Deck hand alleges injuries from computer cooler after collision with barge

March 7, 2017, 11:53 am

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EAST ST. LOUIS — An East Carondelet man is suing a towing vessel operator after a tugboat captain allegedly collided with a barge, causing a computer cooler to strike him.

Christopher Bryan filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Inland Marine Services, alleging the towing vessel operator failed to provide a seaworthy vessel.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Oct. 2, 2014, he was employed as a deck hand working aboard the defendant's tugboat, the Cindy L. He claims the rear of the boat got caught underneath a barge, which caused a computer cooler to slide across the galley floor and strike him.

The plaintiff claims he sustained injuries that caused him to suffer physical and mental pain and loss of earning capacity and has incurred medical expenses.

The plaintiff alleges Inland Marine Services improperly secured the computer cooler to the galley, and the tugboat's captain negligently failed to keep the boat under control.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment in excess $15,000,000, plus interest, costs expended for this action and such other relief as the court deems just and proper.

He is represented by Khouri Law Firm of Joseph V. Neill and Reiad M. Khouri in St. Louis.

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:17-cv-00099

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Woman sues over fall from pilates reformer

March 7, 2017, 12:05 pm

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BELLEVILLE — A woman claims she was injured when she fell off a pilates reformer at the Belleville Health and Sports Center.

Delana Parker and Jeff Parker filed a complaint on Feb. 9, in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Protestant Memorial Medical Center, doing business as Belleville Health and Sports Center, alleging it breached its duty to provide a safe environment.

According to the complaint, Delana Parker alleges that on Oct. 12, 2015, she was a customer at the Belleville Health and Sports Center when she allegedly fell while using a pilates reformer.

As a result, she claims she sustained severe injuries that resulted in physical pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and medical expenses. Jeff Parker claims he suffered loss of consortium.

The plaintiffs allege the defendants failed to inspect the equipment to ascertain that it is in proper working condition.

The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seeks judgment against defendant in excess of $50,000, plus costs of this suit.

They are represented by Joseph A. Bartholomew of Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer & Shevlin Ltd. in Belleville.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 17-L-66

Family service counselor alleges wrongful termination

March 7, 2017, 12:10 pm

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EDWARDSVILLE — A family service counselor is suing two non-profit corporations for allegedly terminating her employment after she filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits.

Deborah Beavers filed a complaint on March 2 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Wellspring Resources and Centerstone of Illinois Inc., alleging the non-profit corporations violated the Worker's Compensation Act.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on March 18, 2015, she was wrongfully discharged from her employment after she sought workers' compensation benefits.

As a result, she claims she suffered loss of income, a damaged reputation and loss of employment opportunities.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against each defendant in excess of $50,000, plus costs of this suit.

She is represented by Thomas E. Hilderbrand of Thomas E. Hildebrand Law Office in Granite City.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 2017-L-316

Fairview Heights drug dealers Perkins and Oliver get 10 year sentence reductions

March 7, 2017, 12:24 pm

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U.S. District Judge David Herndon cut the sentences of drug dealing mother Deborah Perkins and son Douglas Oliver by more than 10 years, setting them up for release on the same day in 2026.

Herndon signed and sealed orders for them in January, leaving no record except new release dates on the website of the federal prison bureau.
 
Perkins openly sold heroin at her home, and she employed Oliver and two others to sell it to customers including former St. Clair County judge Michael Cook.

The house Perkins' owned at 20 Kassing Drive in Fairview Heights was torn down nearly two years ago.

For the 12 years Perkins and Oliver occupied it, Fairview Heights police handled 66 calls to the home, but not a single visit resulted in the filing of a drug charge against either of them until 2013.

Perkins bought heroin in Chicago and sold it through Oliver and two other distributors to customers including Cook.
 
Perkins and Oliver pleaded guilty in 2013, to charges that they possessed heroin, intended to distribute it, and maintained a drug involved premises.
 
Herndon sentenced Perkins for 27 years. Herndon sentenced Oliver for 30 years, despite his lesser role in the business, because his conduct caused a death in the home.

The other distributors, Sean McGilvery and Eric Beckley, had previously obtained orders cutting their sentences by about half.
 
District Judge Michael Reagan originally imposed 10 years on Cook’s supplier, Sean McGilvery, but the prison bureau plans to release him this September.
 
Herndon originally imposed 11 years on Beckley, but the prison bureau plans to release him in February 2019.
 
Cook also pleaded guilty, to misdemeanor charges that he possessed heroin and used it while possessing firearms.
 
He and former U.S. attorney Stephen Wigginton agreed on 18 months, but Senior Judge Joe McDade of Peoria rejected the agreement.
 
He imposed two years, for the harm Cook caused to public faith in the judiciary. Cook was released in February 2016.    
 
Other sentences in public corruption cases that were reduced include that of former St. Clair County probation officer James Fogarty, cocaine dealer for the late judge Joe Christ. Fogarty's was dropped from 60 months to 30. He’s free.

Christ’s cocaine overdose death at a Cook family-owned hunting lodge in Pike County in March 2013 precipitated the investigation that led to charges against Cook.

Fogarty avoided a longer sentence at the time he pleaded guilty, by successfully denying that he supplied the cocaine that killed Christ.

Former East St. Louis detective Orlando Ward, who was sentenced in 2013 for taking $5,000 to guide a drug shipment through his city, had his sentence cut by Reagan from five years to three and a half. He was released last October.

Sentences for smugglers Martez Moore, Antwone Johnson and Brian Matthews, who were involved in the Ward ring, were cut in half after Reagan signed and sealed orders.

The sentence of former Madison County treasurer Fred Bathon dropped from 30 months to 15 months. He’s free.

He admitted he rigged bids on delinquent taxes at auctions from 2005 to 2009.

Federal law allows a sentence reduction for a prisoner who provides information against a suspect, if the information results in charges against the suspect.

If any information came from Ward, Moore, Johnson, Matthews, McGilvery, Fogarty, or Bathon, it hasn’t resulted in any charges.

Mesothelioma victim lacks credibility

March 7, 2017, 12:28 pm

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“Stan Urban, 63, loves anything with an engine so it's not surprising he’s spent his career teaching automotive technology. He focuses on electrical systems, transmissions and engines. Along the way, though, he worked on brakes. Not a lot, but enough.”

That's the opening paragraph of an article that appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of Thrive, a publication of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The story recounts how Urban was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2013, presumably as a result of exposure to asbestos during a brief period of working on brakes decades ago.

The article notes that “Urban doesn't know when he was exposed to the toxic dust” and that “Urban doesn't harbor bad feelings toward companies that continued using asbestos after it was suspected of being dangerous.”

A blurb on the publication's contents page echoes the speculative conclusion that “Stan most likely was exposed while repairing automotive brakes.”

