James Foster claimed he was beaten by Corpsman Kirk Hill at a Naval Training Center. Foster sued Hill in the Illinois state court. Invoking the Westfall Act (United States shall be substituted as a party when a federal employee is sued in tort for actions in course of employment, if…
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…
Katherine Bergman’s baby died during child birth. She sued the doctor and the hospital for medical malpractice. Katherine got a verdict for more than $1.5 million. The doctor appealed, and among other things, claimed he was entitled to judgment notwithstanding the verdict (jnov). The First District Illinois Appellate Court affirmed…
Glen Dresher appealed from a court’s decision to temporarily release him from co-guardianship of his adult, disabled son. The guardian ad litem for the son moved to dismiss the appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction. The appellate court agreed with the guardian and dismissed the appeal. The First District Illinois…
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…
A pro se plaintiff filed four lawsuits, which were assigned to different judges, in which she complained that her children had been taken from her custody in violation of the law. Although the cases generally complained about the same subject matter, they never were consolidated. The first three lawsuits ultimately…
In this trip and fall case, a customer, Matthews, sustained injuries when he tripped over a piece of metal that was jutting out of a fuel pump island at a gas station. The First District Illinois Appellate Court ruled on a few appellate issues. The two most significant have to…
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.…
This dispute grew from the Waddicks’ divorce. Several months after trial, in September 2005, the trial court issued a written decision that ruled on the contested matters. The court did not order a dissolution judgment to be prepared, but it did state that a joint custody order “will be entered…