Defendants sprang free from a mesothelioma suit and a potential class action by removing the cases to U.S. district court in East St. Louis and Benton.
On April 3, the Maune Raichle asbestos firm moved to dismiss military contractor Northrop Grumman from a suit that started in Madison County.
On April 7, former district judge Patrick Murphy moved to dismiss a class complaint he filed in Jackson County against owners of three hospitals.
In the asbestos case, plaintiffs Jack Merkle and Marilyn Merkle of Florida sued 18 defendants in Madison County in February.
Northrop Grumman removed the suit to district court on March 27, arguing that its products met military specifications.
“The government contractor defense provides that a government contractor’s duties are displaced when the government exercises a discretionary function over the design of a product,” wrote its attorney Gregory Odom of Belleville.
He moved to dismiss his client for lack of jurisdiction on April 1, claiming Jack Merkle never worked in Illinois and alleged no exposure in Illinois.
He wrote that if Northrop Grumman’s unrelated operations could lead to general jurisdiction in Illinois, plaintiffs could argue that any large company is subject to general jurisdiction almost anywhere.
A week later John Steffan of Maune Raichle filed notice that the Merkles would dismiss Northrop Grumman, and then amended the complaint to remove it.
On April 6, he moved to remand claims against the remaining 17 defendants to Madison County.
“No federal issues remain in this case, so the underpinnings of federal subject matter jurisdiction have disappeared,” Steffan wrote.
He wrote that no other defendant appeared in federal court.
“More importantly, for the purposes of fairness, remand will allow discovery to proceed apace under the well worn rules of Madison County’s asbestos docket,” he wrote.
On April 7, Chief District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel found dismissal proper and declared the motion to dismiss Northrop Grumman moot.
As of April 10, she hadn’t ruled on the motion to remand.
In Murphy’s suit, Richard Peck of Williamson County claimed Southern Illinois Hospital Services filed improper liens against Medicare beneficiaries.
The defendant owns hospitals in Carbondale, Murphysboro, and Herrin.
Peck claimed they engaged in improper debt collection and contractor Claim Assist engaged in unauthorized practice of law.
Murphy wrote that actions of the defendants delayed settlement and caused Peck to pay a sum greater than Medicare authorized.
He wrote that Claim Assist was not a law firm, yet it prepared and filed liens in Illinois courts.
The hospitals retained Jeffrey Schultz and former Madison County associate judge Donald Flack, both of Armstrong Teasdale in Clayton, Mo.
Schultz removed the complaint to district court, claiming it relied on interpretation of the Medicare Act and regulations.
Murphy moved to remand the action to Jackson County, writing that the federal government was never involved with the claim.
Claim Assist counsel Jonathan Mitchell of Carbondale opposed the motion.
“The issues are squarely related to the proper interpretation of the Medicare Act as it relates to billing and collection practices of health care providers,” Mitchell wrote.
He wrote that the complaint asserted no facts why mailing a notice of lien to Peck’s attorney constituted the unauthorized practice of law.
Schultz opposed the motion for the hospitals, writing that Peck’s interpretation of the Medicare Act had implications wider than the case.
District Judge Staci Yandle denied the motion on March 16, finding Peck grounded his complaint in federal law.
She wrote that he would need to show when and how Medicare secondary payer provisions of the Social Security Act require payments.
She wrote that he would then need to establish how federal regulations require reimbursement from a provider or a liable party.
Three weeks later, Murphy moved to dismiss the action.
He retired as district judge in 2013, and practices in Marion.