Urban apparently does know when he was exposed to asbestos, however. He also seems to  harbor bad feelings toward companies that used it, despite his protestations to the contrary in the article that gave him the hero treatment. At least, that's the impression one gets from the testimony he provided recently against Hennessy Industries in Madison County Court.

Urban had sought $10 million in damages from a company that may or may not have had anything to do with his exposure, and he sought it in a Madison County courthouse with which neither he nor the defendant had any connection.

Urban is from West Bloomfield, Michigan. Hennessy is headquartered in Nashville. Its predecessor company, Ammco, was based in North Chicago.

Despite his claim in the Thrive article that he didn't know when he was exposed to asbestos, Urban asserted during trial that his exposure occurred while using Ammco brake grinders as a high school auto technology teacher.

Hennessy's defense attorney highlighted similar inconsistencies in Urban's testimony and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the company, as it should have.

Used car dealers accused of misrepresenting vehicle's condition

March 7, 2017, 12:34 pm

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BELLEVILLE — A customer is suing used automobile dealers for allegedly misrepresenting that a vehicle was in good running condition.

Bree M. Wynn filed a complaint on Feb. 8, in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Ken's American Motors Inc., doing business as Kennedi Auto Sales, and James Gall, alleging they violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Dec. 28, 2015, she purchased a used automobile from the defendants' auto sales lot for $2,200, plus $200 for the repair of the speakers. However, she claims the defendants fraudulently represented that the vehicle was in good running condition and refused to return the vehicle unless she paid $1,000 to repair the transmission.

As a result of defendants alleged violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, Wynn claims she has suffered actual damages in excess of $2,400 and loss possession of the motor vehicle.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks compensatory damages in excess of $2,400, plus interest, $50,000 for punitive damages, $20,000 for attorney's fees, plus costs of court.

She is represented by David M. Duree of David M. Duree & Associates PC in O'Fallon.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 17-L-64

Widow alleges defendants took control of funds without authorization

March 7, 2017, 12:46 pm

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BELLEVILLE — A widow is suing after the defendants allegedly took control over the decedent's funds without authorization.

Shirley Chapman, as executor of the estate of Stanton Chapman, filed a complaint on Feb. 9 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Michelle Allen, John Allen, FCB Bank and Motor Coach Employees Credit Union, alleging Michelle Allen and John Allen made false material facts that Chapman was abusing the decedent to induce him to change his pay on death beneficiary.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges Michelle and John Allen took control over the decedent's funds without authorization, totaling $60,472.61

As a result, Chapman claims she has suffered damages in the amount of $50,000, plus the sums contained within the Credit Union, which amounted to approximately $10,472.6.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against the defendants in an amount equal to $60,472.61, plus interest, attorneys fees, costs and all other relief the court deems just and equitable.

She is represented by Dustin Hudson of Neubauer, Johnston & Hudson in Fairview Heights.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 17-L-65

Madison County real estate Feb. 14-21

March 7, 2017, 12:51 pm

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FEBRUARY 14, 2017

ALTON

$60,000- 3100 COLLEGE AVE. - J. THOMAS LONG TO GIANT CITY PROPERTIES
$20,000- 321 DRY ST. - DWITT AND LINDA ISRINGHAUSEN TO KEON BUTLER
$12,500- 2017 HAZEL ST. - GREGORY TAYLOR SR. TO WESLEY MCGOWAN
$76,000- 3602 WICKENHAUSER AVE. - DOUGLAS FARMER TO JUSTIN HEINEY AND SUZANNE WILLE

E. ALTON

$92,500- 327 OAK ST. - GREG BAUER TO JAMIE CORENELIUS AND LYNN DAPPER

EDWARDSVILLE

$267,500- 1150 BERMUDA - SUE JOHNSON TO DANIELLE AND MICHAEL ROBINETTE

GLEN CARBON

$194,500- 119 NORTHLANE DR. - MATTHEW BRADFORD TO WADE AND ANA SUMNER

GODFREY

$2,329- 818 WINTER LN. - EDWARD JR. AND CAROLE ADKINS TO VILLAGE OF GODFREY
$7,671- 818 WINTER LN. - EDWARD JR. AND CAROLE ADKINS TO VILLAGE OF GODFREY
$43,750- 308 PEARL ST. - NANCY SUCHON TO KENNETH STRUM
$32,500- 4430 DELTA QUEEN LN. - FANNIE MAE TO STEPHEN AND JULIE LEIPARD
$80,000- 610 ST. ROSE DR. - FRANK AND KAREN MCATEE TO WILLIAM AND PERFERIA JOHNSON

GRANITE CITY

$55,000- 2504 EDISON AVE. - ANTHONY AND LINDA VESCI TO R.S. JAMESON LLC AND LARRY ULRICH
$99,900- 2487 WATERMAN AVE. - MARK II AND LAURA DINSMORE TO KEAGAN MOURADIAN

HIGHLAND

$157,000- 93 STONEBROOK DR. - CAROLYN DORN TO RAYMOND SCHULTZ

MARYVILLE

$124,000- 36 BELAIR CT. - SARA AND TIMOTHY BENNETT TO BRANDON FRERKER AND DARIEN WEEKS

ROXANA

$90,000- 111 THIRD ST. - JAMES GROPPEL TO SCOTT AND LESLIE SCHMIDT

TROY

$49,500- 316 JENNIFER CT. - OASIS INVESTMENTS TO BRENT WHITE
$49,500- 320 JENNIFER CT. - OASIS INVESTMENTS TO TIMOTHY VERNING

WOOD RIVER

$58,500- 91 AND 97 CARSTEN AVE. - CHRISTOPHER AND PATRICIA STANLEY TRUST TO LEXA KAUFMANN

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

ALTON

$114,000- 3303 MISSION RD. - ROBERT KISER TO LLOYD AND REA WILLS

BETHALTO

$280,000- 303 CROSS CREEK DR. - TIMOTHY AND JENNIFER GWILLIM TO LAURA AND DAVID CAMPBELL
$45,900- 120 W. CORBIN - WILMINGTON SAVINGS TO LARRY OVERMEYER

COLLINSVILLE

$128,000- 118 SUNSET DR. - KATHLEEN BURRIS TO CHRISTOPHER NUNN

E. ALTON

$12,000- 223 LAKESIDE AVE. - BLUESTEM PROPERTIES TO DON HILDERBRAND
$25,000- 116 VICTORY DR. - BRUCE BURDICK TO JOSEPH DUNGAN

EDWARDSVILLE

$378,000- 7023 HODGES CT. - STONE FINANCING LLC TO YADONG WANG AND LIN TANG
$96,500- 207 JEFFERSON RD. - GREGORY HOLDINGS TO 2D1C LLC

