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JMF Law > IL
22 April
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Governor Pritzker Grants Civil Immunity to Health Workers Treating COVID Patients

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in IL

On April 1, 2020, Illinois Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-19 granting broad immunities from civil liability to those working in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Executive Order applies to “health care facilities, health care professionals, and health care volunteers” who are assisting the state in its response to the coronavirus outbreak. Governor Pritzker issued the order to protect health care workers and facilities from civil liability for injuries or deaths during Corona Virus Pandemic. The Executive Order does not provide for absolute immunity.  Workers and facilities can still be face civil liability if “such injury or death...

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02 April
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National Origin Discrimination.

Posted by editor
in Chicago, IL
Chicago IL National Origin Discrimination

Our office is pleased to announce that we recently resolved a race discrimination case on behalf of three clients. Our clients reached a confidential settlement with their former employer, after bringing a lawsuit alleging discrimination based on their Hispanic national origin. Our clients claimed that after years of excellent job performance at their jobs, a new manager was brought in who adversely treated them because of their Hispanic origin. The employees alleged that shortly after the new manager was hired, the terms and conditions of their employment at the company changed, and they experienced a hostile work environment. The employees also...

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05 March
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The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act (INHCA)

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in IL

The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act (INHCA) provides basic and fundamental rights for nursing home residents throughout the state of Illinois. In particular, residents Illinois nursing homes are provided with protection from abuse, neglect and serious mistreatment. Under the INHCA, nursing home residents maintain the same rights that they have if they were a private citizen living at home. New residents should be informed upon their arrival of their spousal impoverishment rights as defined in the Illinois Public Aid Code. Residents maintain the right to use their personal property as they wish, and retain the services of their own personal physician...

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27 February
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Workers in Illinois are protected against being sexually harassed in the workplace

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in IL, Sexual Harassment

Workers in Illinois are protected against being sexually harassed in the workplace by both state law and federal law. These laws provide that employees are entitled to a safe work environment, free from sexual assault or harassment. If sexual harassment occurs in the workplace, victims may recover monetary damages for emotional damages, and other damages, such as losing their job, if they leave their job because of a hostile environment. On August 9, 2019, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed SB 75, enhancing the protection of employees and requiring that employers give interactive training about sexual harassment in the workplace. This move towards...

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23 February
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Facebook to Pay a $550 million Settlement

Posted by editor
in Class Action, IL
biometric information

Photo license: Piqsels CC0 public domain Facebook recently agreed to pay a $550 million settlement to the plaintiffs in a high profile class action lawsuit brought against the social media network. This lawsuit arose out of Facebook’s alleged violation of an Illinois statute, the Biometric Information Privacy Act, commonly known as BIPA. BIPA is a consumer privacy statute enacted by the Illinois legislature in 2008. The purpose of the act is to require companies and corporations that obtain, use and store biometric data of their employees to do so only with the prior consent of their employees. Biometric data is a general term...

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05 October
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McDonald’s Facing Multiple Complaints of Sexual Harassment

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in Chicago, IL

  Sexual harassment can occur at any place of employment – be it a small family-owned business or a big, multi-national company. It can happen at a private firm or a government agency. One thing is for certain -- there are laws that protect victims of sexual harassment and it is not something that an employee has to tolerate. Take McDonald’s for example. As recently reported, over the last month, 15 separate complaints have been filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against McDonald’s, alleging sexual harassment. The sexual harassment ranged from inappropriate physical touching (e.g. groping) to lewd comments to offers...

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10 August
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Sexual Harassment on the Job

Posted by editor
in Chicago

We are frequently contacted by individuals who describe inappropriate and often vulgar conduct that they have experienced at work.  They inquire as to whether we believe they have a valid claim for sexual harassment.  In many instances, we have to advise them that we cannot assist them, despite the fact they have experienced highly offensive conduct at their job.  Here is why. Generally, prevailing in a case for sexual harassment rarely hinges on whether the conduct experienced by the employee qualifies as sexual harassment.  Often, that is obvious, and in many instances the employee has corroborating witnesses, or emails, photographs, screen...

