HILLSBORO – Sarah Deatherage, widow of state trooper Kyle Deatherage, persists in attacking Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier in Montgomery County litigation.

In a deposition for her wrongful death suit against Dot Foods, Deatherage said she volunteered for a press conference against Karmeier’s retention last year.

“I asked what I could do to inform the public that there was someone crooked running for office,” she said.

“I asked who I can talk to about this, and it was arranged."

According to a transcript of the deposition, attorney Don Devitt of Chicago, representing defendant Dot Foods, said, “Who did you ask?”

Deatherage: “Attorney client privilege.”

Devitt asked what happened next.

“Then I was given the resources I asked for,” she said.

At a press conference set one week before the general election, her lawyer, Tom Keefe of Swansea, criticized transfer of the case from Madison County to Montgomery County.

In his remarks made at the press conference, Keefe expressed suspicion that Karmeier arranged the transfer because Dot Foods had contributed to his campaign.

At her deposition, Deatherage said that Keefe paid for a robo call that she recorded against Karmeier.

Devitt: “How is it that anything that Justice Karmeier did made it harder for you to get justice for you and your children?”

Deatherage: “He had a hand in the panel that was deciding the venue of my case.”

Devitt: “Do you think that the venue in Montgomery County isn’t going to provide you the same justice that you would get in Madison County?”

Keefe: “Objection. Don’t answer that. Certify it.”

Certification preserves a deposition dispute for possible review by a judge.

Devitt then read from a script of her robo call that said, “Judge Karmeier is funded by the company that killed my husband.”

He asked her what the company did that resulted in her husband’s death.

Deatherage: “They killed my husband.”

Devitt asked how, and she said, “They hired a reckless driver who ran him over.”

Devitt: “Was what happened an accident?”

Keefe objected and said, “I’m going to certify that one too.”

Prior to the deposition of Deatherage on June 29, Keefe dodged interrogatories about the retention campaign. He explained the press conference by claiming it as his own.

Keefe wrote, “Plaintiff’s counsel conducted a press conference concerning what he perceived to have been violations of the Canon of Ethics as it relates to avoiding the appearance of impropriety by Justice Karmeier in accepting campaign contributions from defendant Dot.”

He wrote that Deatherage taped a robo call but doesn’t know where it was played.

“Plaintiff’s best recollection is that the robo call advocated a no vote on Justice Karmeier’s retention,” he wrote.

Kyle Deatherage died in 2012, when a truck hit him at the side of Interstate 55 in Montgomery County.

He had stopped a driver for a possible violation.

Driver Johnny Felton of Georgia later pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and operating without a valid license.

He accepted 30 months on probation and a fine of $2,500.

Meanwhile Deatherage had sued Dot Foods, subsidiary Dot Transportation, and Felton in Madison County circuit court.

Dot Foods moved for transfer, and Circuit Judge Dennis Ruth denied it.

He ruled that he could exercise jurisdiction because Dot Foods does business in Madison County.

Fifth District appellate judges disagreed, finding that Dot’s business in Madison County represented a tiny percentage of its overall business.

Keefe then held the press conference one week before the election on Oct. 28, and the robo calls followed.

Despite his efforts, Fifth District voters retained Karmeier in November.

Now Deatherage and Keefe face questions about the efforts in a court they wanted to avoid.

At Deatherage’s deposition, Devitt asked when she heard of Karmeier.

Deatherage: “I saw ads running on television.”

Devitt asked when she next heard about him.

Deatherage: “I’m not going to answer that.”

Devitt asked how Karmeier impacted her case.

Deatherage: “He had a hand in the panel selected to hear the attorney speak about where the case venue would be.”

Devitt asked what that meant.

Deatherage: “That’s my answer.”

Devitt asked if Karmeier participated in the decision.

Deatherage: “He indirectly did.”

Devitt: “How did he indirectly do that?”

Deatherage: “I don’t know.”

He asked why she was asked to participate in the campaign.

Deatherage: “I actually offered because I was angry and I wanted to inform citizens of what was happening behind the scenes that nobody saw.”

He asked what was happening that nobody saw.

Deatherage: “He was accepting money from Dot Foods.”

Devitt: “To do what?”

Deatherage: “To arrange the panel in their favor.”

She said she saw a piece of paper with amounts of contributions highlighted.

Devitt asked where she got it.

Deatherage: “I don’t have to tell you that.”

Devitt asked if she had any input in drafting the script for the robo call.

Deatherage: “I knew what I wanted to say, and I said it.”

He asked who wrote it.

She said she didn’t know.

