Illinois

  • March 28, 2024

    Disney Shareholder Demands To See Books Amid Board Row

    An affiliate of Walt Disney Co. shareholder Blackwells Capital on Thursday asked Delaware's Court of the Chancery to force Disney to open its books and records as the investor looks into potential wrongdoing and mismanagement stemming from the entertainment giant's dealings with ValueAct Capital.

  • March 28, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Adds Longtime Kirkland Litigator In Chicago

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP's office in Chicago has added a 24-year veteran of Kirkland & Ellis LLP who litigates intellectual property, high-profile torts and product liability matters, the firm announced this week.

  • March 28, 2024

    Investors' Compliance Class Action Falls Short, Discover Says

    Allegedly misleading statements on compliance and risk management protocols from Discover Financial Services' top brass were "aspirational" remarks about general practices, the company argued Thursday in seeking to end a proposed securities class action in Illinois federal court.

  • March 28, 2024

    Prolific Consumer Atty Beats Fireball Maker's Sanctions Bid

    An Illinois federal judge has declined to sanction a prolific plaintiffs' attorney over alcoholic beverage company Sazerac Co. Inc.'s allegations the attorney sues without regard to the facts and law, saying the complaint "was not entirely baseless" and the suit was dropped within a "safe harbor" period under civil procedure rules.

  • March 28, 2024

    Judge Rejects Amazon's Bid To 'Backpedal' In BIPA Suit

    A Delaware federal judge will allow more plaintiffs to join a proposed class action accusing Amazon of violating Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act by collecting their voice data during calls to a financial services provider without consent, overriding the tech giant's apparent attempt to backtrack on standing concerns by instead seeking summary judgment.

  • March 28, 2024

    United Airlines Beats Class Cert. Bid In COVID Refund Suit

    Passengers who say United Airlines used the COVID-19 pandemic as cover for refusing to reimburse them for cost-cutting cancelations cannot pursue their case as a class because their claims turn on too many individual questions, an Illinois federal judge determined Wednesday.

  • March 28, 2024

    Claims Trimmed In Trader Joe's Chocolate Heavy Metals Suit

    A California judge has dismissed five out of nine claims in a consolidated complaint alleging that Trader Joe's Co. misled consumers by failing to disclose that its dark chocolate bars contain heavy metals, finding that the complaint doesn't do enough to allege that the amounts are actually dangerous.

  • March 28, 2024

    7th Circ. Judge Doubts Rep.'s Standing In Mail-In Ballot Fight

    A Seventh Circuit judge on Thursday questioned the standing of an Illinois Republican congressman challenging a state law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to two weeks after an election, suggesting his alleged injury of expending campaign resources to monitor the delayed vote count may be "hypothetical and speculative in nature."

  • March 28, 2024

    Investors Strike $42.5M Deal In Brookfield-GGP Merger Suit

    Brookfield Property Partners LP has reached a tentative $42.5 million deal to bring an end to a yearslong battle with stockholders who alleged they were given misleading information about the global real estate company's 2018 acquisition of U.S. mall operator GGP Inc.

  • March 28, 2024

    Judge Nixes Aviation Atty's Defamation Suit Against Blogger

    A Connecticut federal judge has permanently dismissed a defamation suit brought by an aviation attorney against a Connecticut-based blogger and journalist, stating the claims are barred by the state's statutes of limitations and cannot be saved by equitable tolling arguments based on federal law.

  • March 27, 2024

    Justices Poised To Expand Repeat Offenders' Jury Trial Rights

    The U.S. Supreme Court appeared likely Wednesday to agree with the Biden administration and the criminal defense bar that repeat offenders have a constitutional right to let a jury decide if past offenses were sufficiently distinct to trigger lengthy prison terms under a prominent sentencing enhancement.

  • March 27, 2024

    DC Circuit Upholds NLRB Firing Decision Despite Legal Shift

    The D.C. Circuit upheld an NLRB ruling that a Cadillac dealer illegally fired a worker even though the board changed the applicable precedent during the appeal, saying Wednesday that the long-running case appears to shake out the same under either version of the shifting standard for worker outbursts.

  • March 27, 2024

    T-Mobile Can Appeal Refusal To Toss Sprint Merger Case

    An Illinois federal court granted T-Mobile's request on Wednesday to immediately appeal a ruling refusing to toss a proposed class action from AT&T and Verizon subscribers who have alleged their prices increased because of T-Mobile's 2020 merger with Sprint.

  • March 27, 2024

    Sotomayor 'Annoyed' By Supreme Court's Focus On History

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor seemed to release some pent-up frustration Wednesday over the court's increasing focus on history and tradition when reviewing constitutional disputes, suggesting the method frequently used by the court's more conservative members isn't foolproof.

  • March 27, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Caps $7M Verdict While Clarifying Foreign Damages

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday rejected Trading Technologies' attempt to increase its $6.6 million patent infringement win against IBG LLC, in an opinion focusing on how to apply a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on foreign damages.

  • March 27, 2024

    Casino Beats Suit Over Diabetic Customer's Fall

    A now-shuttered floating casino that was moored in Lake Michigan can't be held liable for the fall of a longtime patron who injured her hip after tripping in a hallway that connected two boats, an Illinois federal court has ruled, finding the patron couldn't support any element of her premises liability claim.

