Nicole Milos received the 2010 Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel Rising Star Award. The award is presented annually to a young attorney who has exhibited exemplary performance in the practice of law, demonstrated commitment to the defense bar and the association, and has been involved in significant projects that had a positive result on the practice of law. Ms. Milos was nominated by her peers who cited her leadership within the YLD and her formidable abilities as a litigator.
John Lynch represented a general contractor in what began as a simple contract dispute after project owners chose not to proceed with the construction of a building. A demand for payment of outstanding sums was made after the project was terminated. The owners responded with accusations of contractual breaches on the part of the general contractor and other allegations of misconduct. Given the owners’ response, the general contractor filed suit with the goal of obtaining payment on the outstanding invoices. The owner countersued and the matter proceeded to trial. After a weeklong trial, the trial judge entered a directed verdict as to all but one of the owners’ claims. Thereafter, the jury found in favor of the general contractor on all issues and awarded it over twice the amount of the outstanding invoices. The jury awarded the general contractor nearly twice the amount of its pretrial settlement demand. Adam Gill, an architect and an associate with the firm, provided substantial assistance throughout the case. E. Anthony, Inc. v. Dr. Michael and Elizabeth Ryan, 06 L 10477
We want to welcome Brian Marquez who recently joined the firm. Brian's practice focuses primarly on product liability, commercial litigation and international law and litigation.
Cremer Spina co-sponsored the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel's participation in the 17th Annual Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation's Race Judicata. Nicole Milos, Kristina Beck and Geoffrey Waugespack represented Cremer Spina at the race. Race Judicata is an annual 5K run/walk that benefits the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation.
John Lynch and Holly Stevens represent a provider of prepaid wireless voice and data services to consumers. They sued several of their client’s competitors in federal court alleging a systematic scheme to deceive consumers by failing to provide them with the wireless minutes promised under various promotional programs in violation of the Lanham Act, the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. In short, they alleged and ultimately proved that the defendants arbitrarily depleted prepaid accounts without the consumers’ knowledge or permission. On April 27, 2010, they obtained a judgment against the defendants in the amount of $15,340,089.70, including both enhanced and punitive damages, and obtained a permanent injunction against them as well.
Read about this case in Chicago Breaking Business.
PlatinumTel v. EZ Stream, U.S. Mobile, Ramsey Natour, et al., 08 C 1062.
Heather Kingery represented a commercial driver sued for negligence following an intersection collision with another vehicle. Following the impact, the plaintiff suffered from emotional trauma and had permanent scarring on her face. The plaintiff claimed that the commercial driver ran a red light and collided with her vehicle as she attempted to make a left hand turn. Her pre-trial demand was $300,000. At trial, the plaintiff was challenged as to her version of events and she and her witnesses were impeached several key points. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant. Guillermina Molina v. John Hill d/b/a Century Pipe Organ Co., Inc. 2008 L 10935 (Cook County)
We want to welcome Tara McTague who recently joined the firm. Tara's practice focuses on insurance coverage and general litigation.
We want to welcome Tim Hoerman back to Cremer Spina. Tim is returning to the firm as a Senior Counsel. Tim’s practice is concentrated on catastrophic injuries arising from construction and transportation accidents. Tim also has experience in commercial and residential real estate transactions, and counsels small businesses.
John Lynch and Holly Stevens represented a rubber mill manufacturer sued by a woman who caught her dominant hand in the nip point of the mill. She lost her fourth and fifth fingers and a joint from her index finger and a bone from her right hand were removed as a result. The plaintiff claimed that the mill failed to contain proper guarding (a body bar in particular) as recommended by ANSI B28.1 and that this allegedly defective condition caused her injury. The plaintiff asked the jury for $3,800,000. The jury found for the defendant. Pamela Lawler v. Reliable Welding, 2005 L 463 (Kane County).
Bill Cremer will be the featured speaker at a presentation given to international brokers Marsh Mexico and their hotel customers on methods to reduce exposure to U.S. claims and lawsuits. The presentation will take place in Mexico City on March 3, 2010.
We want to welcome Jessica Burtnett who recently joined the firm. Jessica's practice focuses on general tort litigation.
We want to welcome Jeanne Zeiger who recently joined the firm as a senior counsel. Jeanne's practice is concentrated on insurance coverage litigation and appellate practice. Jeanne brings years of experience in these fields and she is a known speaker on the topics.