GLEN CARBON

$224,000- 73 HILLSBOROUGH AVE. - SCOTT AND COLLEEN LYERLA TO MICHAEL AND SHANNON BIVENS

GODFREY

$115,000- 6534 GODFREY RD. - NANCY PULIZOS TO ANDREW TUCKER

GRANITE CITY

$47,409- 2308 BENTON ST. - CARRINGTON MORTGAGES TO SECRETARY OF HUD
$1,000- 2903 EMZEE AVE. - BRENDA RAINS AND LAURA CHEOELY TO DEBRA HARLAN
$15,500- 2449 HODGES AVE. - CURTIS MASE TO RAYMOND ARTHUR
$11,000- 2848 RALPH ST. - CHAMPAIGN INVESTMENT LLC TO NICOLAS BRIAGAS AND TORIE DAVIDSON
$23,500- 2827 E. 24TH ST. - JEFFREY WEST TO 2827 E. 24TH ST. LLC

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

ALTON

$137,842- 712 EUCLID PL. - WELLS FARGO BANK TO THE SECRETARY OF VA

COLLINSVILLE

$2,010,000- 1079 COLLINSVILLE CROSSING - KENNEDY AND CRAUSE INC TO RFR PROPERTIES
$250,000- 1145 FORMOSA RD. - GLENN AND JENNIFER HENNINGER TO KENNETH AND MICHELLE CISSELL

E. ALTON

$20,000- 144 VICTORY DR. - DUWAYNE AND JUDY CONNOLLY TO TILLER HOLDINGS

EDWARDSVILLE

$194,000- 18 DOGWOOD LN. - RORY AND RITA SCHNEIDER TO BRAD JAMES
$145,000- 233 ADAMS ST. - BRIAN AND CAROL JOHNSON TO BBR PROPERTIES

GLEN CARBON

$54,600- 6036 CHEROKEE AVE. - JOSEPH GANZ TO TERHOB LLC
$377,950- 214 EDWARDS ST. - REMINGTON PROPERTIES TO BRIAN AND CAROL JOHNSON
$34,590- 220 MADISON AVE. - KATHRYN WYSAK-ROOD TO JAY STEINHAUER

GRANITE CITY

$8,000- 2806 EDWARDS ST. - CP-SRMOF II 2012 A TRUST TO SHERINA LINDSEY
$83,000- 3237 COLGATE PL. - MICHAEL HEARST TO LYNETTE TORRES
$15,000- 623 BARKLEY ST. - SECRETARY OF HUD TO MICHAEL CRITES
$97,500- 2523 LYNCH AVE. - KATHLYN PURSELL AND STEVEEN JOYCE TO KIRSTEN GUILLIAMS

TROY

$259,500- 221 MCCLELLAND DR. - DOUG HARTMANN JR. TO MARK II AND LAURA DINSMORE

WORDEN

$206,900- 421 PHEASANT CT. - TIMOTHY HILYARD TO TRAVIS AND CHERISE LAW

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

COLLINSVILLE

$235,000- 10 SUGAR LN. - SANNER MANAGEMENT TO MALCOLM BOLD

E. ALTON

$30,000- 135 E. ALTON AVE. - DUANE CHILDS TO STEVEN BARACH AND SAMUEL KIZER
$28,000- 331 BOWMAN AVE. - DIANA ESUNIS TO GINA LLOYD

EDWARDSVILLE

$250,000- 6511 FOX LAKE DR. - ROBERT MAXWELL TO EMIL CROOK
$265,000- 1397 BRITANY CT. - ANDREW STAIR AND MICHAEL PUGLISE TO JASON AND STACY ZEMKE
$132,000- 812 MADISON AVE. - KELSEY LANGENDORF TO ALEXANDRA HOBICK

GLEN CARBON

$192,000- 9 HUNTINGTON DR. - DOROTHY BUESCHER TO DALE AND DONNA SHEARER

GRANITE CITY

$73,000- 2113 WATERMAN AVE. - DOROTHY ANDERSON TO CHANDRASHAKER AND DIANE SALIGRAM
$18,000- 2004, 2006 & 2010 DEWEY AVE. - CLYDE MIZE JR. TO VICKIE WEBER
$23,000- 3320 TERRACE LN. - JAMES THEBEAU JR. TO DOUG JUSTUS AND CHRISTINA GUFFEY

HIGHLAND

$148,900- 1924 STEINKOENING SCHOOL RD. - EDWARD AND SHERRY SPENGLER TO TARA HANVEY
$34,000- 704 LAUREL ST. - FANNIE MAE TO JOSEPH JANSEN
$145,000- 2126 ST. MICHAEL CT. SOUTH - BRUCE AND MICHELE CAPELLE TO MATTHEW AND CARA GELLY

ST. JACOB

$163,000- 160 JESSICA DR. - RYAN AND ELIZABETH REILMAN TO NICOLE DAVIS

WOOD RIVER

$100,000- 401 ROOSEVELT AVE. - LEE AND SHEILA WILLIAMS TO DAVID SPENCER JR.
$80,500- 268 10TH ST. - JEROME JACOBS TO CATHERINE WILLIS AND GILBERT WALMSLEY
$43,144- 278 S. 8TH ST. - US BANK TO JASON BUTKOVICH
$20,000- 3428 MAPLE RIDGE DR. - FIRST CLOVER LEAF BANK TO FULFORD HOMES LLC

WORDEN

$73,169- 219 FILLMORE ST. - MICHAEL BEYS TO THOMAS AND DONNA BEYS

FEBRUARY 21, 2017

ALTON

$92,000- 3115 CLAY ST. - GABRIEL AND MELINDA BOWDEN TO ELIZABETH MARTIN
$80,000- 4 AVON PL. - IRENE MORMINO TO SCOTTY MITCHELL
$80,000- 3625 E. DOERR - MICHAEL AND KATHARINE POHLMAN TO DANIEL AND DEBORAH POHLMAN
$5,000- 124 E. 10TH ST. - ESTATE OF SANDRA ZAMORA TO DUSTIN MARTIN

BETHALTO

$104,500- 804 HOMM ST. - STEPHANIE EDWARDS TO KELLY AND CHRISTOPHER PICKELL
$75,000- 525 LOGAN ST. - DONNA PFOUTZ TO KRISTIN FOSTER

COLLINSVILLE

$215,000- 100 HIGHLAND PL. - STEPHEN THOMAS TO DANIEL GIBSON
$144,500- 605 ST. CLAIR AVE. - LISA HUGHES TO ALEXANDER PORTER
$42,500- 1205 OLIVE ST. - WILLIAM AND SHIRLEY PLUNK TO MATTHEW AND JENNIFER FRAWLEY
$115,000- 1600 W. MAIN ST. - LEL SKELTON TO JUANITA WESEMANN
$5,800- 3300 HARVARD PL. - EDWARD LASICH TO RANDY AND LATRISHA TURNER