Devitt quoted the third sentence: “I’m calling thanks to the generosity of our family’s friend, Tom Keefe.”

Devitt asked why it was underlined.

Devitt: “Because he paid to have it done.”

He asked what district Karmeier ran in.

Deatherage: “I believe the Sixth.”

He asked if it covered Montgomery County.

She said she didn’t know.

He asked if any calls went to Montgomery County. She said she didn’t know.

Devitt said he was finished.

Attorney Al Pranaitis of Alton, representing Dot Transportation, said, “At the end of the robo call you gave a telephone number and invited the person who was receiving that call to call the number if they wanted to.”

Pranaitis: “Is this the number that was at the end of the call?”

Keefe: “Where does it say that she invited the person to call that number?”

Pranaitis: “It doesn’t, but I think she did.”

Pranaitis to Deatherage: “At the end of the robo call, did you give a number and say that the person could call that number if they wanted to?”

Deatherage: “I don’t remember.”

Pranaitis: “Do you know if this number here, 618-236-2180, was stated by you in the robocall?”

Deatherage: “I don’t remember.”

Montgomery County Circuit Judge Douglas Jarman presides over the case.

In a telephone conference on Sept. 18, he set trial to begin on Oct. 31, 2016.

The defendants in a Smokey Bones customer’s slip and fall suit deny the allegations against them and seek to dismiss the complaint.

Gregory Lane filed his lawsuit on July 20 against Barbeque Integrated Inc., Spirit Master Funding VII LLC, Sun Capital Partners Inc. and Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill of Fairview Heights and its owner, Catherine Nelson.

According to the complaint, Lane claims he was a customer at the Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill on Nov. 20, 2013. He claims that due to negligent grounds maintenance, he tripped and fell forcefully when exiting the premises.

Lane claims he sustained severe and disabling injuries to his wrists, elbows, left shoulder, neck, face, mouth and other areas and suffered pain and anguish, lost income and earning capacity, disability and disfigurement. He seeks between $50,000 and $75,000, plus attorney’s fees and costs.

Barbeque Integrated and Spirit Master Funding denied the allegations against them in their separate but similar answers on Aug. 31 through attorneys Craig Jobe and David Ahlheim of Childress Ahlheim Cary in St. Louis.

The defendants argue that Lane’s claims are barred because the alleged damages were not caused by any fault, act or omission of Barbeque Integrated or Spirit Master Funding.

The defendants also claim Lane’s own negligence caused his alleged damages when he failed to heed warnings, failed to rely on knowledge with respect to the area in which the incident occurred and failed to act in a reasonable manner with regard to his own physical wellbeing.

Nelson filed a motion to dismiss Count V on Sept. 9, which alleges negligence.

Nelson claims she was not the possessor or occupier of the premises and did not have complete control over the premises at the time of the alleged incident. Therefore, she claims she does not owe a duty to the plaintiff.

Additionally, she claims she there were two other managers on site and she was just one of the many employees working on the date of the alleged incident.

Nelson is also represented by Jobe and Ahlheim.

Smokey Bones also filed a motion to dismiss on Sept. 9 through Jobe and Ahlheim, arguing that Count IV should be dismissed. It argues that “Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill” is not a legal entity recognized by law, meaning dismissal is proper. It explains that the proper entity is Barbeque Integrated and that “Smokey Bones” is just a trade name or assumed name.

Sun Capital Partners filed a motion to dismiss Count III of the complaint on Sept. 9, arguing that the defendant is a corporate affiliate of Sun Capital Management Partners V, LLC, and the plaintiff has made “no allegations of ‘piercing the corporate veil.’”

“A party seeking to pierce the corporate veil has the burden of making ‘a substantial showing that one corporation is really a dummy or sham for another, and courts will pierce the corporate veil only reluctantly,’” the defendant argues.

Sun Capital Partners claims it owes no duty to the plaintiff because it did not have any control over the premises at the time of the alleged incident.

“Sun Capital Partners Management V, LLC simply entered into an agreement with Defendant Barbeque Integrated, Inc., to provide ‘financial and management consulting services,’” the motion states.

The defendant is also represented by Jobe and Ahlheim.

Lane is represented by Gregory Skinner of Belleville.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 15-L-406

A Belleville school district claims a mother’s lawsuit does not provide sufficient facts, which alleges her son was injured when a tent collapsed at a school picnic.

Jacqueline Tunstall filed the lawsuit as the mother and natural guardian of minor Ryan Neal McKinzie Tunstall on May 12 against Belleville School District 118.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff’s child was in attendance at a school picnic on May 12, 2014, when a tent collapsed and a support pole struck him in the head. The plaintiff claims the boy sustained traumatic injuries to the left side of his head.