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01 August
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Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

Posted by editor
in Chicago

Getting older is a fact of life, and for many, nursing homes eventually become their new homes. And while living in a nursing home might be as inevitable as aging, you can take certain measures to ensure that all reasonable safeguards are in place at the nursing home and that you are getting reasonable and adequate care. Nursing homes in Illinois are regulated by the Nursing Home Care Act (210 ILCS 45/1-101, et seq.) and the Illinois Administrative Code (42 CFR §483).  If a nursing home or those who work there violate these regulations and standards causing harm to a resident,...

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07 August
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Lawsuit says SIU student killed by someone who gave him ride

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in Carbondale

By Adam Sege, Tribune reporter The mother of a Southern Illinois University student found dead in February alleges in a lawsuit that the 19-year-old was beaten to death by someone who had given him a ride after a party. Pravin Varughese was found dead in a wooded area near Carbondale on Feb. 18, six days after he was last seen leaving the party about three miles away, according to authorities. An autopsy by the Jackson County coroner’s office concluded that Varughese died of hypothermia, with no evidence of foul play. But in a second autopsy commissioned by the student's family, an independent forensic...

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06 August
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Pizzeria owner wins millions in unusual lawsuit against village

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in Mount Prospect

Mount Prospect has agreed to a $6.5 million settlement that will end an unusual lawsuit filed by a restaurant owner who sued the village using a federal law more commonly used to bust organized crime. 1928 The village board on Tuesday night approved the settlement with the owner of Ye Olde Town Inn, Tod Curtis, who has run the pizzeria for more than 40 years, said one of his lawyers, Riccardo DiMonte. Under the agreement, the village and its insurer will pay $6.5 million, $2 million of which will go toward attorney fees and legal costs. The village will pay $439,002 and...

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06 August
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Chicago lawyer faces sanctions for suit against Malaysia Airlines

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in Chicago, IL

By Steve Schmadeke A Chicago aviation lawyer who made international news when she filed the first court action shortly after a Malaysia Airlines jet vanished earlier this year now faces sanctions from Illinois’ attorney disciplinary agency for filing the allegedly frivolous case. Monica Kelly held a heavily publicized news conference in Kuala Lumpur in March to announce she’d filed a petition alleging that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had experienced a catastrophic mechanical failure before plunging into the southern Indian Ocean, killing all 239 passengers and crew on board. A complaint made public Tuesday by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission alleged that...

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29 July
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Chicago cop wins $540K suit against sergeant accused of taunting him

Posted by editor
in Chicago

Retired Chicago Police Sgt. Lawrence C. Knasiak was twice commended by the city council for his “dedication, professionalism and personal sacrifice” during a nearly 30-year career with the department. Apparently that sense of civic duty didn’t extend to cops he supervised, including a Jewish officer Knasiak allegedly called a “bloodsucking parasite,” the Sun-Times is reporting. On Monday, a federal jury awarded $540,000 to that officer, who was supervised by Knasiak in a Southwest Side police district from 2000 to 2007. Chicago cop wins $540K suit against sergeant accused of taunting him...

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25 July
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Man injured during team-building drill: lawsuit

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in Aurora, Oakbrook Terrace

By Christy Gutowski Tribune reporter 6:40 p.m. CDT, July 24, 2014 It was supposed to be a workplace exercise to build mutual respect, understanding and empathy between co-workers of an Addison fire safety company. Instead, according to a DuPage County lawsuit, one employee experienced “pain and suffering in body and mind” when he fell to the floor after being “propelled” into the air during what was supposed to be a team-building event. Antonio Gonzalez filed the suit earlier this month against Guardian Quest, an Aurora business management consulting firm that held the “diversity inclusion” training workshop two summers ago in an Oakbrook Terrace...

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23 July
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Family of Drowned Brothers Plans $60 Million Lawsuit

Posted by editor
in Chicago

A law firm representing the family of two Gary boys who drowned in an excavation pit in Hobart last month plans to file a $60 million lawsuit. Terrion Smith, 8, and Donel Smith, 9, fell into the pond at 4040 Missouri St. on June 14. According to the NWI Times, Chicago law firm Kelley Witherspoon LLP is representing the family in the planned lawsuit against property owner Randy Goldschmidt and Goldschmidt Construction Services. Family of Drowned Brothers Plans $60 Million Lawsuit...

