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TRIALS
Elizabeth A. Knight and Misha Itchhaporia obtained a defense verdict in Richard Jackson v. Ross Allen in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana. They successfully represented a Marion police officer, the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, and various jail officers of the Grant County Jail, including the Sheriff of Grant County, on charges of excessive force and denial of due process rights in violation of the 14th Amendment.
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Matthew B. Knight obtained a defense verdict in Tilki v. Schaumburg School District 54 where it was alleged that the School District failed to maintain its property in a safe manner. The court found that the School District owed no duty under the Illinois Recreational Use of Land and Water Areas Act and was immune from liability pursuant Section 3-106 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act.
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Matthew B. Knight also obtained a directed verdict in Hensley v. City of Rochester, Indiana where the Plaintiff alleged that the City was negligent in failing to warn of the dangers of being struck by a golf ball, and in the design and layout of its municipal golf course. The court held that the City had no duty to warn of open and obvious conditions, had no authority over individuals in a state-controlled creek, and was immune from liability under the Indiana Tort Claims Act and Recreational Use Statute.
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Elizabeth A. Knight also successfully tried Hebert v. Porter County in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana in an unlawful search and seizure case with liability already established before trial, Plaintiff demanded $175,000 in damages. The jury returned a verdict in the amount of $1.00. Plaintiff received no Section 1988 fees as he was not the prevailing party on the nominal verdict.
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Congratulations to Matthew S. Clark and Amanda M. Hillman on their trial in McAllister v. Town of Burns Harbor, Ind, et al. where the plaintiff alleged that the Town’s Chief of Police used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. He fractured his hip and had over $77,000 in medicals. Although the Plaintiff’s attorney requested $1 million from the jury, the jury came back with an award of only $2,000.
APPEALS
Elizabeth A. Knight prevailed in the Indiana Court of Appeals in Huckaby v. Jasper County Sheriff’s Office which affirmed dismissal of the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department in an alleged wrongful termination employment case.
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Once again, Elizabeth A. Knight won an appeal in the Indiana Court of Appeals in Howard v. E&B Paving where the Plaintiff claimed her deceased daughter was enrolled in post-secondary educational institution at the time of her death and under the Indiana Child Wrongful Death Act was not subject to the $300,000.00 adult wrongful death cap in damages. Knight was successful in arguing the daughter was not “enrolled” even though the daughter had taken classes at the school and was eligible to enroll at the time of her death where she had not taken classes in the prior semester and had not taken any steps to enroll in classes for the next semester. The Plaintiff’s damage claim was subject to the wrongful death damage cap.
MOTIONS
Charles C. Hoppe and Michael J. Atkus recently obtained summary judgment in two casino cases filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
In Grayson v. Ameristar Casino East Chicago, LLC, the Plaintiff claimed she slipped and fell in a diner on Defendant’s premises due to cola or other brown liquid on the floor. They successfully argued that Plaintiff could not establish that Ameristar knew or should have known about the liquid on the floor.
In D’Amato v. Ameristar Casino East Chicago, LLC, the elderly Plaintiff fell in a woman’s restroom severely breaking her leg claiming she fell on a puddle of soapy water in the foyer area of the restroom. Again, they successfully argued that there was no evidence that the defendant’s employees caused the dangerous condition and that the plaintiff’s theory of liability was entirely based upon guess and speculation.
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Matthew S. Clark obtained summary judgment on behalf of the Town of Fulton and the Fulton County Health Department in federal court in the Northern District of Indiana-Hammond Division. When the septic failed in plaintiff’s rental home, the County ordered Plaintiffs to connect the house into the town sewer system or cease renting the property. Although Plaintiffs alleged that the Defendants’ conduct violated the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause leaving them without a viable use of their property, and infringed on their property rights and violated their Fourteenth Amendment equal protection rights, the Court disagreed and entered summary judgment on all theories of liability.