The school is accused of negligence in supervising or erecting the tent.

Tunstall argues that as a direct and proximate result of the school district’s negligence, her son incurred past pain and suffering and is expected to experience future pain and suffering.

Belleville School District filed a combined motion to dismiss the complaint on July 6 through attorneys Barney Mundorf, David Mannix and Sarah Knoploh of Guin Mundorf in Collinsville, arguing that while the complaint alleges negligence, it fails to allege facts sufficient to establish the existence and the nature of the duty of care which the district allegedly owed the minor. The defendant also claims the plaintiff failed to allege acts or omissions that show a breach of the duty of care.

“The complaint merely alleges the pleader’s conclusion that the District’s conduct was negligent, but the complaint does not allege the elements required to show negligence. Specifically, the complaint fails to plead the existence and the nature of the duty of care which the district allegedly owed the minor plaintiff. Further, the complaint fails to allege acts and/or omissions that, if proven, could constitute a breach of the duty of care,” the defendant’s supporting memorandum of law states.

Because the alleged incident occurred on public property, the defendant also alleges immunity from negligence for any failure to supervise under the Local Government and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act.

Circuit Judge Andrew Gleeson scheduled a motion hearing for Nov. 10 at 9 a.m. to address the defendant’s motion. He also set a status conference for Jan. 11, 2016, at 9 a.m.

The plaintiff seeks damages in excess of $50,000, plus attorney’s fees and costs.

Tunstall is represented by Michael McGlynn of McGlynn & McGlynn in Belleville.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 15-L-286

A credit score company has removed to federal court and then sought to dismiss a class action alleging it unwittingly signed up consumers for a membership program.

The defendants filed a notice of removal on July 15 through attorney Troy A. Bozarth of HeplerBroom in Edwardsville, removing the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

They argue that diversity of citizenship and the amount in controversy make removal proper.

Vickie Forby filed the complaint on behalf of the class on April 24 against One Technologies LP, One Technologies Management LLC and One Technologies Capital LLP.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs claim the defendants performed “deceptive, unfair and misleading marketing and advertising” strategies when it allegedly offered free credit reports to get new customers to enroll in its credit monitoring program, which the plaintiffs alleged they did not want, consent to and agree to pay for. Then the defendants allegedly made it “next to impossible to cancel” program membership.

The plaintiffs accuse the defendants of an alleged ruse that’s lasted from at least 2008 until December 2014.

The Federal Trade Commission and Attorneys General offices in Ohio and Illinois also filed a lawsuit in California in late 2014, after which the defendants agreed to correct their ways and pay $22 million in compensation.

On Dec. 15, 2014, the plaintiff’s credit card was charged for the program without authorization, in violation of the court order, the suit states.

The plaintiffs claim the defendants violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and allege unjust enrichment. They seek unspecified damages, plus costs.

After the case was removed, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss or transfer the case to the Northern District of Texas on July 21, arguing that Forby’s agreement with the defendants selects arbitration in Dallas as the “sole method of dispute resolution, and thus requires dismissal under the doctrine of forum non conveniens.”

Further, the defendant argues that its website “clearly and conspicuously discloses the essential terms of Forby’s purchase, such that her complaint fails to state a cognizable claim and should be dismissed with prejudice…”

Forby filed a response in opposition to the motion on Sept. 18 through attorney David C. Nelson of Nelson and Nelson in Belleville. She argues that the arbitration clause should not be enforced because the “terms and conditions” of the agreement were “cleverly hidden from Plaintiff when she visited Defendants’ website but, now, are being used to foreclose her from seeking relief.”

“When corporate defendants seek to enforce terms of a contract of adhesion, courts must do so only when those terms were disclosed in a manner that makes enforcement reasonable. Here, no such condition exist. Defendants either carefully or carelessly avoided making these material terms reasonably apparent to Plaintiff and the Class and, accordingly, the Court should decline to enforce them,” the opposition states.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 15-L-246

Everyone in Illinois knows that government-run pension debt threatens the state’s fiscal solvency, with debt for state-run pensions totaling more than $100 billion.

But the Illinois fund that manages pensions for local-government workers is often touted as the model for how to run a defined-benefit plan. The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, or IMRF, the best-funded pension system in Illinois, has a funding ratio of 87 percent. IMRF covers local-government workers in cities outside of Chicago.

IMRF’s funding level compares favorably to the Chicago police and the Chicago firefighter pension funds, which are only 25 percent funded. IMRF is also better funded than the state’s teachers’ retirement fund, which has just 40 percent of the funds it needs.

