SPRINGFIELD – Supreme Court Justices chose not to disturb a decision of appellate judges who reversed a jury verdict against Pilot travel center of East St. Louis.
On Sept. 30, the Justices denied leave for former Denny’s restaurant employee Reona Pearson to appeal the decision.
Jurors awarded her $560,563.68 at trial in 2018, for spinal injuries she claimed to have suffered when she opened a restroom stall and two pounds of toilet paper fell on her.
St. Clair County Circuit Judge Christopher Kolker entered judgment on the verdict.
This May, Fifth District Justices Randy Moore and Thomas Welch found Kolker should have entered judgment for Pilot.
They found it wasn’t reasonably foreseeable that a third party would booby trap the stall in some sort of prank or intentional attack.
“All of the testimony at trial demonstrated that this was the only plausible explanation of what occurred, and no witness had ever seen or heard of this type of injury before,” Moore wrote.
Justice Milton Wharton dissented, finding Pilot owed Pearson a duty of care and evidence supported the verdict.
He found Pilot was aware that patrons frequently removed toilet paper rolls and put them where they didn’t belong.
John Cooney and Justin Zimmerman of Edwardsville represented Pilot.
Thomas Rich, Michelle Rich, and Kristina Cooksey of Fairview Heights represented Pearson.
Kolker presided at trial as an appointed associate judge while running for circuit judge on the Democratic ticket.
Thomas Rich had contributed $1,000 to Kolker’s campaign nine months earlier.
Thomas Rich contributed $1,000 to associate judge John O’Gara, who ran with Kolker, four days before trial.
Michelle Rich contributed $1,000 to associate judge Heinz Rudolf, who ran with Kolker and O’Gara, three weeks after trial.
On a higher level in 2018, Thomas Rich gave $2,500 each to Fifth District candidate Kevin Hoerner and current state Rep. Jay Hoffman and state Sen. Christopher Belt.
On a lower level in 2018, Pilot counsel Zimmerman contributed $200 to the central Republican committee of Madison County.