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Elizabeth A. Knight and Jeanne M. Anderson prevailed on a motion to dismiss in Turngren v. Jasper County, Indiana, in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana. Plaintiff brought suit against Jasper Circuit Court judges and Jasper County claiming he was wrongfully convicted in a criminal prosecution and denied his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The motion to dismiss was granted on the basis that the Circuit Court judges are state and not county officials and that suit cannot properly be brought against the County for the actions or inactions of state officials.
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The U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois granted William W. Kurnik’s and Michael J. Atkus’s motion to dismiss in Purley v. Village of Bensenville. Plaintiff, a former police officer for the Village, alleged that he was terminated because of his race and in retaliation for the filing of previous discrimination lawsuits and complaints. The Court agreed the Plaintiff’s claims were barred by the doctrine of res judicata because Plaintiff failed to raise them in a previous action for administrative review of the Police Board’s decision to terminate him.
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Jenna Lynn Schoeneman and Paul B. Johnson obtained a dismissal on behalf of the owner in a construction negligence case after filing a motion for summary judgment in Harrison v. Tarantula Ventures, et al. in the Circuit court of Cook County. They argued that the owner owed no duty where it retained no control over the construction activities, safety or means and methods of the work pursuant to Section 414 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, and that the owner owed no duty under a theory of premises liability where it had no notice of the job site conditions or that the Plaintiff and ironworkers were working near an unprotected trench.
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The U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois granted William W. Kurnik’s and Michael J. Atkus’s motion for summary judgment in Kidwell v. Eisenhower, et al. Plaintiff, a police officer, sued the Mayor, Police Chief, and two Deputy Chiefs alleging that they retaliated against him in numerous ways because he gave speeches critical of them and their administration at union meetings. They successfully argued that Plaintiff presented no evidence to demonstrate that the Defendants’ allegedly retaliatory acts were motivated by Plaintiffs’ speeches, and that the Defendants had legitimate non-retaliatory reasons for each and every adverse job action that they took against him.
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Summary judgment was obtained in favor of the general contractor in Cohen v. Continental Electric Construction Company, LLC, et al. by Byron D. Knight and Paul B. Johnson. The plaintiff was injured travelling on an escalator at the Sears Tower due to the activities of an electrical subcontractor. The court agreed that the general contractor was entitled to summary judgment where the plaintiff could not demonstrate that it controlled the means and methods of the subcontractor’s work, or that it had notice of the dangerous work practice engaged in by the subcontractor’s employee.
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The Circuit Court of Kane County granted William W. Kurnik’s and Michael J. Atkus’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint in Lizak v. Campton Hills et al. Plaintiffs’ decedent was arrested for DUI, was processed, bonded out, and later that evening was struck by a vehicle as he walked across the street causing his death. After the case was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on plaintiff’s federal civil rights claims, it was refiled in Kane County for wrongful death. They successfully argued that the Defendant officers’ conduct was immunized by the Tort Immunity Act, and that allegations of willful and wanton misconduct could not overcome otherwise absolute immunities.
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In Semanak v. City of Mishawaka, the Plaintiff agreed to voluntary dismiss his claims on May 4, 2011 for discrimination and failure to accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Age Discrimination in Employment Act and his claim for violation of his due process rights following the filing of a motion for summary judgment by Elizabeth A. Knight and Misha Itchhaporia.
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In Raketich v. Porter County Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana granted a summary judgment brought by Elizabeth A. Knight and Misha Itchhaporia on the Plaintiff’s Civil Rights claims, and remanded the Plaintiff’s remaining negligence state law claim to state court. In this Section 1983 case, the Plaintiff alleged that the Sheriff’s Department violated his constitutional rights when it allegedly failed to properly supervise and segregate inmates at the County Jail. In response to the Defendant’s motion for summary Judgment, Plaintiff conceded that he had no valid federal claim as there was no evidence that the Sheriff’s Department had an unconstitutional custom, policy or practice.
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