There’s a reason the IMRF has higher funding levels than the other government-run pensions. Cities are mandated – through a court-enforced funding guarantee – to fund IMRF pensions before everything else, even if that means cutting budgets for road repair, libraries and police and firefighter pensions.

That wouldn’t be a problem if the cities and their taxpayers could count on making fixed and predictable retirement contributions each year. But they can’t.

City taxpayers are not only responsible for paying the current contributions, but also must make up the system’s pension shortfalls due to poor market returns and the general instability of defined-benefit plans under which retirees receive guaranteed monthly payments when they leave the workforce.

IMRF members, on the other hand, pay a set percentage of their income to the pension system, regardless of any increasing shortfalls or liabilities in the pension plan.

That arrangement – mandated contributions regardless of available city resources – has contributed to fiscal crises across Illinois.

Here are five things about the IMRF that the defenders of the pension fund status quo won’t tell you:

1. IMRF benefits are growing far faster than city budgets and the inflation rate

IMRF accrued pension benefits have been growing at the pace of 7.2 percent a year since 2000, far faster than the 2.3 percent rate of inflation and beyond what city taxpayers can afford.


Since employee contributions for a vast majority of workers are fixed at 4.5 percent a year, this growth in benefits has to be funded by increased contributions from taxpayers.

2. An 87 percent funding ratio still means a $4 billion shortfall

In 2000, IMRF actually had a funding surplus. The 2001 market downturn changed that, turning IMRF’s surplus into a shortfall. The 2008 recession made things worse, and the fund’s shortfall had grown to $4.8 billion by 2014.


That pension shortfall will have to be covered through increased funding by taxpayers.

3. Taxpayers are on the hook for increasing city contributions to IMRF to pay for growing benefits and unfunded liabilities

IMRF has demanded more and more money from cities to fund the rapid growth of promised pension benefits as well as to fill the funding gaps left by the 2001 and 2008 stock-market corrections.

Employer contributions to IMRF have grown at the rate of 7 percent a year since 2000, far outpacing local revenue growth and the rate of inflation. Employee contributions, in the meantime, have grown at a slower pace of 4 percent.

Due to this disparity in employer and employee funding obligations, cities contribute far more to the IMRF than the government-worker beneficiaries do. Employers contributed 2.6 times what employees did in 2014, up from 1.8 times in 2000.


4. IMRF’s funding guarantee pits municipal pensions against local police and firefighter pensions and other services

The rising costs of IMRF liabilities exacerbate the fiscal crises facing hundreds of municipalities across the state.

The money IMRF requires from local employers has to come from somewhere, and cities are increasingly shorting their police and firefighter pension funds, cutting back on local services, and raising taxes and fees to make their IMRF payments.

Downstate police and firefighter pensions are a frequent target of payment cutbacks. Since 2000, the funding levels of police and firefighter pensions have fallen by 20 percent. Collectively, the two systems have little more than half the money they need today to pay out future benefits.


Pension costs are consuming more and more of Illinois’ property taxes, which already rank second highest in the country.

The city of Springfield, for example, now dedicates 98 percent of its city property taxes to pay for the pensions of police, firefighters and city workers.

Other cities have raised taxes and fees to combat rising pension costs. Peoria has added new water and natural-gas utility taxes, and also has doubled its garbage-collection fees to help fund its growing pension commitments.

(Chicago, which is not part of the IMRF, is the most infamous example of a city’s raising taxes and fees in order to fund its broken defined-benefit pension plans).

5. IMRF salaries climb, while Illinois household incomes stagnate

IMRF is demanding more and more from cities and their taxpayers at a time when it’s harder than ever for them to make these increased contributions.

Real median household incomes in Illinois have dropped since 2000 and have not yet recovered.


That means cities are struggling to collect revenue from families with less income, while increasing property taxes and cutting local services in order to meet IMRF’s demands for funding.

IMRF’s well-funded status does not make it the example for other pension plans in Illinois to follow. Its relative fiscal health is only due to the fact that it can force localities to fund it at the expense of those communities’ local vital services.

Cities will only end their fiscal crises when they are no longer subject to the instability of defined-benefit pension plans and these systems’ funding guarantees.

Some claim that the failures of Illinois’ multiple pension plans prove that Illinois pensions need funding guarantees and other controls. But simply throwing more and more revenue at broken pension systems won’t solve the problem. IMRF’s funding guarantee is evidence that forcing municipalities to pay for pensions above all else crowds out funds for core government services.