EDWARDSVILLE

$282,000- 95 BURNS FARM BLVD. - DAVID AND KIMBERLY DEIST TO LADIMIR AND SHIRLEY AUBRECHT
$147,000- 136 FILLMORE ST - JANE FRIES TO ALICIA SHAH
$148,359- 305 W. LINDEN ST. - MJE PROPERTY GROUP TO EFG INVESTMENTS
$94,000- 746 HALE AVE. - WILLIAM AND TONI WARREN TO RAHUL AND TULIKA BANSAL

GODFREY

$168,639- 537 PEARL ST. - ESTATE OF MAXINE TAULMAN TO LOIS LAMERE
$84,500- 5913 FRANKLIN DR. - ROBIN AND KAREN FIEDLER TO KOELLER AND KOELLER LLC

GRANITE CITY

$89,000- 3006 MARSHALL AVE. - CHRISTIAN YOUTH CENTER FUND TRUST TO DALTON AND BAYLEE HALM
$25,000- 2510 NAMEOKI RD. - MILDRED NOETH TO HEARTLAND RENTAL PROPERTIES

HAMEL

$140,000- 312 S. OLD US ROUTE 66 - AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL RELOCATION TO ALEX TOLLE

HIGHLAND

$97,000- RINDERER RD. - MARIANNE KOHL TO BRUCE KYPTA
$78,300- RINDERER RD. - COMMUNITY FIRST BANCORP TO BRUCE KYPTA

ST. JACOB

$300,000- 9400 KECK RD. - JUANITA WESEMANN TO DAVID MEARS

TROY

$40,000- 112 S. MAIN ST. - MARK AND KAY FRIEDERICH TO DAVID SCHERMER

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Majority of Illinois voters support a 'no tax hike budget'

March 7, 2017, 2:18 pm

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Illinois has been without a state budget for almost two years. I talk every week with state lawmakers, and many of them feel worn down. Unfortunately, many no longer care what’s in the budget. They just want to pass “something” so they can go home and tell their constituents and local media that “the impasse is over.”

We cannot lose sight of the real crisis. The problem in Illinois is not the lack of a budget. And the solution is not to enact another state spending plan like the ones we’ve had in the past. Here is what really ails Illinois: Decades of poor governance. Out-of-control spending. Promises made without any intention of keeping them. And zero accountability.

It’s a status quo that can’t continue. That’s not a function of politics. It’s a function of math.

So let’s refocus our thinking about the state budget. First, some parameters:

- Compromise can be a good thing. When building upon common ground, good faith and goodwill, it is a mechanism that makes democracy work. But agreeing to keep alive facets of a broken state government that will never, ever work ‘in the spirit of compromise’ is not a virtue. Lawmakers need to be able to distinguish between compromise and abdication.

- Illinois will never prosper as long as the growth in government spending exceeds growth in revenue. To that end, a reform budget includes a permanent, all-inclusive and ironclad spending cap.

- Homeowners desperately need comprehensive property tax reform. A short-term freeze won’t provide the lasting relief they need.

- When it comes to pensions, we cannot keep making promises to government employees that we cannot keep. The pension system we have today will never work. There is no way to preserve or fix this system. Real pension reform means a new defined-contribution system for all new employees, and making that available to current state workers who want to regain control of their retirement. This is constitutional – but more importantly, it is imperative.

- Reforms to major drivers of state spending – education, Medicaid, workers’ compensation – must be sweeping, not marginal. For example, Senate Bill 12, one of the bills in the so-called ‘grand bargain,’ offered mostly positive changes to Illinois’ workers’ compensation system. However, these changes were marginal and would not provide the full reforms needed to fix the problems within Illinois law that drive away businesses and jobs. The core cost-drivers – wage replacement rates and medical reimbursement rates – were not substantially addressed. Workers’ compensation is an estimated $4 billion to $6 billion regulatory line item across industry in Illinois.

Within these parameters, there is ample room for policy creativity – and compromise. Adhering to them would at long last begin the process of breaking the failed status quo and blazing a path toward a bright future for Illinois. These guidelines are so simple, so moderate, so common-sense and so pragmatic that their merits ought to transcend party lines and even ideological boundaries.

Following these parameters also would put political discussions in Illinois in step with the public’s view of how to fix our state. We recently commissioned a poll that found that more than half of Illinois voters want lawmakers to balance the budget by only cutting state spending. The Illinois Policy Institute developed a plan that does that. Our budget plan brings together a collection of proposals from Republicans and Democrats over the years. It curbs state spending, ends the pension crisis in a way that complies with the Illinois Constitution, provides property tax relief and enacts major reforms to education, Medicaid, workers’ compensation and other key policy areas. Whether our ideas are adopted carte blanche or lawmakers find better ways to enact the reforms we have outlined, the key is that a reform budget must meet the criteria set forth in the five principles listed above.

If we follow these guidelines, recovery and rebirth for our state and our communities will come. If we do not, then the crisis will return – worse and more intractable than before.

Wigginton bills county $31K for investigating signatures of tax cut proponents; Referendum ultimately passed 4 to 1

March 7, 2017, 2:47 pm

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Attorney Stephen Wigginton has sent Madison County a $31,725 bill for his investigation into petitions supporting a tax limiting ballot initiative last year.

An invoice from the Armstrong Teasdale firm in Clayton, Mo., shows that Wigginton spent 84.6 hours between the end of May and early July working for the county electoral board at a rate of $375 per hour.

The electoral board’s involvement in the ballot challenge was formed out of a political battle between Republican county board chairman candidate Kurt Prenzler who supported the initiative and then Democrat chairman Alan Dunstan who said that a property tax rate reduction would cut funding for vital services such as law enforcement.

Ultimately Wigginton didn’t find enough faulty signatures to block the tax-reducing initiative from getting on the ballot in November, and voters adopted the referendum by a margin of 79 to 21. The measure lowers the maximum levy that supports the county’s general fund from 25 cents per $100 of assessed value to 20 cents per $100.

Voters in November also chose Prenzler by a margin of 50.17 to 49.83 over incumbent Dunstan.

Wigginton’s invoice shows he met with County Clerk Deborah Ming-Mendoza on May 27, upon his appointment as special assistant state’s attorney.

It shows that on May 31, he took an oath of office from Chief Judge David Hylla and attended an executive session of the board.
 
Besides Ming-Mendoza, a Democrat, the electoral board included former assistant state’s attorney Stephanie Robbins, Democrat, and retired judge James Hackett, Republican.
 
The invoice shows that Wigginton prepared a memorandum on June 2, and attended an executive session on June 3.
 
It shows that he prepared for a meeting on June 6, met with Ming-Mendoza on June 7, and attended a hearing in the courthouse. It shows two telephone calls with Ming-Mendoza, on June 8 and June 14.
 
Wigginton had logged 22.1 hours at that point, and his pace picked up.
 
The invoice shows he spent four hours at a hearing on June 16, and seven hours at a hearing on June 17.
 
It shows he spent two and a half hours in executive session on June 20, four hours in a board meeting on June 21, and seven hours in a board meeting on June 22.
 
