Montgomery couple files federal lawsuit against Kendall, deputy

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Jeffrey Friedman, P.C.

By Steve Lord slord@stmedianetwork.com February 21, 2013 4:20PM
Updated: February 22, 2013 2:35AM

A Montgomery couple has filed a federal lawsuit against a Kendall County Sheriff’s Department deputy who pulled a gun on them in an altercation at a Walmart in Oswego.

Jason Thurmond and his wife, Nicole Healy-Thurmond, said they suffered “severe damages including personal injury, loss of reputation, mental anguish [and] emotional distress” in the Feb. 5, 2012, incident in which off-duty Deputy Craig French brandished a gun in the Walmart.

Montgomery couple files federal lawsuit against Kendall, deputy

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Police: 4 Attacked By Pit Bulls In Nassau County

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Jeffrey Friedman, P.C.

Dog Fight 1Inside 30 Minutes, 2 Wild Dogs Altered The Lives Of A Teen Boy And 3 Women
February 13, 2013 10:50 PM

LAKEVIEW, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – Police on Wednesday were searching for two dangerous dogs that attacked four people within half an hour in the Nassau County community of Lakeview.

Officers went door-to-door to try to find the vicious dogs, but were not successful, WCBS 880′s Sophia Hall reported.

“There is a possibility they went back to the homeowner and the homeowner is unaware of the incidents that occurred, but that’s why we’re doing a door-to-door search to see if any of the neighbors [know who owns the dogs], or possibly come upon the owners of the dogs, and lets figure out what’s going on, how did the dogs get out, why are they so vicious,” Nassau County Police Inspector Kenneth Lack told Hall.

Police: 4 Attacked By Pit Bulls In Nassau County

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Chicago cops argue in lawsuit they deserve overtime for answering calls, scanning emails

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Jeffrey Friedman, P.C.

12322 Unread EmailsPublished February 07, 2013 Associated Press

CHICAGO – Does scanning emails and answering calls from bosses on your smartphone after hours constitute work that should be compensated? A lawsuit winding its way through federal court in Chicago says that it does.

Chicago police Sgt. Jeffrey Allen claims in the suit that the city owes him and fellow officers overtime pay for work performed on department-requisitioned BlackBerry phones. If the plaintiffs eventually prevail, it could mean millions of dollars in back pay.

The issue impacts workers everywhere, Allen’s lawyer said Wednesday after a hearing in the case.

Chicago cops argue in lawsuit they deserve overtime for answering calls, scanning emails

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County To Pay $20M To Settle Lawsuit Over Boy’s Brain Damage

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Jeffrey Friedman, P.C.

brain injuryFebruary 5, 2013 5:37 PM

CHICAGO (CBS) – The Cook County Board has approved a $20 million settlement for the family of a toddler who suffered severe brain damage after surgery at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports, without a word of discussion or debate, county commissioners agreed to settle the medical malpractice lawsuit filed by the Justine Francique, whose son Keith suffered cardiac arrest after surgery at Stroger Hospital in December 2011 to repair an undescended testicle.

It took five minutes before medical personnel to notice Keith’s heart had stopped, and perform CPR.

County To Pay $20M To Settle Lawsuit Over Boy’s Brain Damage

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$109 million personal-injury award in Western Pennsylvania offers insight into tort system

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Jeffrey Friedman, P.C.

Feb. 04–When Carrie Goretzka’s two young girls ran out onto the porch of their suburban home 30 miles east of Pittsburgh in the late afternoon on June 2, 2009, what they saw was a scene of unrelenting horror.

“Mommy, Mommy,” yelled the oldest child, 4-year-old Chloe. “Mommy is on fire. Mommy is on fire.”

Moments earlier, Carrie Goretzka had stepped outside her home in Irwin, Pa., to call the power company to report an outage and downed line on her property. She either stumbled into the line or it fell on top of her — no one knows for sure.

$109 million personal-injury award in Western Pennsylvania offers insight into tort system [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

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“Sexually Suggestive” Exercises Center of LA Fitness Lawsuit

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Jeffrey Friedman, P.C.