After all, pension systems are inherently political, opaque and void of accountability. As long as politicians maintain control over pensions, they’ll always find ways to exploit them and pass on the costs to taxpayers.

The real solution is to provide Illinois workers with a funding guarantee in the form of self-managed retirement plans, giving both taxpayers and localities more budget certainty and granting workers the retirement security they deserve.

Ted Debrowski is the vice president of policy and a spokesman for Illinois Policy Institute.

John Klingner is a policy analyst for Illinois Policy Institute.

An Edwardsville woman is suing an Alton woman following a vehicle collision they were involved in.

Stephanie N. Runion filed a complaint Sept. 1 in Madison County Circuit Court against Mildred D. Hausman, alleging negligence.

On Dec. 28, 2013, the complaint states, Runion was a passenger in a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by Trisha A. Inman, moving westbound on West St. Louis Avenue in East Alton when Hausman, driving her 2006 Lincoln Navigator westbound on the same street, struck the rear of Inman's vehicle.

The complaint states Hausman was negligent in failing to keep a proper lookout, speeding, failing to brake and failing to yield the right-of-way.

As a result of the collision, Runion sustained injuries and medical bills and has been prevented from attending her usual duties and affairs.

Runion seeks a judgment of less than $50,000, plus costs of the suit. She is represented by Lanny Darr of the Darr Firm in Alton.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-1124

An Illinois woman is suing another woman after a vehicle collision.

Deborah G. Portera filed a complaint Sept. 1 in Madison County Circuit Court against Marilyn Wilds, alleging negligence.

On Sept. 11, 2013, the complaint states, Portera and Wilds were involved in a motor vehicle collision.

The complaint states that Wilds was negligent in failing to keep a careful lookout, failing to signal an intention to turn, and failing to yield the right-of-way.

As a result of the accident, Portera sustained injuries, including a concussion with memory loss and back pain, for which she has incurred medical expenses and lost wages.

Portera seeks a judgment in excess of this court's minimum threshold, plus costs of the suit. She is represented by Patrick Hinrichs of the Bradley Law Firm.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15L1125

A Madison County man is suing Sunset Hills Country Club over claims it has deprived him of benefits after a golf rule change.

Zaki Sheikh filed a complaint Aug. 31 in Madison County Circuit Court.

Sheikh, who claims he is an avid golfer with a high handicap, says he joined Sunset Hills in 1972 because of its affiliation with the United States Golf Association, whose rules allowed full handicap to be used in scoring in tournaments, resulting in unlimited play for a high handicapped golfer like Sheikh.

The complaint states that in the summer of 2013, Sheikh entered a tournament at the club and learned that it no longer followed USGA rules, refusing to give in match play a full handicap to a golfer with a USGA-rated handicap, like Sheikh.

Sheikh, who has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees to the country club, thereafter found it difficult to participate in tournaments, depriving him of benefits promised by membership to the club, the complaint states.

Sheikh seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs of the suit. He is represented by Ronald A. Roth of Roth Law Offices LLC in Granite City.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-1120

O'Fallon attorney Todd Alexander Gordon has been suspended for a year and until further order of the Illinois Supreme Court over misconduct involving false statements to clients, failing to return unearned fees and neglecting several different client matters.

The Court's discipline order issued Sept. 21 was based upon an eight-count complaint brought against Gordon in November 2014 by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), which also detailed three drunk driving arrests: in Crawford County, Mo. in 2011; in Troy in 2012 and in O'Fallon in 2013.

The ARDC complaint also detailed Gordon's arrest after midnight on Dec. 31, 2013, for resisting arrest when the driver of the car in which he was riding had been pulled over by O'Fallon police on suspicion of drunk driving.

The Court has ordered Gordon, who was licensed in 2010, to make "certain" restitution.The ARDC charged Gordon with misconduct involving four clients:

- John and Jodie Shipley of Troy paid Gordon a $1,500 retainer in July 2013 to help them in a zoning dispute. Gordon allegedly told the Shipleys he had filed suit on their behalf in Madison County regarding an easement, when he had not. He also failed to respond to the Shipleys' refund request, according to the ARDC.

- Alberto Friedman and Karla Oestringer of Highland paid Gordon a $500 retainer fee in February 2013 to sue the City of Highland over a sewage back up into their home. Gordon falsely told the couple he had filed suit when he had not, and he also allowed their potential claims to be time-barred, according to the ARDC. 

- Dustin Moreno paid Gordon a $450 retainer fee in March or April 2013 to represent him in a wrongful termination case against Imo's Pizza in Belleville, but as of the date the ARDC filed its complaint against Gordon, no such action had been taken. The ARDC complaint also states that Gordon did not return calls Moreno placed. 