It shows he spent seven hours at a hearing and an executive session on June 23, and five and a half hours at a hearing and executive session on June 24.
 
That amounted to 37 hours in nine days.
 
The invoice shows he drafted an order for two hours on June 26, a Sunday.
 
It shows that from June 27 to June 30, he spent 7.1 hours preparing for an executive session on Friday, July 1. It shows that after the session, he met with Ming-Mendoza.
 
Over the holiday weekend, it shows he spent 5.4 hours drafting an order.
 
It further shows that he attended an executive session for four hours on July 5, and spent two hours preparing for and attending a final meeting on July 6.

As U.S. attorney, Wigginton prosecuted former county treasurer Fred Bathon on charges that he rigged bids on delinquent taxes at courthouse auctions. Bathon pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months by District Judge David Herndon, a sentence that was later cut in half.

Wiggington could have sought restitution for property owners who paid artificially high interest during the Bathon scheme, but he declared that calculation of damages was impracticable.

Property owners currently seek recovery through a class action.
 
Wigginton resigned as U.S. attorney in 2015, and joined Armstrong Teasdale.
 
The county board’s finance committee planned to review his bill at a regular meeting on Wednesday, March 8.

Committee member Tom McRae, a Republican who represents County Board District 14 in Bethalto, said, “It is disturbing to me that we spend so much money on legal fees in Madison County.”

Posner in eye drop de-certification: ‘that a seller doesn’t sell product you want is not actionable’

March 7, 2017, 3:38 pm

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CHICAGO – U.S. Seventh Circuit appellate judges have vacated a class certification order that District Judge Staci Yandle entered on a claim that producers of glaucoma medicine purposely dispense excessive eye drops.  
“You cannot sue a company and argue only – it could do better by us – which is all they are arguing,” Justice Richard Posner wrote in a March 6 opinion.  
“One cannot bring a suit in federal court without pleading that one has been injured in some way, physically, financially, whatever, by the defendant.  
“The fact that a seller does not sell the product that you want, or at the price you’d like to pay, is not an actionable injury.”
Attorneys for Allergan, Alcon, Bausch and Lomb, Pfizer, Merck and Prasco, including Troy Bozarth of HeplerBroom in Edwardsville, Shook Hardy in Kansas City and Bryan Cave in St. Louis, had appealed a certification order Yandle entered in July.
Yandle wrote in her order that there are differences among plaintiffs in terms of age and treatment plans, "but the core issue is whether the dispensers release unnecessarily large eye drops."
“The alleged injury, that the large drops have resulted in wastage of medication, remains the same for all four named plaintiffs and for the putative class as a whole,” she wrote.
Attorneys John Simon of St. Louis and Mark Goldenberg of Edwardsville and seven others sued in 2012 for plaintiffs Charlene Eike, Shirley Fisher, Jordan Pitler, and Alan Raymond.
District Judge David Herndon, who had the case before Yandle joined the court, denied a motion to dismiss the action in 2014, finding plaintiffs plausibly pleaded actual damages.
Herndon wrote that they alleged actual damage as measured by the price of the portion of each drop in excess of 15 microliters.
Plaintiffs allege consumer fraud in Illinois and violation of merchandising practices law in Missouri.  
Yandle certified eight classes in the two states last August, finding plaintiffs proposed a method to determine damages.  
She wrote that they would calculate from drop size studies the cost the class incurred for wasted medication.  
“This damage model is based on the common issue of whether the bigger drops lead to wastage,” she wrote.  
“Whether the damages model is accurate, as defendants claim it is not, is a question that will be determined by the finder of fact.
“Accordingly, the variation in potential damages among class members is not such that it predominates over the common issues presented in this case.”  
The Seventh Circuit, moving at unusual speed, heard argument on Feb. 7 and issued an opinion 29 days later.
Posner found the class failed to allege an invasion of a legally protected interest.
“It is just a regret or disappointment, which is all we have here,” he wrote.  
Posner also wrote that it was not an antitrust case, nor was there any allegation of misrepresentation or any claim that class members experienced side effects.  
He wrote that patients with unsteady hands or serious eye problems have trouble getting drops into their eyes, “and the smaller the drop the likelier they are to miss.”  
Plaintiffs can take their case to the Food and Drug Administration, he wrote, which approved the drops.  
A court can review an FDA decision, he wrote, but can’t bypass the agency.

Springfield week in review: Crisis builds with no budget

March 7, 2017, 3:48 pm

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Disappointing. Frustrating. Intolerable. These are just a few words that come to mind when characterizing the Senate’s week (Feb. 27-March 3) of little action, especially when it comes to our number one job: the state budget. However, I still have hope that common sense and courage will win in the end, and we will get a budget that will allow Illinois to move forward economically.

Hurting for Jobs
There’s no doubt the challenge is great and we must act soon. According to a recently released report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Illinois has the highest black unemployment rate of any state as of the end of 2016. Additionally, EPI reports that Illinois has led the nation in black unemployment since the middle of 2015. The nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank reports Illinois’ black joblessness at 11.3 percent, while overall unemployment in Illinois stands at 5.5 percent.

The EPI analysis is just one more reason there should be a super-sense of urgency to fix the budget and change the business/jobs climate in Illinois. Right now, people are hurting and some cannot take care of their families because opportunities are limited. Job creators – the risk takers – aren’t willing to invest. That’s why we must be willing to make the tough, courageous decisions to ensure long-term positive change.

The Grand BAD Bargain
Unfortunately, in Springfield there are still too many politicians wanting to cling to the easy way out, which is to pass another income tax increase and create new sales taxes – penalizing the people in the process. That won’t solve our fiscal problems, because it doesn’t address the underlying problem: the entrenched policies that overspend, overtax and overregulate. While the so-called “Grand Bargain” budget is now shelved, I’m not convinced the Grand BAD Bargain is dead. Like the zombie characters on a popular TV show, it could sneak up at any minute, ready to devour the hard-earned dollars of Illinois taxpayers.

While the budget deal is on hold, I am continuing to work on a budget alternative – with Republicans and Democrat colleagues – that is respectful to the people, like you, who pay the bills. It’s your money that we use to operate state government and that’s why lawmakers must be willing to make changes for the benefit of the people of Illinois. We hope to unveil the plan soon. It contains more than a dozen ways to make government smaller and affordable. The solution to our budget crisis should not include the same bad decisions and behaviors that got us into the current financial crisis. Regrettably, that’s exactly what the “Grand BAD Bargain” budget plan was all about.

Reform = Recovery
The single largest budget debt problem facing Illinois is the underfunding of public pension plans. Some estimates put the debt at $130 billion. That’s roughly equivalent to a bill of $11,000 for each man, woman and child in Illinois. If you’re a family of four, you basically owe $44,000 to fund those pension systems.

