash register to the front door at Ramon’s El Dorado Restaurant.
Rudolph accuses Ramon's of allowing an uneven floor to remain near the cash register archway, failing to inspect the uneven floor, leaving it in a dangerous condition, and failing to warn her of the condition of the floor when a warning was necessary to prevent injury.
Rudolph, seeking at least $50,000 in damages, she is represented by James Gorman of Lucco and Brown in Edwardsville.
Ramon’s is represented by John Cunningham of Belleville.
Moran also held CMC hearings for several class action cases still pending in Madison County.
Earl Gori of New Douglas and Michael Elward of Wabash County, Ind. were scheduled to be in court on their Vioxx class action suit, but a pending motion to dismiss the suit postponed the hearing until Aug. 24.
Dan Ball of Bryan Cave in St. Louis unsuccessfully attempted remove the case to federal court in December 2004, but U.S. District Judge David Herndon remanded the case back to Madison County in March.
Gori and Elward allege that Merck’s misrepresentations and concealment of the true extent of health hazards of Vioxx allowed them to charge prices for Vioxx that were far in excess of the fair market value.
The class action case involves all people who purchased Vioxx during or after 1999 for personal, family, or household purposes who are residents of Illinois or Indiana. The class will be represented by Christopher Byron of Edwardsville.
A case management conference for Frank Bemis, a local chiropractor who is the named plaintiff in several class action cases for the Lakin Law Firm, also was cancelled.
Bemis claims Safeco Insurance Company improperly applied Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) discounts, withheld payment for valid insurance claims and unfairly profited by their schemes.
The hearing was cancelled because Safeco filed a motion for a protective order. Moran set an Oct. 13 trial date.
Safeco is represented by John McMullin of Brown & James in St. Louis.