- Coena Royal of Alton had hired Gordon on a contingency basis in June 2013 to represent her in a case against the City of Alton over a sewer line back up. In July 2013, the city's insurer contacted Royal, who gave the insurer Gordon's contact information. After September 2013, and until February 2014, Royal attempted to call Gordon at least weekly, but no time after September 2013, did he return her calls, according to the ARDC.

Madison County Associate Judge Stephen Stobbs was joined by attorneys from both side of the fence to shed light on how to navigate a case in the nation’s busiest asbestos docket.

Plaintiff attorney Allyson Romani of Shrader & Associates in Glen Carbon and defense attorney Gary Pinter of Heyl Royster Voelker & Allen, along with Stobbs, talked about the process of filing suit and going to trial in Madison County at the HarrisMartin Midwest Asbestos Conference, held Sept. 18 in St. Louis.

Even though Madison County is where most new asbestos cases get filed each year, not many cases go to trial. In fact, roughly one case per year has gone to trial in the past decade.

“I think that’s a testament to how well the docket works,” Romani said of the low trial rate.

Since 2005, there have been nine asbestos trials, eight of which were defense verdicts. The one plaintiff verdict was for $500,000 and was later reduced to almost nothing due to the plaintiff's prior settlements.

Most cases in Madison County settle before they go before a jury.

“We’ll try to get the case resolved before going to trial,” Pinter said. “It saves everyone time and money.”

Forum shopping has been one of the biggest criticisms of the Madison County asbestos docket - significantly having become a sticking point in negotiations between the Governor and state Legislature. 

But Romani said that if a defendant has no interest in pursuing a case in Madison County, her firm will refile the case elsewhere. 

Stobbs, Romani and Pinter stressed how attorneys in Madison County are usually pretty good about settling their differences and reaching agreements without issues.

“Ninety-Nine percent of the time, attorneys will work together,” Stobbs said.

After cases are filed, the parties begin discovery and gathering medical records, employment records and military records. Then the clock starts to run when the case is set for trial.

Stobbs has already begun setting cases for trial as far ahead as 2017. 

Romani said cases involving a living mesothelioma plaintiff are typically set for trial in six months to one year from the date the case was filed. However, lung cancer cases or those with a decedent typically take about 15 months to get a trial date.

After a case is set for trial, the parties will begin scheduling depositions. The parties agreed that they try to get depositions done quickly. Romani added that it is better for defendants to avoid longer depositions because “the longer they have to think about and talk about things, the more they remember.”

In Stobbs’ courtroom, he only allows new depositions of corporate representatives if the questions are based on new material. But he said there generally isn’t any new material to address.

“We want to be consistent and use our standing order," Stobbs said. "We don’t want to re-plow ground that’s already been covered."

Pinter added that during the deposition phase, defendants take time to further investigate and cross examine alleged exposure histories. He said that in one case, his firm had a plaintiff who claimed he worked at a client’s premises during a specific time. However, further investigation revealed that the plaintiff had been in prison during the time he claimed to have been on the client’s premises.

Romani said that prior to taking a case to trial, her firm will let defendants know at least a month in advance whether they are a primary target, allowing them enough time to develop their arguments.

While Madison County has primarily seen defense verdicts in recent years, Pinter said it’s not over until defendants determine whether an appeal is in order.

EAST ST. LOUIS – Government motions to shorten sentences of drug dealers for former St. Clair County judges swiftly succeeded, but a motion for the mother and son who supplied the dealers has gathered dust all year.

As of Sept. 22, District Judge David Herndon had not decided whether to reduce the sentences of Deborah Perkins and Douglas Oliver.

Perkins faces 21 years in prison and Oliver faces 24, for running a drug business from their home at 20 Kassing Drive in Fairview Heights.

U.S. Attorney Stephen Wigginton, who negotiated their guilty pleas in 2013, moved for shorter sentences last December.

At the same time, Wigginton moved to reduce the sentence of Sean McGilvery, heroin supplier for former judge Michael Cook.

District Judge Michael Reagan granted the motion in six days, trimming McGilvery’s sentence from 10 years to less than six.

This February, Wigginton moved to reduce the sentence of former probation officer James Fogarty, cocaine supplier for the late judge Joe Christ.

Reagan granted the motion in six days, trimming Fogarty’s sentence from five years to about half that.

Fogarty will finish his sentence on Feb. 18, according to the online inmate locator of the Bureau of Prisons, and McGilvery will finish his sentence in 2017.