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22 July
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Suburban school district seeks dismissal of bullying lawsuit

Posted by editor
in IL, St. Charles

By Stephanie K. Baer Tribune reporter 3:31 p.m. CDT, July 10, 2014 St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 recently filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former student who alleges the district did nothing to stop fellow drill team members from repeatedly bullying her. The suit, filed with the Kane County Circuit Court in April, claims that district staff "knew or should have known" that she was verbally and physically bullied, harassed and hazed by fellow drill team members after being diagnosed with ADHD in summer 2010. At one point in January 2011, another teammate "slapped Plaintiff in the face,"...

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22 July
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Newspapers Move to Unseal Chicago’s Opioid Lawsuit

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in Chicago

The Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today have moved to intervene in the lawsuit the city of Chicago is prosecuting against pharmaceutical companies over the epidemic of opioid painkiller abuse. The three newspapers want to intervene to unseal redacted portions of the city's complaint and to access documents the City of Chicago Law Department obtained from the defendants and from third-party American Pain Foundation prior to filing its lawsuit, according to a filing by Jeffrey I. Cummings, of Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C., in Chicago. The city said it was redacting all references in its complaint to information the...

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22 July
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Homeless Man’s Lawsuit: Joliet Cops Drove Him To Small Town, Dumped Him During Winter Freeze

Posted by editor
in Joliet

Mike Parker (CBS) – Brian Davidson is a homeless man who panhandles on the streets of Joliet. Because of that, he says police have harassed, ticketed him and intimidated him time after time. He recalls one night in December when he had a run-in with two police officers downtown. “Next thing I know, they’re handcuffing me,they throw me in the back of the car and said they’re taking me for a ride,” Davidson tells CBS 2’s Mike Parker. Homeless Man’s Lawsuit: Joliet Cops Drove Him To Small Town, Dumped Him During Winter Freeze...

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19 July
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When the Boss Says, ‘Don’t Tell Your Coworkers How Much You Get Paid’

Posted by editor
in IL

Under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA), all workers have the right to engage “concerted activity for mutual aid or protection” and “organize a union to negotiate with [their] employer concerning [their] wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.” In six states, including my home state of Illinois, the law even more explicitly protects the rights of workers to discuss their pay. This is true whether the employers make their threats verbally or on paper and whether the consequences are firing or merely some sort of cold shoulder from management. My managers at the coffee shop seemed to...

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16 July
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Naperville student sued for striking pedestrians in driver’s ed class

Posted by editor
in Naperville

By Christy Gutowski Tribune reporter 2:02 p.m. CDT, July 15, 2014 A Naperville teen who struck two pedestrians during a driver’s education class last year has been named in a recent lawsuit. The student is accused in a DuPage County lawsuit of striking a teen and her friend last July 12, 2013 in Naperville. The suit also names the father of the motorist, since she is a minor, and Indian Prairie School District 204, which owns the vehicle involved in the accident. According to the police report, the 15-year-old Waubonsie Valley High School student had just made a right turn when she “somehow...

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14 July
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Mom sues third-grader and parents for alleged bullying

Posted by editor
in Mount Prospect

A suburban mother has filed a lawsuit claiming an elementary-school student bullied and beat up her son, a third-grader at the same Mount Prospect school. In the lawsuit, which also identifies the boy as a plaintiff, Deveri Del Core, claims there was "continuous" bullying of her son throughout the 2013-14 school year. The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court Tuesday said the boy was hit, punched, choked, elbowed, kicked, pushed, tripped and spat on on a weekly basis by another student. Both were third-grade students at Robert Frost Elementary School in Mount Prospect, although the two boys were in different classes. The...

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14 July
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Father Trapped in County Jail Considers Lawsuit

Posted by editor
in Chicago, IL

Man seeks surveillance footage and witness statements from jail A man who was trapped in a room for more than 30 hours while trying to visit his son at Cook County Jail over the weekend is seeking surveillance footage and witness statements ahead of a potential lawsuit against the county. Farad Polk visited the jail early Saturday evening to see his son, who shares the same name, according to the petition for discovery filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court. His son had been transferred from the Division 11 holding area at 3015 S. Calfornia Blvd. to Division 9 -- an area he’d...