To address this massive problem, the burden of these public pensions should be put on the people who are deciding the pension and salary benefits: local schools, universities and local governments. Right now, decisions are made locally, but the burden is carried by the state – and by extension – to every Illinois citizen. In exchange for taking on the consequences of their local decisions, we need to give them relief from unfunded state mandates so they can act responsibly and with accountability to the taxpayers.

Senate Gambles on Our Future
The Senate’s week in Springfield also included passing a massive expansion of gambling as a means to generate new revenue for the state of Illinois. Gambling is a poor way of generating tax revenue. I said during debate that it’s embarrassing that instead of doing the hard work of disciplining ourselves to lower our spending and reduce the size of this government that’s unaffordable to the people, we look to solutions like gambling, which disproportionately takes money from lower-income individuals.

I told my fellow senators that the gambling solution is a gimmick, similar to one of those late-night TV fitness gadgets you see on a commercial. You’re told to strap it on, plug it in and press the button to get fit. Easy. No work required. Gambling is just a gimmick to avoid the real work and effort – the tough decisions necessary – to get our fiscal house in order for the long-term benefit of the people.

I’m Still Hopeful
We can fix our budget crisis and at the same time revitalize our economy to create the opportunity and prosperity many people are missing. The legislature must step up and admit they are the biggest part of the problem because of failed policies of the past, which they refuse to give up.

Illinois is in crisis. We currently owe the people who do business with the state about $12 billion. These are businesses that provide goods and critical human services for the most vulnerable. Our long-term public debt is at a level that will burden future generations, and the advancement of our state economy remains well behind most other states. The answer to these challenges will take more courage than just imposing higher taxes on the people. The way out is within our reach. I’m committed to doing everything I can to make it possible.

Synthetic Heroin Ban Update
The news during the week is not all bad. I’m pleased to report the legislation I’m sponsoring to ban synthetic heroin received the unanimous support of the Senate Criminal Law Committee on March 1. Synthetic heroin has been attributed to 46 deaths nationwide and linked to more than 40 other deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Like synthetic marijuana, which we were successful in making illegal last year, synthetic heroin has colorful nicknames, such as “U4” and “Pink,” which hide its destructive consequences. Heroin, whether it’s synthetic or not, is becoming a cultural scourge. It’s destroyed lives and devastated families across Illinois. The victims lived in Chicago, its suburbs, and communities and rural areas throughout downstate Illinois.

I am looking forward to presenting Senate Bill 702 to the full Senate before the end of April. I’m thankful for the assistance of the Illinois State Police who helped write the legislation. The measure addresses synthetic heroin in the same way we did with the synthetic marijuana ban (Public Act – 99-0371) passed in 2015, which became law last year. We are banning the base compound of synthetic heroin, which will allow authorities to prosecute people for bringing the drug into the state and distributing it.
   

Disciplinary hearing for adoption attorney set for today

March 8, 2017, 6:26 am

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COLLINSVILLE – A hearing is set today in the disciplinary case against a Collinsville attorney accused of a conflict of interest in an adoption case.

Deborah Crouse-Cobb of Crouse-Cobb & Bays will go before the Hearing Board of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission at 10 a.m. today. The hearing will be held at the commission's Springfield office, 3161 West White Oaks Drive, Suite 301.

Crouse-Cobb is facing a disciplinary hearing based on her alleged conduct during an adoption case involving adoptive parents Janet and Gregory Warren and their niece’s child.

The complaints against Crouse-Cobb involve family connections with the adoption agency used to secure the child for the Warrens. The agency Crouse-Cobb suggested to the Warrens to help facilitate the adoption through a home study of the adoptive parents was owned by her mother, Joyce Crouse. Crouse was the executive director of Family Choices and at different times employed Crouse-Cobb’s sister, Susan Wolk, as well as her brother, Kevin Crouse.

Crouse-Cobb specialized in adoption law and represented Family Choices on several instances and provided the adoption agency with ongoing legal counsel and drafted legal documents for it.

The complaint filed against Crouse-Cobb by Jerome Larkin, administrator of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, also alleges that Crouse-Cobb referred her clients to Family Choices for adoption services, which in turn referred clients to Crouse-Cobb for legal advice.

In addition, Crouse-Cobb’s husband, Phillip Cobb, owned the building where Family Choices operated and provided loans of $5,000 and $15,000 to the agency, which was not repaid and eventually forgiven prior to 2010. According to the complaint, Family Choices did not pay rent to Crouse-Cobb’s husband.

During the interaction with the Warrens, Crouse-Cobb allegedly failed to disclose that her family members worked for and operated Family Choices and that she would be unable to advocate for them if Family Choices didn’t approve them as adoptive parents.

The misconduct complaint details her failure to provide adequate representation to the Warrens, as well as her inability to represent the Warrens and Family Choices concurrently. She is also being accused of failing to reasonably explain the possibility of a legal argument to the Warrens that they did not need the cooperation of Family Choices to grant their adoption and failing to withdraw representation as a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The Warrens eventually filed a lawsuit against Crouse-Cobb and Family Choices after their adoption was not approved through the agency. The suit reached a settlement agreement with Crouse-Cobb, which Judge William Mudge granted the terms to.

The Warrens relinquished the child, Jude Warren, after a Nov. 22, 2013, hearing. Both Warrens had previous substance history while Gregory Warren also had a sexual abuse incident reported to the Department of Children & Family Services.

Based on the Warrens' past, Crouse-Cobb told the Warrens they would not be granted adoptive rights without a home inspection. Crouse-Cobb failed to notify the Warrens that no home inspection was necessary for biological relative adoption.

After losing the adoption case with Family Choices and Crouse-Cobb, the Warrens sought new counsel with attorney John Hopkins.

Alton VFW seeks partial summary judgment in woman’s suit alleging injuries on dance floor

March 8, 2017, 8:26 am

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The Alton VFW seeks partial summary judgment in a woman’s suit over alleged injuries on the dance floor, arguing that it did not owe her a duty because the fellow patron’s actions were not foreseeable.

Mary L. Svoboda filed her lawsuit on May 26, 2015, against Alton VFW Post 1308.

According to the complaint, Svoboda claims she was on the defendant’s premises located at 4445 Alby in Alton on Aug. 1, 2014, when she was knocked down on the dance floor by another customer or patron.

She accuses the defendant of improperly managing, maintaining or controlling the premises, failing to provide adequate security and inspect or supervise the dance floor, overserving alcohol to its patrons and permitting its patrons to wildly thrash about the dance floor.

Alton VFW filed a motion for partial summary judgment in regards to count I on Feb. 24 through attorneys Christopher Leritz and Kelly Kirkbride of Leritz & Plunkert in St. Louis.

Count I of the complaint alleges the defendant allowed a dangerous condition to exist on its premises.

However, in her deposition, Svoboda testified that “the cause of her damage was that a fellow VFW patron intentionally picked her up and dropped her, causing her injury.”

