Carr
Keefe Jr.
A legal malpractice trial that was to have started Monday in St. Clair County Circuit Judge Lloyd Cueto's courtroom settled as jurors were being picked.
Attorney Rex Carr of East St. Louis represented Brian Hubble in his suit against the Belleville firm of Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer & Shevlin over an alleged missed filing date.
Carr said he could not discuss the case due to a court order.
Hubble contended the Cook firm filed a personal injury lawsuit for him against Bi-State Development Agency, but not before a filing deadline, causing the case to be dismissed. He claims the attorneys did not inform him of the dismissal until September 2010.
In the complaint, Hubble claimed he was hurt Sept. 13, 2005, when his car collided with a bus operated by Bi-State. He claims he hired the Cook firm later that month.
His lawsuit against Bi-State was filed March 1, 2007.
Bi-State's motion to dismiss Hubble's suit on claims that it was a "local public entity" under the Tort Immunity Act and subject to a one-year statute of limitations, was denied at the trial level by St. Clair County Circuit Judge Lloyd Cueto.
Bi-State appealed.
Cueto's decision was upheld at the appellate court. But, the Illinois Supreme Court on Sept. 23, 2010, reversed the lower court decisions with instructions to remand the case and dismiss the plaintiff's complaint.
In his legal malpractice case filed March 31, 2011, Hubble accused the Cook law firm of negligence and breach of contract and asked for more than $50,000 in damages.
Tom Keefe Jr. and Jeff Glass represented the defense.
St. Clair County Case Number 11-L-170.