Two Chicago police officers who arrested a man filling up his tires at a gas station air pump were found liable for violating that man's civil rights by wrongfully arresting him. The facts speak for themselves, but it must be noted that the Chicago Tribune observes that the City's Corporate Counsel failed to settle this case despite some very unsettling facts, including the fact the Chicago police officers changed their story regarding the Plaintiff and they both failed to appear at the aggravated battery hearing for the Plaintiff.
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Initially one set of parents, but later more, have come forth with lawsuits alleging that Maine West High School in Des Plaines, IL either knew or should have known about widespread sexually abusive hazing practices on the baseball and soccer teams.
Graphic details aside, the allegations, if true, would pose serious liability on the school district as well as the individuals accused. Schools, especially colleges, have been found liable for damages in hazing incidents. It would be prudent for any organization that involves its employees with children develop clear enforced guidelines on the extent and quantity of contact allowed as well as the nature of the supervision. Look for many schools to take note of this lawsuit and promulgate specific rules if they have not done so already. Stepping in the shoes of their injured insured, Great Northern Insurance Co. filed suit against Cellar Advisors, a wine moving company hired to move a portion of a wealthy family's wine collection from Illinois to Florida in climate controlled containers. The Chicago Tribune notes that: In June 2012, D. Gideon Searle hired St. Louis-based Cellar to transport the couple's wine collection, held in a Des Plaines warehouse, in refrigerated carriers to a Naples, Fla., wine cellar. The wine to be transported was valued at $2 million. The CTA approved a $5.45 million settlement for the estate of a woman who was run over by a 152 Addison bus when she was trying to remove her bicycle from the front of the bus. The CTA approved the settlement because its bus driver was negligent when he failed to look in front of the bus for anyone, especially a passenger that had just alighted.
Blessed with qualified immunity and tort immunity generally, the City and its employees often hide behind either a blue wall of silence, like the Chicago Police has thrown up regarding the off-duty cop body slamming a female bartender, but also the City's Corporation counsel as is the case where the Chicago Police arrested a mentally ill California woman in Midway Airport and detained and released her into a south side neighborhood where she was eventually raped and fell off a building, ending up horribly injured. The CPD failed to adhere to department protocol related to the treatment of mentally suspect offenders and ignored clear evidence and fellow colleague appraisals regarding the mental health of the plaintiff.
The ACLU confirmed its latest victory in Illinois when Judge Hyman approved its settlement agreement with the Illinois Department of Public Health regarding the Department's prior policy of mandating gender reassignment surgery before it would consider reissuing changed birth certificates reflecting the applicant's new gender.
No loving parent can stand by without acting when their child is harmed. No parent should have to tolerate that. When parents hire caregivers for their children, parents, or themselves, that caregiver is entrusted with a near sacred duty to preserve the health, dignity, and vitality of a loved one. When that duty is breached, the harm can be tremendous in both physical pain, but also emotional turmoil.
The Chicago Tribune reports that a Colorado resident has won a $7.2 million judgment against a Central Illinois microwavable popcorn manufacturer and distributors of the product. This product liability action resembles the litigation over mesothelioma due to asbestos from the 1960s and on. In this case, the chemical in the fake butter in microwavable popcorn has led to a serious lung issue in one user who consumed massive quantities of the product.
Business owners need to understand how the law can protect them against competitors and insulate them from customer lawsuits. To reinforce this lesson, consider Beef Products, Inc., a closely held South Dakota company that faced severe consequences from negative reports regarding their processed beef product. When businesses are losing money stemming from interference with existing or future business relationships, business should contact a business attorney who can look at all of their options to remedy this threat and mitigate harm, including through litigation.
The Wall Street Journal, among others, is reporting that Beef Products Inc., , has sued ABC for defamation, tortious interference with contract (business relationship), and a state anti-food disparagement statute, among other claims. The beef company also named Diana Sawyer, who reported on the story for ABC and microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein, who as a USDA food inspector investigating a food bacteria outbreak in 2002 toured a BPI plant and coined the term "pink slime" to describe their product. BPI is suing these defendants for $1.20 billion, representing lost profits stemming from the alleged defamatory reporting and characterization of their product. Debt collectors are getting even more aggressive in the wake of the Great Financial Collapse of 2008. As more and more Americans lose their jobs, homes, and livelihoods, debt collectors have expanded their "playbook" to collect on the debts created by the moribund economic state.
The Chicago Tribune has posted an article describing the aggressive, and often illegal, tactics that debt collectors have employed since 2008. Some states, such as California, are pushing back through lawsuits, both public and private, as well as proposed new state laws to counter some of the more egregious tactics, including harassing phone calls, intimidation, and a flood of lawsuits where they mostly obtain judgments by default and seek to enforce their judgments by freezing assets or garnishing wages (if any). |
AuthorRishi Nair owns Nair Law LLC and practices as Of Counsel at Keener and Associates, P.C. Archives
October 2013
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