“For the VFW to be liable for Plaintiff’s injuries, Plaintiff must show the patron’s intentional act was foreseeable such that the VFW owed a duty to protect or warn Plaintiff.

“There is no evidence the man had picked up and dropped any other patron the night of the alleged incident or on any other occasion.

“Because the patron’s intentional act was sudden and was not foreseeable by the VFW, the VFW had no duty to protect or warn the plaintiff,” the motion states.

A motion hearing has been set for April 7 at 9 a.m.

Svoboda is represented by Gregory Tobin of Pratt & Tobin in East Alton.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-671

Attorney substitutes counsel in legal malpractice suit following former client’s motion to disqualify

March 8, 2017, 8:26 am

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Attorney Michael Reid filed a substitution of counsel in a legal malpractice suit after a former client said he and O’Fallon attorney Amanda Kelton Bradley Verett have “antagonistic defenses” and cannot share counsel.

Circuit Judge William Mudge filed an order removing Roy Dripps of Armbruster Dripps Winterscheidt & Blotevogel LLC as counsel for Reid on March 3. He deemed the plaintiff’s motion to disqualify as moot.

Reid filed his notice of substitution of counsel on Feb. 23. Attorneys Lawrence Smith and Lee Karge of Brinker & Doyen LLP in Clayton, Mo., now represents the defendant.

Plaintiff Christopher Nolan filed the motion to disqualify counsel for the defendants on Feb. 14 through attorney and former Madison County Associate Judge Thomas Hildebrand of Granite City.

Nolan filed his complaint on Jan. 17 against Verett, who was suspended for 90 days in 2008 for her handling of a family law matter between Nolan and his ex-wife. He alleges Verett deviated from the standard of care of a reasonable attorney by filing and obtaining ex parte relief against his ex-wife and a Missouri hospital despite knowing she was not entitled to do so.

Reid also collected attorney’s fees for allegedly engaging in strategy conferences with Verett.

Nolan alleges he hired Verett in 2007 to represent him in an on-going dissolution case from his former wife Tanna Nolan. In the divorce, a Madison County court had enjoined Christopher Nolan from contacting his son’s doctors unless it was an emergency.

After the order was filed, Tanna Nolan scheduled a tonsillectomy for her son at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis.

Several days prior to the surgery, Verett filed a motion to stop the surgery from taking place, which was denied.

Verett filed a petition for damages in St. Louis City Circuit Court against the child's medical providers. She also filed an injunction to stop the surgery.

According to the ARDC, at a hearing before St. Louis Circuit Judge John Garvey, Verett failed to inform him that she had just had a hearing in Illinois on the same matter.

Garvey enjoined the surgery, appointed a guardian ad litem for the minor and ordered Tanna Nolan to be added as a party.

Verett later withdrew her petition after Tanna Nolan filed a motion to dismiss.

Garvey held a hearing and apologized to the lawyers for Children’s Hospital and Tanna Nolan, telling them that had he known that the issue was taken care of in Madison County he would have immediately denied Verett’s request.

In Nolan’s malpractice suit against Verett, he alleges that he was assessed $25,000 in attorney’s fees as a result of Verett’s alleged breach of contract and another $25,000 in fees in defending the assessment of attorney’s fees.

He alleges that Verett charged him $18,569.03 for services which not only provided no benefit, but also put him in a worse position.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 17-L-27

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Trial continued in insurance dispute over alleged stolen vehicle

March 8, 2017, 8:27 am

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An insurance dispute over an alleged stolen vehicle that was set to go to trial March 6 was continued to May 1 at 9 a.m.

In the suit, plaintiff Kelnesha Nelson claims an alleged thief stole her vehicle and caused a collision at the intersection of State Route 161 and Dutch Hollow Road in Belleville.

At the time of the incident, Nelson had an insurance policy with defendant State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. She made a claim against the policy for damages incurred but the company refused to reimburse her, the January 2015 lawsuit states.

Nelson seeks a judgment of more than $100,000.

In a counterclaim against Nelson and Eldlondro Aldridge, who reside in Belleville together, State Farm argues that an investigation revealed that the 2012 Dodge Charger was never stolen. Instead, Nelson allegedly allowed Aldridge to operate the vehicle at the time of the accident.

As a result, the two made false statements to State Farm “with the intent to conceal or misrepresent material facts or circumstances in connection with their claim,” State Farm alleges.

State Farm later filed an amended counterclaim in January 2016 after Madison County Circuit Judge Andreas Matoesian granted in part and denied in part Nelson and Aldridge’s motion to dismiss.

John Bitzer of Collinsville represents Nelson and Aldridge.

Reed Armstrong Mudge & Morrissey in Edwardsville represents State Farm.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-83

Crowder denies summary judgment in suit alleging attempted robbery at Collinsville Hardee's

March 8, 2017, 8:28 am

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Madison County Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder denied Hardee’s Restaurant’s request for summary judgment in a customer’s lawsuit alleging he was attacked in the restroom during an attempted robbery.

According to Joel Cox’s July 2015 complaint, he claims he and his wife visited the Collinsville Hardee’s on July 13, 2013, while out visiting yard sales.

Cox claims he walked past a table where Eric Manthei and Samantha Harlow had been sitting for approximately 10 minutes without ordering any food or drink.

Cox entered the restroom and was allegedly followed by Manthei in an attempted robbery. Manthei allegedly put Cox in a “rear naked choke hold,” which caused him to begin going unconscious. As a result, he fell and hit his head on the sink.

Cox, who was 87 at the time of the attack, claims he sustained a broken nose, permanent throat injuries and other fractures in the altercation. He claims he began bleeding, startling his assailant. Manthei allegedly ran out of the restroom and out of the exit doors to get into a waiting vehicle driven by Harlow.

Hardee’s filed its motion for summary judgment on Dec. 16 through attorney Robert Tucker of Goffstein Raskas Pomerantz Kraus & Sherman LLC in St. Louis.

It argues that this case questions “whether a random, criminal assault and robbery upon a Hardee’s customer was foreseeable to the extent that a legal duty should be imposed to support the negligence claim herein.”

The defendant alleges that despite the court’s prior finding that “[i]t could be found that a physical altercation in the restaurant serving many people is reasonably foreseeable,” it does not owe a duty to the customer.

Hardee’s says that the fact that Eric Manthei did not act as a customer when he sat in the restaurant without ordering food is not sufficient to impose a legal duty.

“Defendant Hardee’s has not found, nor does it believe that plaintiff can cite this court to any Illinois case law imposing a duty on a business owner under circumstances even remotely similar to those present in this case based solely on the failure of assailant to order food or drink,” the motion states.

Hardee’s explains that Manthei and Harlow sat down in a booth and about 10 minutes later, Manthei went into the restroom and attacked Cox.