  • March 27, 2024

    Imprisoned Bitcoin Fraudster Fights Loss Amount At 7th Circ.

    A Nigerian man serving eight years in prison for carrying out an $8 million bitcoin fraud scheme told the Seventh Circuit on Wednesday that he should be resentenced because a lower court incorrectly considered $46 million in intended losses while determining his sentencing range.

  • March 27, 2024

    Ill. Court Revives Med Mal Suit Over Gauze Left In Sinus

    An Illinois appeals court has revived a woman's suit against her doctor and SIU Physicians & Surgeons Inc. over gauze that she alleges was negligently left in her sinuses after a procedure, finding there's a factual dispute over when the woman found out about the gauze.

  • March 27, 2024

    Everbridge Investor Seeks To Block $1.8B Thoma Bravo Deal

    A shareholder in Massachusetts-based emergency management platform Everbridge Inc. is asking a state court to intervene in a pending $1.8 billion acquisition by private equity firm Thoma Bravo LP, alleging in a Wednesday lawsuit that investors are being misled about the true value of shares and the motives of those promoting the deal.

  • March 27, 2024

    NCAA President Calls For Nationwide Ban On Prop Bets

    NCAA President Charlie Baker on Wednesday called for all states to ban prop bets on college sports, pointing to reports of harassment of college and pro athletes over such bets, and saying he aims to "protect student-athletes and to protect the integrity of the game."

  • March 26, 2024

    Pharmacy Owner Gets 42 Months For $25M Kickback Scam

    A medical equipment pharmacy owner was sentenced to 42 months in prison Tuesday for carrying out a $25 million kickback scheme with a patient-leads broker as part of a scheme to falsely bill the federal government for care.

  • March 26, 2024

    Wells Fargo Unit Can Send $500M Fund Plunge Suit To NY

    An Illinois federal judge said Wells Fargo Securities LLC can transfer to New York federal court a suit accusing it of losing at least $500 million of a hedge fund's value in a wrong-way bet on the markets, since an identical class action is currently pending there.

  • March 26, 2024

    Mitsubishi Seeks $88.9M From Canadian Truck Sellers In US

    Mitsubishi's commercial financing arm has asked federal judges in Connecticut, Illinois and New York to issue at least $89 million in judgments against two individuals in Canada, saying the men in question breached promises to stand behind credit lines extended to two companies that sell tractor trailers and lease equipment.

  • March 26, 2024

    Conagra Can't Sink Sustainable Fishing False Ad Suit

    An Illinois federal judge trimmed but refused to toss a proposed class action claiming Conagra Brands Inc. deceptively labels its seafood products as sustainable when the fish is sourced with methods harmful to oceans, saying the customers have sufficiently alleged the phrase "Good for the Environment" is deceptive.

  • March 26, 2024

    Opioid Public Nuisance Claims 'Unique,' Ohio High Court Told

    Counsel for two Ohio counties that won a $650 million verdict against Walmart, CVS and Walgreens told the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday that opioids are a "unique" problem during oral arguments about whether the counties' public nuisance claims are blocked by the state's product liability law.

Expert Analysis

  • What Rescheduling Could Mean For Cannabis Bankruptcies

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    Bankruptcy courts have historically been closed for cannabis-related businesses, but recent case law coupled with a possible reclassification of cannabis provides cautious optimism, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • Examining The Arbitration Clause Landscape Amid Risks

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    Amid a new wave of mass arbitrations, recent developments in the courts and from the American Arbitration Association suggest that companies should improve arbitration clause drafting to protect themselves against big-ticket settlements and avoid major potential liability, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Bankruptcy Ruling Stresses Value Of Client Communication

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    A recent Illinois bankruptcy ruling, which found that attorneys violated their ethical obligations by failing to return their client’s phone calls, serves as a strong reminder that counsel should promptly respond to their clients and ensure they know what’s required by local rules, say Maxwell Weiss and Daniel Lowenthal at Patterson Belknap.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year

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    As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.

  • AI In Performance Management: Mitigating Employer Risk

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    Companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence tools in performance management, exposing organizations to significant risks, which they can manage through employee training, bias assessments, and comprehensive policies and procedures related to the new technology, say Gregory Brown and Cindy Huang at Jackson Lewis.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from consumer fraud to employment — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including coercive communications with putative class members and Article III standing at the class certification stage.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • 11th Circ. FMLA Ruling Deepens Divide Over Causation

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent ruling in Lapham v. Walgreen distinguishes the circuit as the loudest advocate for the but-for causation standard for assessing Family and Medical Leave Act retaliation claims, though employers in other jurisdictions may encounter less favorable standards and the U.S. Supreme Court will likely have to address the circuit split eventually, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Golf Course Copyright Bill Implications Go Beyond The Green

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    A new federal bill, the BIRDIE Act, introduced in February would extend intellectual property protections to golf course designers but could undercut existing IP case law and raise broader questions about the scope of copyright protection for works that involve living elements or nonhuman authorship, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • BIPA's Statutory Exemptions Post-Healthcare Ruling

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    The Illinois Supreme Court's November opinion in Mosby v. Ingalls Memorial Hospital, which held that the Biometric Information Privacy Act's healthcare exemption also applies when information is collected from healthcare workers, is a major win for healthcare defendants that resolves an important question of statutory interpretation, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

  • Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims

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    Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

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