John Lynch and Holly Stevens represent a component parts manufacturer and supplier that was assigned rights under various contracts and loan agreements during the course of its relationship with one of its suppliers. As evidence surfaced that the supplier was breaching the agreements and potentially diverting funds, John and Holly filed suit in the Northern District of Illinois and obtained a TRO and then a preliminary injunction allowing their client to regain control of its assets and prevent further diversion of funds. Several of the defendants are now cooperating with the plaintiff in the recovery of funds.
We want to wish congratulations to
Nicole Milos for being named a partner at Cremer Spina as of January 1, 2010. Nicole has been with Cremer Spina since the beginning of her legal career. Her practice focuses on the areas of general tort litigation, construction litigation, employer's liability, professional liability, premises liability, product liability, commercial litigation and insurance coverage. In addition to her busy practice, Nicole is highly involved as a committee member of the Illinois Associate of Defense Trial Counsel - Young Lawyers Division. We are happy to have Nicole as a member of the partnership.
We went to welcome
Adam Gill who recently joined the firm. Adam practices in the areas of commercial litigation and the defense of product liability, construction and general tort cases. Adam also brings years of experience as a practicing architect to his law practice and uses that knowledge to assist his clients.
We want to welcome
Drew Block who recently joined the firm. Drew's practice centers on the defense of construction, coverage and general tort cases.
Gary Jansen and Nicole Milos successfully argued that the assignment that formed the basis for Plaintiff’s common law fraud claim was void. The court held that the assignment was void as a matter of law. The court previously dismissed the strict liability claim, finding that the Moorman doctrine barred Plaintiff from recovering economic losses under the tort theory of strict liability.
Ed Siegert obtained summary judgment in favor of a gasoline distributor in a wrongful death case filed in Will County, alleging the decedent developed Myelodysplastic Syndrome as a result of exposure to gasoline sold by distributor which was alleged to have contained benzene. The trial court found no duty to warn under the circumstances of this case.
An insured was sued in a personal injury action involving the use of a forklift on the insured's premises. The insured tendered its defense to the carrier of the company that employed the injured plaintiff. The employer's carrier refused to defend the insured. The insured's own commercial general liability carrier was then forced to defend the insured. Brian filed a declaratory action against the employer's carrier, arguing that the employer's carrier was obligated to defend the insured. The trial court agreed with that position and ruled that the employer's carrier had breached its duty to defend the insured in the underlying personal injury action. The trial court further ruled that, as a result of its breach of the duty to defend, the employer's carrier was estopped from asserting any coverage defenses to limit its obligation to indemnify the insured in the underlying personal injury action.
John has been active in the IDC, the voice of the defense bar in Illinois, for over 15 years as has served on the board since 2002. He was recently elected to serve a third three-year term on the board, and is a member of the Membership Task Force and is liaison to the Employment Law Committee.
Stacy Fulco and Katherine Haussermann successfully argued that their client did not have notice of an alleged defect on the floor to impose a duty so summary judgment was granted.
Gary Jansen and Nicole Milos successfully argued that Plaintiff failed to comply with the terms of the Certificate of Warranty by failing to submit the dispute to the Architect for resolution prior to filing suit as required by the Architect’s Decision clause of the warranty. The court agreed and dismissed Plaintiff’s action. Mr. Jansen and Ms. Milos were previously successful in dismissing Plaintiff’s breach of implied warranty claim.
The sitting sheriff of DuPage County, John Zaruba, filed a defamation action against a former primary opponent, Tim Connell, and the Daily Herald arising out of a flyer that appeared in the paper the day before the election. The sheriff indicated he was seeking millions of dollars in damages. The trial court, however, found that the flyer was not defamatory and that the defendants did not act with malice, and awarded summary judgment to all defendants. The decision was not appealed.
Ed Siegert successfully argued that the Courts of Illinois lacked jurisdiction over his client, an Italian logistics company sued in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.
Tom Pender and Bill Cremer just recently obtained a dismissal of their client, a Swiss medical prosthesis manufacturer from a personal injury action pending in Utah based on lack of personal jurisdiction. The plaintiff in the case had two shoulder prostheses that failed, both of which were manufactured in Switzerland by the client company, but distributed worldwide by a separate German entity. This same manufacturer client had previously been sued in Utah federal court, but its prior counsel had never sought dismissal based on personal jurisdiction. The plaintiff in this case opposed the motion based, in part, on the argument that the manufacturer had already submitted to jurisdiction in Utah in the prior case. Nonetheless, the court's memorandum opinion adopted all of the findings of fact and legal arguments presented in the motion filed by the defense team from Cremer Spina, resulting in the client's dismissal.
