The Village of Bellwood, Illinois thought it wanted seven private properties for its own. Bellwood condemned the properties and brought an eminent domain case against the property owners. All of the parties agreed to an amount the property owners would be paid by Bellwood for the properties. The trial court…
This case involved John Crane, Inc.’s claim for insurance coverage, and the insurers’ counterclaim against Crane. The insurers persuaded the trial court to dismiss Crane’s complaint. Two days later, Crane appealed the dismissal. Then CNA, one of the insurers, asked the trial court to vacate or modify the dismissal order…
David Hammer was executor of Ronald Weeks’s estate. Hammer hired Thomas Brucker as an attorney to assist in the administration of the estate. Hammer ($120,000) and Brucker ($170,000) paid themselves based on a percentage of the estate’s value. Weeks left one-fourth of his estate to a New York-based charity. The…
Leon Aylward claimed his doctor, Michael Settecase, and the medical clinic that employed him, failed to timely diagnose Aylward’s lung cancer. After Aylward sued them for malpractice, the clinic asked the trial court for permission to talk to other clinic employees who had been involved with Aylward’s treatment, but had…
Three corporate taxpayers disputed the amount of property taxes they owed Cook County, Illinois. So they sued the county collector for refunds plus interest. The taxpayers settled the property valuation part of their disputes, but left the interest issues (power to award, rate, and period the interest accumulated) for the…
John O’Brien sued his wife for divorce. The case was transferred to a second trial judge. About one year after that transfer, John claimed the trial judge was biased. So John asked for a substitution of judge. The request for another judge was denied. John appealed from the trial court’s…
Michael and Rose A’Hearn divorced in 2006. But their lawsuit did not end there. About two years later, Michael filed for two rules to show cause, complaining that Rose was interfering with Michael’s visitation and that she was engaging in immoral behavior. After mediation, Michael and Rose agreed on communication…
Sheila and Marissa Brown were witnesses to a homicide. In mid-December 2009 they were subpoenaed to testify to a grand jury just six days later. But the Browns said they did not have time to effectively communicate with a lawyer before the grand jury proceeding, and that they had previously…
Marc and Mary Simon bought a condominium from Palmolive Tower Condominium before Palmolive finished constructing the building. The Simons were unhappy with Palmolive’s performance, and refused to release the money being held in escrow for Palmolive. So Palmolive sued the Simons, and the Simons counterclaimed for breach of contract and…
David Wilson was in custody on a warrant for two felonies. A police detective shot Wilson while he was in an interview room at the Chicago police headquarters. Wilson sued the city and the detective. After trial, a jury ruled in favor of the city and the detective. Within 30…