In a lawsuit in Missouri, Cambridge Engineering got an injunction against a former employee from engaging in sales-related activity for his new employer, Mercury Partners. Cambridge then sued Mercury in Illinois for tortious interference with contract. The trial court (1) entered judgment notwithstanding the verdict against Mercury and (2) directed…
Plaintiff was arrested for shoplifting at a Wal-Mart. After his arrest by the Forest Park Police, he committed suicide in his jail cell. His estate sued the police department and one of the police officers, as well as Wal-Mart and a number of its employees. The police department and the…
James Gallagher injured his back in a truck collision. James settled his workers’ compensation claim with his employer, Terminal. He also sued the driver of the other truck and that driver’s employer. After the lawsuit settled, Terminal attempted to enforce its workers’ compensation lien against the settlement proceeds. The trial…
I wrote about this case, Bergman v. Kelsey, on October 15, 2007, and pointed out an inconsistency between the stated standard of review (de novo) and the court’s actual analysis (deferential review of a jury verdict). The case is instructive for another reason: reiterating the rule on how to preserve…
Alex T. was involuntarily admitted for mental health treatment. However, at the time the circuit court granted the State’s petition to have Alex admitted, a felony charge was pending against him. Alex argued that the order admitting him for mental health treatment was void. He based his argument on the…
This case involved a dispute between a buyer and a seller of a 3-flat building. The buyer claimed the seller knew about and hid structural defects in the building. He sued for breach of contract and fraud. After a bench trial, the buyer received a favorable judgment on the contract…
The State petitioned for a finding of parental unfitness because, it argued, (1) the mother’s repeated incarceration prevented her from performing her parental responsibilities and (2) the father failed to make reasonable progress toward reunification with the child. After the trial court denied the State’s petition, the child’s guardian ad…
A bank claimed defendants wrongfully sold a portfolio of loans. The bank sued the defendants under several equity theories. The complaint and an amended complaint were dismissed. When the bank filed a second amended complaint, it did not reallege or incorporate the dismissed legal theories from the first two complaints.…
Steve Townsend injured himself when he fell through a hole in the floor of a building he was painting. Much of the pretrial proceedings focused on Townsend’s employment status with the defendants and his worker’s compensation issues. The case was tried to a jury, which returned a verdict of more…
Scott Jackson was injured when his car was rear-ended by David Seib. A jury trial resulted in a verdict for Seib. Apparently the jury did not believe that this accident caused Jackson to suffer the injuries he claimed. Jackson appealed, but the Fifth District Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the defense…