All four motions and both orders remain under seal, and no public record confirms their contents except the changes of release dates on the inmate locator.

Wigginton apparently acted under federal law authorizing shorter sentences for prisoners who provide information in criminal investigations.

A prisoner should get credit only if information leads to indictment, yet Wigginton has not identified any indictment that resulted from prison information.

Perkins and Oliver operated openly for years, in spite of constant neighborhood complaints to police and city leaders.

No one put a stop to it until two guests of Oliver died.

Federal agents investigated Perkins, learned that she planned to buy heroin in Chicago, and caught her with the goods when she returned.

Wigginton obtained indictments in January 2013.

In March 2013, Christ died in Cook’s Pike County hunting lodge.

In May 2013, agents arrested McGilvery, Fogarty and Cook.

Wigginton charged Cook with possessing heroin and using it while possessing firearms, and Cook waived indictment.

Cook and Wigginton reached an agreement that Cook would plead guilty and serve 18 months, but senior judge Joe McDade of Peoria rejected the agreement.

He sentenced Cook to 24 months, a stretch that will end on Feb. 20.

Wigginton’s silence on sentence reductions extends to two other public corruption scandals he investigated in 2013.

He has not identified any indictment behind a reduction that translated into almost immediate freedom for former Madison County treasurer Fred Bathon.

Bathon pleaded guilty in 2013, to charges that he rigged bids at auctions of delinquent taxes to favor Democrat campaign contributors.

Nor has Wigginton justified a shorter sentence for former East St. Louis detective Orlando Ward, who took $5,000 to guide a drug shipment through his city.

Reagan cut Ward’s sentence from five years to three and a half, setting him up for release in October 2016.

A motorcyclist is suing over claims of negligence following a highway accident that left him injured.

David A. Kries filed a complaint Sept. 3 in Madison County Circuit Court against Christopher S. Swan, alleging negligence.

On July 12, 2014, the complaint states, Kries was operating his 2007 Harley-Davidson motorcycle northbound on Illinois Route 4 in Madison County, when Swan, operating his 1999 Ford Taurus southbound on said road, tried to make a left turn onto the Interstate 70 eastbound ramp and collided with Kries.

The complaint states that Swan was negligent in proceeding to make a left turn when unsafe, failing to yield the right-of-way, and failing to keep proper lookout on a public highway. As a result, Kries has suffered permanent injuries to his right foot, for which he has incurred medical expenses and lost income.

Kries seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs of the suit. He is represented by Edwardsville-based attorney M. Joseph Hill.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-1136

A woman is being sued over claims of negligence after rear-ending a vehicle with four passengers.

Breianna Hamilton, Alexis Hamilton, Devan Williams and Mary Hamilton, individually and as mother and next friend of minor Dominic Hamilton, filed a complaint Sept. 3 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Julia Skaggs, alleging negligence.

On May 4, the complaint states, Skaggs was operating her vehicle at 7301 Westfield Plaza Drive in Belleville when her sandal got stuck under the pedals and caused her to lose control of the vehicle, resulting in a rear-end collision with a vehicle driven by Breianna Hamilton, with Williams, Alexis Hamilton, and Dominic Hamilton as passengers.

The complaint states Skaggs was negligent in failing to keep a proper lookout, failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident, and following too closely, among other negligent acts or omissions.

As a result of the accident, the plaintiffs suffered bodily injuries and damages.

Each plaintiff seeks a judgment against Skaggs of more than $50,000, plus costs of the suit. They are represented by Belleville-based attorney Daniel K. Juncker.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 15-L-498

A Madison County therapist is suing her husband’s ex-wife for alleged defamation related to her business.

Plaintiff Sharonda Brown-Wilson filed suit Sept. 10 in the Third Judicial Circuit Court of Madison County against defendant Kimberley Terrell.

Brown-Wilson alleges that on June 29, Terrell told another party that Brown-Wilson was not trustworthy and was cheating on her husband. The plaintiff states that these allegations are false and were allegedly made to damage her reputation and her business, which relies on word-of-mouth referrals to gain clients. The suit alleges Brown-Wilson lost clients as a result of her false statements.

Attorney Brandon M. Wise of The Wise Firm LLC in St. Louis, Mo., and Christopher B. Bent of the Law Office of Christopher Bent, also in St. Louis, are representing the plaintiff, who is seeking actual and compensatory damages of more than $50,000 plus litigation fees.

Third Judicial Circuit Court of Madison County case number 15-L-1166.

A man is suing a certain O'Fallon apartment complex following an accident that occurred on its premises.

