A Gary man is suing northwest Indiana police more than a year after he alleged that officers sprayed him with pepper spray and knelt on him when they encountered him near a protest over George Floyd’s death. Randall Smith’s lawsuit, filed Sept. 21 in U.S. District Court in Hammond, names Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez and county police officer Jay…
A former national champion nose tackle for the University of Notre Dame football team has taken aim at his alma matter and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. On Aug. 25, Mary Elizabeth Morrison, as attorney-in-fact of Richard Morrison, filed a proposed class action complaint and demand for jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana…
Walmart argues that a customer failed to keep a proper lookout when she allegedly slipped and fell on an air freshener that was on the restroom floor. Walmart answered the complaint on Oct. 8 through attorney James DeFranco of DeFranco & Bradley PC in Fairview Heights, denying liability. In its affirmative defenses, Walmart argues that the sole proximate cause of…
A fuel company worker alleges his exposure to benzene and other toxic chemicals caused him to develop cancer. Howard Smith and Lyn Vigna-Smith filed a complaint Sept. 27 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Piasa Motor Fuels LLC, formerly known as Piasa Auto Supply Service, and others, alleging negligence. According to the plaintiffs’ complaint, Howard Smith drove “various vehicles”…
Bayer AG won its first trial over claims its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer after a California jury found that the herbicide was not a substantial cause of a child’s rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the company said Tuesday. Destiny Clark alleged that her son Ezra developed Burkitt’s lymphoma after he was exposed to Roundup which she sprayed on weeds at…
A St. Clair County man is being sued by his employer’s insurance carrier, which alleges it did not consent to a workers’ compensation claim settlement relating to injuries from a collision. State Auto Property and Casualty Insurance Company filed a complaint Sept. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Kenneth Grasle. According to State…
A federal jury has awarded $7.5 million in damages to a suburban Chicago sheriff’s deputy who sued after he was severely injured during a 2014 training exercise. The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reported that the jury found that the maker of law enforcement equipment was liable for a 12-gauge tactical knockout breaching round that penetrated into DuPage County Sheriff’s Deputy…
A mother is suing Mead Johnson and Abbott, claiming her premature son required part of his intestines to be removed after developing necrotizing entercolitis. Ariana Adorno, on behalf of herself and her minor child E.S., filed a complaint Sept. 1 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Mead Johnson & Company LLC, Mead Johnson Nutrition Company and Abbott Laboratories, alleging…
A woman who fell over an elevation change in the exit way leading to the public sidewalk at a business in Bethalto and suffered injuries is claiming negligence. Clara Couch filed a complaint Aug. 27 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Peach Investments LLC and Whitfield Insurance Agency Inc., doing business as Illinois Insurance Agency, alleging negligence and premises…
Two former classmates battling in court over damages stemming from a 2016 car accident each took home a partial victory from the Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday. The justices ruled that a trial court properly reduced the suing student’s damages for her failure to mitigate, but also found the that trial court erred in its reduction of those damages when…