PLANO (CBS 11 NEWS) – A Dallas woman has filed suit against L-A Fitness for comments and exercises her trainers made her do. She says they were sexually suggestive.

You would think the suit filed would be for sexual harassment. But no, Chase Laws, the attorney who filed it, said that would be for the workplace.

Instead, he filed a suit for Deceptive Trade Practices and Negligence. He reasons, as a consumer, the woman signed a contract. She lived up to her end of the bargain. L-A Fitness didn’t live up to theirs by providing a safe workout environment.

“Sexually Suggestive” Exercises Center of LA Fitness Lawsuit

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Radio host charged in $10 million mortgage fraud

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Jeffrey Friedman, P.C.

By Annie Sweeney Tribune reporter 6:16 p.m. CST, January 28, 2013

A south suburban attorney and national radio host who bills himself as the “people’s attorney” has been charged in a $10 million mortgage fraud scheme, federal officials announced today.

Warren Ballentine was indicted last week by a federal grand jury for defrauding lenders by scheming with others to obtain nearly 30 bogus mortgage loans, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago.

Ballentine is listed on WSRB 106.3 FM’s Web site as being on the air Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. He also is listed WVON Radio’s web site as hosting a show from 3 to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday. His own Website describes him as “The People’s Attorney” and listed the name on his email address as “truthfighters.”

Radio host charged in $10 million mortgage fraud

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Former Harvey cop gets $600,000 in federal lawsuit

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Jeffrey Friedman, P.C.

BY KIM JANSSEN Federal Courts Reporter kjanssen@suntimes.com January 24, 2013 4:25PM

A Harvey cop who was forced to patrol in an unsafe squad car without his K-9 partner as revenge for his political opposition to Mayor Eric Kellogg was awarded $600,000 in damages Thursday by a federal jury.

Former police officer Alex Gbur was shot at by a gang member on the night of Sept. 26, 2006, but couldn’t call for help because the decrepit squad car he was assigned had a broken radio. Just hours later, Metra police officer Thomas Cook was killed in the high-crime south suburb — allegedly by the same gunman.

An emotional Gbur testified at trial he was ordered to work without his police dog, and to take the “deathtrap” squad car, in retaliation for backing the mayoral campaign of Kellogg rival Marion Beck, and for giving evidence to a Department of Justice probe of racism within the Harvey Police Department.

Former Harvey cop gets $600,000 in federal lawsuit

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The Drawn Out Process of the Medical Lawsuit

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Jeffrey Friedman, P.C.

Medical PhotographyBy PAULINE W. CHEN, M.D.

She was one of the most highly sought radiologists in her hospital, a doctor with the uncanny ability to divine the source of maladies from the shadows of black and white X-ray films.

But one afternoon my colleague revealed that she had been named in a lawsuit, accused of overlooking an irregularity on a scan several years earlier. The plaintiff suing believed my colleague had missed the first sign of a now rampant cancer.

While other radiologists tried to assure her that the “irregularity” was well within what might be considered normal, my colleague became consumed by the what-if’s. What if she had lingered longer on the fateful film? What if she had doubled-checked her reading before signing off on the report?

The Drawn Out Process of the Medical Lawsuit

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Woman Sues Match.com For $10M After Getting Matched With Murder Suspect Who Brutally Attacked Her

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Jeffrey Friedman, P.C.

LAS VEGAS (CBS Las Vegas/AP) — An online dating service says a Las Vegas woman has no legal basis for her lawsuit seeking $10 million after she was matched with a man who hid in her garage and brutally attacked her.

Mary Kay Beckman filed suit in U.S. District Court on Friday accusing Match.com of failing to disclose dangers of online dating.

She said she’d known Wade Ridley only eight days when she broke up with him in September 2010. Four months later he stabbed her 10 times.

Woman Sues Match.com For $10M After Getting Matched With Murder Suspect Who Brutally Attacked Her

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