John E. Howell III filed a complaint Sept. 2 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Green Mount Lakes Apartments, alleging negligence.

On July 22, the complaint states, Howell, a tenant of Green Mount Lakes Apartments, was walking down a flight of steps in a common area of the apartment complex when suddenly a step broke and caused him to fall.

The complaint states the defendant was negligent in failing to inspect the condition of the step, failing to repair or replace the deteriorated step and failing to warn of the deteriorated step.

As a result, Howell sustained injuries to various parts of his body, for which he has incurred medical expenses.

Howell seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs of the suit. He is represented by Belleville-based attorney Brad L. Badgley.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 15-L-494

A mother and son are suing a bicycle distributor after an allegedly defective bicycle left the son injured.

Brandon Mealy, by his mother and next friend Tammy Allen, and Tammy Allen filed a complaint Sept. 3 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Pacific Cycle Inc., alleging negligence.

According to the complaint, on June 15, 2014, Allen purchased a bicycle that had been assembled and distributed by Pacific Cycle from a Belleville Walmart near Green Mount Road.

On June 16, 2014, the complaint states, Mealy rode the bicycle for the first time, with no alterations being made to it since its purchase. Within 15 minutes, the bicycle's handlebars went forward and caused Mealy to be thrown over the handlebars onto the pavement.

The complaint states Pacific Cycle was negligent in its design of the bicycle, causing the screws to strip and the handlebars to loosen.

As a result, Mealy sustained injuries, disability, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life, as well as incurred medical expenses.

Both plaintiffs seek judgments between $50,000 and $75,000, plus costs of the suit. They are represented by Eric Kirkpatrick of Kirkpatrick Law Offices PC in Belleville.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 15-L-497

A woman is suing after her vehicle was rear-ended near a certain Collinsville intersection.

Livonder Sanders filed a complaint Sept. 3 in Madison County Circuit Court against Elizabeth Carey, citing negligence.

On Feb. 17, 2014, the complaint states, Carey was driving eastbound on Reese Drive near its intersection with Johnson Hill road in Collinsville, when she rear-ended Sanders' vehicle.

The complaint states that Carey was negligent in following too closely, speeding, failing to keep a proper lookout, and failing to keep her vehicle under proper control.

As a result, Sanders sustained injuries to the head, neck, shoulders, back, spine, spinal cord, vertebrae, intevertebral discs, joints, skin, bones, muscles, tendons and other areas, and has incurred medical expenses.

Sanders seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs of the suit. Sanders is represented by Bruce E. Mattea of the Mattea Law Firm in Collinsville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-1137

A Mascoutah man is suing a Nashville, Ill. man following a vehicle collision during stopped traffic in a construction zone.

Anthony C. Weck, individually and as father and next friend of minor Alexis Harp-Weck, filed a complaint on Sept. 2 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Steven D. Harre, citing negligence.

On Aug. 13, the complaint states, Weck was transporting his daughter southbound on Interstate 255 in Centreville Township, where they were stopped behind four vehicles in a construction zone. Harre was driving his tractor-trailer southbound toward Weck's vehicle, when he allegedly impacted the vehicle's rear with "violent force," totaling Weck's car and causing injuries to Weck and his daughter.

The complaint states Harre was negligent in failing to observe stopped vehicles in the roadway, failing to control his vehicle to avoid collision and speeding, among other negligent acts or omissions.

As a result, Weck claims he suffered injuries, including a concussion, laceration of the head, internal and external knee injury, neck and lower back injury, and bruises and strains. Harp-Weck also suffered injuries, according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs seek judgments of more than $50,000, plus costs of the suit. They are represented by Belleville-based attorney Rhonda D. Fiss.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 15-L-496

A Madison County woman is suing a shopping center for injuries she claims she suffered when she fell on uneven steps.

Plaintiff Delores Parente filed suit on Sept. 10 in Madison County Circuit Court against defendants The Glen Carbon Development LLC, TKG Management Inc. (dba as The Kroenke Group) and Cato Corp.

According to the lawsuit, Parente was on the premises of the Cottonwood Plaza shopping center on Sept. 13, 2013, when she allegedly fell on concrete steps with risers of different heights.

The plaintiff claims the defendant was negligent in both providing such steps for public use and not providing a handrail. The plaintiff also alleges there was no warning about the variance in the steps’ riser heights. Parente is suing for current and future medical expenses resulting from her fall, the suit states.

Attorney William S. Beatty of the Madison County law firm of Beatty & Motil is representing Parente, who is seeking reimbursement in an amount between $50,000 and $75,000.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-1163.