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01 July
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Chicago files suit against major narcotics makers

Posted by editor
in Chicago

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] The City of Chicago has filed suit against five of the world's largest narcotics manufacturers. (Getty Images / June 2, 2014)[/caption] By Peter Frost Tribune staff reporter 8:29 a.m. CDT, June 3, 2014 The City of Chicago has filed suit against five of the world’s largest narcotics manufacturers, accusing the companies of concealing the health risks associated with a class of potent painkillers in order to boost profits. Filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Monday, the suit contends the drugmakers violated city ordinances and other laws against false advertising, conspiracy, insurance fraud and consumer fraud by "knowingly and...

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01 July
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Why Former Bears tackle Keith Van Horne is Suing the NFL

Posted by editor
in Chicago, IL

Former Bears tackle Keith Van Horne is battling heart conditions and bouts of extreme dizziness. He blames team doctors for issuing excessive doses of painkillers and no warning about the risks Three weeks ago, another lawsuit was directed at the NFL. Eight retired players were named in a class-action complaint (Marcellus Wiley was later added as a ninth) alleging that the league is responsible for fostering a culture of drug misuse that led to long-term health issues and personal losses for players over several decades. The 85-page filing details teams’ practices of distributing narcotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and local anesthetics without disclosing...

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01 July
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‘Dixmoor 5′ Settle Lawsuit Against State Police For $40M

Posted by editor
in Dixmoor, IL

Mike Krauser CHICAGO (CBS) – Five men wrongfully convicted of rape and murder in the infamous “Dixmoor 5” case have agreed to settle their federal lawsuit against Illinois State Police for $40 million. WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports attorneys for James Harden, Jonathan Barr, Robert Taylor, Robert Veal, and Shainne Sharp planned to formally announce the settlement agreement on Wednesday. The men were imprisoned as teenagers after they were convicted for the 1991 rape and murder of 14-year-old Cateresa Matthews, who disappeared after leaving her grandmother’s home on Nov. 19, 1991. Her body was found weeks later in a field near Interstate 57....

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01 July
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Wrigley rooftops lose defamation lawsuit

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in Chicago, IL

A Cook County judge has thrown out a defamation lawsuit filed by owners of several Wrigley Field rooftop buildings against sports consultant Marc Ganis. Circuit Judge William Gomolinski ruled today that Mr. Ganis' words were constitutionally protected free expression and that they did not damage owners' ability to do business. The judge dismissed a case in which 18 rooftop owners alleged that the SportsCorp Ltd. president made false statements to the Chicago Sun-Times about their relationship with the Chicago Cubs. "This is a total and complete rebuke of the rooftop owners in their lawsuit against me," Mr. Ganis said today, going a...

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01 July
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Husband of Chicago bicyclist fatally struck files lawsuit

Posted by editor
in Chicago, IL

By Mitch Smith Tribune reporter 7:28 p.m. CDT, June 26, 2014 The husband of a bicyclist killed in a hit-and-run collision on the South Side last month is suing the driver charged with driving the van that killed the man's wife. Su Ai Xie died May 29 just minutes after a vehicle hit her in the Bridgeport neighborhood and continued on its way, officials said at the time. Two hours after the crash, police arrested Gabriel Herrera, 65. Witnesses wrote down the license plate number of the van that hit Xie, prosecutors said, and police found the vehicle parked just around the corner...

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16 August
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Ex-Daley security officers sue over transfers

Posted by editor
in Chicago, IL

Replacements had worked for Emanuel's campaign, cops allege By Annie Sweeney, Chicago Tribune reporter 6:51 a.m. CDT, August 16, 2012 Eleven Chicago police officers who were removed from Mayor Rahm Emanuel's security detail when he took office have filed a federal lawsuit alleging they were replaced by officers who had volunteered on the mayor's campaign. The officers, who are white or Hispanic, also alleged discrimination, saying African-American officers on the detail with less seniority were not demoted at the time. The lawsuit contended that police Cmdr. Brian Thompson, in charge of the security detail, and the city violated Chicago's decades-old Shakman decree, which prohibits...

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