John Lynch filed suit in DuPage County on behalf of a contractor to recover approximately $300,000 for remodeling work performed on a suburban couple's home. The couple refused to pay for much of the work, although they moved into the house after completion, and successfully moved to dismiss the case on the basis that they were not provided with a consumer rights pamphlet, as required by the Home Repair & Remodeling Act. The contractor complied will all other aspects of the act, and the failure to provide the pamphlet was inadvertent. The dismissal was reversed on appeal with the court finding that such an outcome could not possibly have been intended by the legislature. This decision is a matter of first impression and is already the topic of numerous articles and blogs. The opinion will be published and may ultimately be reviewed by the Illinois Supreme Court. Artisan Design Build, Inc. v. Bilstrom (2d Dist., No 2-08-08550).
Bill Cremer was invited to attend the FERMA symposium in Prague in October. FERMA is the Federation of European Risk Managers Associations. Peter den Dekker the risk manager of Stork, a Dutch multinational corporation and a longtime Cremer Spina client, was elected President of FERMA. Congratulations Peter!
Gary Jansen and Nicole Milos successfully argued that Indiana law applied to a third party action against an employer seeking contribution. Mr. Jansen and Ms. Milos argued that the conflicts analysis proved that Indiana had the most significant relationship to the claim filed in Illinois. The court agreed and dismissed the third party complaint with prejudice.
Cremer Spina partners Bill Cremer and Josh Yeager have been retained to defend a Kansas based manufacturer of air conditioning refrigerant sued by victims of a tragic bus fire in Panama City, Panama in 2006. The bus fire killed and severely burned dozens of passengers. The suit alleges the refrigerant was an accelerant of the fire. The suit is pending in Kansas state court.
Stacy Fulco obtained a quick defense verdict where the plaintiff claimed she tripped in a store due to a raised piece of metal in the floor but the evidence showed other potential causes of her fall.
An insured was sued in a trademark action based on allegations that the insured was infringing the service marks used by a national auto products retailer. The insured sought a defense from its commercial general liability carrier, claiming the allegations were covered under the "advertising injury" provisions of its CGL policy. John and Brian filed a declaratory action against the insured and argued that the carrier had no duty to defend because the trademark action sought injunctive relief rather than money damages. The trial court agreed with that position and awarded summary judgment in favor on John and Brian's client.
Bill Cremer and Josh Yeager have been invited to give a presentation by the Spanish based hotel chain Occidental Hotels and Resorts. The presentation will take place during the annual meeting of its general managers and will include topics such as best practices in investigating claims involving US guests. The meeting will be held in the Mexican Riviera Maya at one of the hotel chain's all-inclusive resorts. Cremer Spina serves as national counsel for all Occidental Hotel's claims and suits in the US.
A general contractor tendered its defense and indemnity to a subcontractor's insurer claiming it was an additional insured on its policy. The tender was rejected on the basis that the incident in question, a fire that destroyed a house, did not arise out of the "ongoing operations" of the subcontractor's work, as required by the policy, since the subcontractor had completed its work several months before. The general contractor and its insurer filed suit claiming that the work was "ongoing" since it was not properly completed. The trial court, addressing an issue of first impression, awarded John's client summary judgment and interpreted "ongoing operations" in the manner he proposed. There are no published Illinois decisions that address this issue.
"Blast From the Past" - Cremer Spina partner Bill Cremer is currently participating in a law student research project with Miami University Law School. The project involves an in depth study of a prior high profile case. Miami University law students were asked to select a high profile case that was of interest to them and conduct an intensive look into all aspects of the case. The student selected Yates vs the Chicago National League Ball Club. Yates was the first foul ball injury case involving a major league baseball team that went to verdict. Bill Cremer was lead trial counsel representing the Chicago Cubs in Yates. Bill is currently consulting with the law students sharing his experiences in defending the case including his trial strategies employed in the case. Yates was the first case which deviated from the well established rule of law that a ball park was not liable for injuries caused by the ball in play. Yates was decided in 1992.