Hardee’s general manager Erich Winkelmann stated in his affidavit that it is not unusual for customers to visit the restaurant without placing an order “for a variety of reasons ranging from customers waiting for or accompanying a friend to nearby I-55 travelers utilizing the restroom facilities.”

“As far as Hardee’s knew, based on their objective behavior, Eric Manthei and his companion could easily have fit into those categories,” the motion states. “There was absolutely no hint of a potential threat to plaintiff.”

The defendant adds that records received from the Collinsville Police Department reveal no history of any violent criminal activity or crimes against customers at the restaurant for the two years prior to this incident.

“To place on Hardee’s employees who had no such knowledge the duty of divining the intentions of otherwise normal looking store occupants based on their ordering habits is to place a virtually impossible burden upon the business,” the motion states.

Cox responded to the motion on Feb. 7 through attorney Joseph Reames of Wood River.

The plaintiff questions, “At what point does someone sitting in a restaurant, without bothering to order food or drink become suspicious to the Defendant; eleven minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes? At what point does the staff and/or Mr. Winkelmann decide something might not be right and that the non-customer is potentially up to no good?”

The plaintiff argues that it is reasonably foreseeable for someone who doesn’t order anything to be there for a number of reasons, including to either attack and rob a customer or maybe even rob the restaurant itself.

Cox argues that an employee should have asked the pair if they were going to order food or if they were waiting on others to arrive.

He also argues that the presence of a mirror over the sink would have allowed him to see that his attacker was approaching him from behind.

“It was no undue burden on Hardee’s to either have a mirror in the restroom which, aside from the obvious reasons to have a mirror over a sink, would help its customers be cognizant of what is going on around them or for the staff to be more attentive to the goings on in its restaurants in order to insure the safety of their customers and to insure that those persons coming into the restaurant are there for a legitimate purpose,” the response states.

Crowder filed her order denying summary judgment on Feb. 9 and set the case for trial on April 3 at 9 a.m.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-868

Couple voluntarily dismisses suit alleging misrepresented termite damage following negotiations

March 8, 2017, 8:29 am

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Madison County Circuit Judge William Mudge granted voluntarily dismissal in a couple’s suit alleging the company they purchased their home from failed to disclose known termite damage.

Plaintiffs Susan Sidener, formerly Susan O’Brien, and Robert Sidener filed their motion to voluntarily dismiss the case with prejudice on March 1 through attorney M. Joseph Hill of St. Louis.

According to two orders continuing case management conferences last year, the parties have been negotiating since at least October.

The Sideners filed the lawsuit on Oct. 26 against Home Renovators LLC, Thomas Gajewski and Mel Dutton, alleging fraudulent misrepresentation.

According to the complaint, Susan Sidener claims she purchased her home from the defendants in 2006. She and her husband claim they later discovered damage and a prior infestation of termites.

They allege the defendants knew of the infestation and failed to disclose, or attempted to hide the extent of the damage prior to the sale of the property.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-1351

Astronomers seek to strike SIUE professor’s demand for bill of particulars; They say their 15-page complaint is sufficient

March 8, 2017, 8:31 am

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Two astronomers seek to strike an SIUE professor’s demand for a bill of particulars in their suit alleging the professor made defamatory statements within their professional community.

Wyoming residents Timothy and Stephanie Slater filed the complaint on Nov. 21 against Pamela Gay.

In their complaint, the plaintiffs allege Gay stalked them at various conferences in an attempt to take customers and grants from them. They also claim she made false allegations of misconduct and disseminating slanderous and libelous statements within their professional community.

As a result, the Slaters allege they lost opportunities for advancement and suffered reduced book sales and speaking engagements.

Gay filed a demand for a bill of particulars on Feb. 3 through attorney Michael Murphy of Freeark Harvey & Mendillo PC in Belleville and Ferne Wolf of Sowers & Wolf LLC in St. Louis.

She argues that the plaintiffs’ complaint is “so wanting in detail the claim is deficient.”

“The allegations of the Plaintiffs’ Complaint as to Pamela Gay are devoid of basic facts which would allow her to file a responsive pleading,” the motion states.

Gay argues that the Slaters failed to identify which oral or written statements were defamatory and failed to set forth facts identifying the dates or time periods during which the alleged defamatory conduct occurred.

“Without such information, Pamela Gay’s ability to investigate the allegations and formulate a meaningful response is prejudiced,” the motion states.

The Slaters filed a motion to strike Gay’s demand for a bill of particulars and to compel responsive pleading on Feb. 27 through attorney John Wendler of Edwardsville.

They argue that their complaint is not vague and is approximately 15 pages long, consisting of 56 paragraphs.

“Despite the breath and the detail of the Plaintiffs’ complaint the Defendant has filed a motion basically directed to three paragraphs,” the motion states.

They also argue that a bill of particulars doesn’t apply here, as they are typically used in dissolution of marriage cases, criminal matters and statutory sex harassment cases.

The Slaters say the allegations within the defendant’s bill of particulars “involve misdirection and a partial admission of liability.”

They explain that Gay alleges she can’t respond to the claim that she spread a report from the University of Arizona Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office because the plaintiffs’ didn’t plead which allegations were false. However, the Slaters say this argument consists of misdirection and an effort to obscure the issues because “the report should not have been distributed IF ANY OF THE CONTENTS WERE FALSE AND DEFAMATORY and, as discovery will illustrate, each page of the report was stamped CONFIDENTIAL.”

The Slaters also argue that Gay represents an implied admission in her bill of particulars that she defamed the plaintiffs but only plans on addressing those occasions the plaintiffs know of at this time.

“Plaintiffs do not wish to disclose all email traffic of which they be aware as Defendant’s husband works in the electric data industry and may have scrubbed her computer,” the motion states.

The plaintiffs add that the demand for a bill of particulars is actually a motion to dismiss, “as the pleading does not specify what particulars are specifically requested but rather makes vague and disjointed (cherry picking paragraphs) allegations of conclusions.”

The Slaters seek damages in excess of $50,000 each. They also seek $33 million in punitive damages.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-1598

Man sues VFW following assault

March 8, 2017, 9:05 am

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BELLEVILLE — A man is suing a local VFW and two patrons for allegedly assaulting him.

Gregory Bradford filed a complaint on Feb. 16 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against VFW Post 1699, Jeffrey Gulley and Steven Gulley, alleging it failed to provide a safe environment.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Feb. 19, 2016, he was a lawful business invitee at the VFW's premises when suddenly, the Gulleys beat and kicked him repeatedly.

As a result, Bradford claims he suffered serious injuries to his face, head eyes and other parts of his body.

The plaintiff alleges the VFW failed to prevent disorder, drunkenness and fighting and failed to provide adequate security personnel.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against each defendant in excess of $50,000, plus costs of this suit and such other relief as the court may deem just and proper.

He is represented by Rhonda D. Fiss of The Law Office of Rhonda D. Fiss PC in Belleville.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 17-L-70