Scot Vandenberg and his wife maintained that their allegations in an unfiled tort complaint triggered insurance coverage for an accident that injured Scot, paralyzing him during a party he attended on a 75-foot yacht. Scot was severely injured when he fell off a bench at the edge of a top…
The Illinois Appellate Court has reversed a summary judgment order that was entered by a Cook County judge in favor of Safeway Insurance Co. In this case, Jeffrey and Stephanie Hadary were injured in a car crash when Carlos Velez was driving a car he rented from Hertz Corp. The…
In a case that involved thousands of toxic tort liability cases, the Illinois Appellate Court has ruled that an industrial manufacturer must turn over documents it alleged were privileged to a company indemnifying it. In March 1999, automotive systems manufacturer BorgWarner Inc. acquired Kuhlman Corp. and its subsidiaries, including Kuhlman…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago has reversed the decision of a U.S. District Court judge wherein an agreement between the parties, Hennessy Industries Inc. and National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, required arbitration of any dispute that mandated an interpretation of the agreement.…
Robert Lodholtz was seriously injured in 2011 while working at a plant owned by Pulliam Enterprises in Indiana. Lodholtz filed a personal-injury lawsuit against Pulliam in the Indiana state court. Pulliam called on Granite State Insurance Co., its primary liability insurer, along with New Hampshire Insurance Co., to defend and…
Gamesa Technology Corp. entered into a contract with Minnesota-based Outland Renewable Energy to provide maintenance for Gamesa’s wind turbines. Iberdrola Renewables Inc. runs the Gamesa-made turbines at the Cayuga Wind Farm located in Livingston County, Ill. While servicing a Cayuga turbine, one of Outland’s employees, Aaron McCoy, was electrocuted when…
The Illinois Appellate Court has affirmed a decision dismissing Six Flags from a Cook County lawsuit. The case arose following the death of Thomas Lee of Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Lee was a heavy equipment mechanic for a Wadsworth, Wis., contractor hired by Six Flags to dismantle the structure of…
The plaintiff, Michigan Indiana Condominium Association, is a 119-unit residential condominium complex (the “Complex”). Optima was the general contractor and selected a variety of subcontractors to do the construction work. Construction was completed in June 2002. One of the contractors was Jenni and Loucon. Loucon was the masonry contractor. On…
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago has reversed a district court judge’s decision in a case involving an indemnification clause in a contract. Robert Krien was an employee of Riley Construction. Riley was the general contractor on a construction project located in Wisconsin. Riley in turn, hired Harsco…
In October 2007, John Walls suffered a work injury at I-Maxx Metalworks Inc. when “a stair stringer and/or perimeter cable protection failed.” Walls filed suit against I-Maxx, Turner Construction, Frontier Construction and against Waukegan Steel Sales. The lawsuit alleged that Waukegan Steel negligently chose not manage, operate and maintain the work…