EAST ST. LOUIS – Lawyer Martin Plute no longer works for Illinois attorney general Kwame Raoul, according to a substitution motion in a suit against Chester mental health hospital.
Prior to his departure, Plute spent 51 days on that case and failed to resolve the overdue task of paying penalty fees to Carbondale attorney Shari Rhode.
His replacement Tara Barnett faces a June 9 deadline to pay Rhode.
The state has owed Rhode $1,350 since October and $2,250 since February.
Rhode’s client Angela Cowell sued the hospital and managers Travis Nottmeier, Jaima Klausing, and Jessica Lawson in 2021, alleging discrimination and harassment.
Assistant attorney general Thomas Ewick took the case but didn’t answer discovery requests.
Rhode moved to compel discovery last year, and Rosenstengel set a deadline.
Ewick missed the deadline and Rhode moved for sanctions.
In October, Rosenstengel sanctioned the state by prohibiting Ewick from initiating any discovery or deposing any witness.
She ordered the state to pay Rhode for 2.7 hours she spent on the motion at $500 an hour.
The year ended without payment, and Rosenstengel ordered Ewick to show why she shouldn’t impose more sanctions.
His excuses amounted to a parody of clumsy bureaucracy.
Rosenstengel held a hearing in February, struck Ewick’s affirmative defenses, and ordered the state to pay Rhode for 4.5 hours.
Plute entered an appearance on March 30 and moved to substitute for Ewick.
On May 1, Rhode received a check for $1,350.
It carried a description stating that it represented full and final settlement of the case.
Rhode sent notice to Rosenstengel on May 2, stating she would violate a professional obligation if she cashed the check.
She claimed she contacted Plute and he advised that his clients said it was standard language and no change would be forthcoming.
On May 3, Rosenstengel gave the state 14 days to reissue the check with accurate description.
“As the court has already expressed, these continued antics and the inability to follow through on court ordered payments will not be tolerated,” she wrote.
She directed Rhode to file a third bill of costs.
Rhode received a $2,250 check on May 4, with the same description.
Rosenstengel set a May 26 deadline for payment of both checks and ordered the state to pay Rhode $500 for an hour she spent on the correction.
On May 17, Plute moved for an extension to June 3.
Rosenstengel gave him June 9.
Barnett entered on May 19 and Rosenstengel granted substitution on May 23.