Compelling non-union government workers to pay so-called “fair share fees” to unions they do not wish to join violates the First Amendment speech rights of non-union workers and is unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, finding in favor of an Illinois state worker who had sued to end the fees, also known as agency fees, in Illinois and across the country.
While the U.S. Supreme Court's Bristol Myers Squibb ruling has resulted in some big wins for businesses targeted by the plaintiffs' bar, new strategies and theories deployed by plaintiffs' lawyers may be blunting the further impact of that decision, despite high hopes from some it would largely thwart the ability of out-of-state plaintiffs to sue out-of-state defendants in a favorable court forum.
While the number of new asbestos cases in hotspot jurisdictions across the country is declining overall - and in all types of diseases - the docket in St. Clair County is surging almost exclusively with lung cancer cases.
A group of nine Republicans currently serving in the Illinois General Assembly, including two rookie state lawmakers, have signed their names to a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to uphold the state’s ability to allow unions to extract fees from government employees who don’t wish to join a union, arguing the country’s founding federalist principles should allow the 50 states to decide such policy questions for themselves.
CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – A closely watched Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case could have bearing on Illinois' one-of-a-kind biometric privacy law after an appeals court ruled last month the plaintiff alleged no actual harm, an attorney who defends businesses against such cases said during a recent interview.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) – The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that rental car companies operating in Chicago suburbs are exempt from paying a tax on the rental of cars inside the city.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) – A recent Illinois Supreme Court ruling came down in favor of the defense in construction accident cases when it ruled that Union Pacific Railroad was not liable for the injuries suffered by a subcontractor while demolishing a railroad bridge in Chicago in 2006.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) – On May 18, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed with an appellate court's decision in a breach of contract suit between two law firms.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) – The Illinois Supreme Court has reversed an appellate court finding in a case where a Union Pacific employee was injured on the job.
Pella Corporation filed a motion to dismiss in February. The action was sent back to Illinois federal court in 2014 after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned approval of an estimated $90 million class action settlement involving the company and removed Chicago attorney Paul M. Weiss as class counsel. Weiss was disbarred in November by the Illinois Supreme Court.
Several California wineries avoided whistleblower lawsuits after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan moved to dismiss 28 qui tam cases involving sales tax on shipping charges.
The Illinois Supreme Court recently ruled against a plaintiff in a mesothelioma case, stating that the claim did not meet the time limitations established in the Workers’ Compensation Act and the Workers’ Occupational Disease Act.
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Wells Fargo is facing trial in an Illinois class action 14 years old and can’t gain appellate review on its own as it could in a case with shorter history.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Economist George Akerlof, husband of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, endorses a $7 billion award of damages against cigarette maker Philip Morris now under review at the Illinois Supreme Court.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Smokers who won a $10 billion class action judgment against Philip Morris in Madison County 12 years ago suffered no economic damage, the cigarette maker is arguing at the Illinois Supreme Court.
KarmeierEDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - A law professor who studies the effects of lawyer contingency fees on the civil justice system said the real focus of the movement to oust Justice Lloyd Karmeier from the Illinois Supreme Court is to restore a $1.1 billion judgment against State Farm Insurance.
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Only days out from Election day, special interest groups have set their sights on five state supreme courts, spending more than $1 million in a final push to secure high court victories.
