Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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Consideration is the essential ingredient for legally enforceable contracts. The same is true in at-will employment where an employee is required to sign a noncompetition agreement in order to keep his or her job. When the employee signs such a noncompete contract, the employer then promises a continued length of time of employment, which is similar to adequate consideration. 

The question in this case, where Eric D. Fifield was a new employee of Enterprise Financial Group (EFG), what was sufficient consideration for length of his employment?  The case turns on the “substantial period of time” of the length of employment promised by the employer.

In this case, the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a declaratory judgment for Fifield and his new employer EFG in their lawsuit against Premier Dealer Services. 

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Jennifer Wells, age 27, was a pedestrian crossing at Pulaski Avenue and 52nd Street in Chicago. She was heading westbound at the northern-most stoplight standard of the intersection. She believed it was the location of the crosswalk.  It was rush hour at the time of the incident, and traffic was stopped at a red light for both northbound and southbound Pulaski.

In walking across the intersection, Wells had reached the far curb lane when she was grazed by the defendant Dorota Belzowska’s southbound car causing fractures to both of her feet and ankle. She also suffered other soft tissue injuries. She was forced to take two months off work as an accountant. 

Wells’s doctor testified at the trial that her injuries took place both when she was struck by the car and when she twisted away in an attempt to avoid being hit by the defendant’s car. 

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The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago has affirmed a ruling by the federal district court judge over a copyright lawsuit involving a song. Guy Hobbs composed a song entitled “Natasha” while working on a Russian cruise ship.  This song was registered as a copyright in the United Kingdom in 1983.  His attempts to publish the song were unsuccessful. 

A few years later, Elton John and Bernie Taupin released a song entitled “Nikita.”  “Nikita” was released through a publishing company; Hobbs had sent a copy of “Natasha”  to the same company. Hobbs believed that “Nikita” was a knock-off of his song “Natasha” and demanded compensation from John and Taupin. 

Hobbs was unsuccessful, and he filed suit in 2012 asserting copyright infringement. The U.S. District Court dismissed Hobbs’ suit for failure to state a claim;  Hobbs appealed. 

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In a wrongful discharge case brought by Larry Holland, there was evidence against his former employer, Schwan’s Home Service, that included the claim file of Schwan’s insurance carrier. 

The claim adjuster’s file contained notes from Joan Kantor, a specialty risk services third-party administrator for Hartford Insurance Co. The notes contained summaries of conversations with Schwan’s agents and employees. Kantor did not testify at the trial. Schwan’s objected to the conclusion of the notes as evidence arguing that (1) the statements were inadmissible hearsay, (2) the documents were protected by attorney-client privilege and (3) the business records exception to the hearsay rule did not apply because the claim file was prepared in anticipation of litigation.

The jury in Benton, Ill., returned a verdict for Holland for $4,260,400, which included $3.6 million in punitive damages.  Schwan’s Home Service appealed. 

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The Illinois Appellate Court has affirmed the decision of a Cook County Circuit Court judge in a dispute that arose over a rental property. Randy Franks entered into a commercial lease agreement with Sheldon Broder. Franks was leasing a property to use as a retail store. Franks paid Broder a security deposit of $4,012 and monthly rent of $2,300 plus one-third of the real estate taxes for the property. The lease agreement was made on March 30, 1996. The rent was raised to $3,900 in 2004. Franks made his rent payments on time for the entire term of the lease.

On Nov. 28, 2006, Franks sent a letter to Broder stating that he planned to end the lease on Jan. 15, 2007. Franks also asked if Broder would allow the use of his security deposit ($4,012) to cover the remaining 1 ½ months of rent. Broder responded that the lease stated that the security deposit could not be applied toward the rent and required Franks to pay the rent for the remaining part of the lease. 

Franks paid Broder the December 2006 rent and then informed Broder that he would be out of the country in January. Franks and Broder agreed to allow the use of the space for storage through Feb. 15, 2007. 

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On July 31, 2008, a multi-car collision occurred in which the car driven by Gregory Mlot rear-ended the vehicle in front of him driven by Michael Dervin.  Wendy Palacios was a passenger in Dervin’s car.  It was alleged that the Dervin vehicle then rear-ended the vehicle in front of him, a Jeep driven by Lavita Gayle. 

Palacios filed a lawsuit for her injuries against Mlot, his employer, DMD Services, and Dervin. Dervin then filed a lawsuit for his injuries against Mlot and DMD Services. The cases were consolidated. 

In the answer filed by Mlot and DMD Services, they raised affirmative defenses of Dervin’s contributory negligence. 

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Clarence Goranowski filed a lawsuit against Metra under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) alleging that he was injured while reinstalling the door on the railcar’s bathroom without assistance. In his suit, he also stated that  the railroad was negligent in choosing not to provide a reasonably safe work environment and for choosing not to provide sufficient assistance to Goranowski to install the door.

Before the start of the trial, the defendant, Metra, asked the trial judge to submit a special interrogatory to the jury that asked the question:  “Did Metra use ordinary care to provide plaintiff with a reasonably safe place in which to do his work?”

The Cook County judge agreed with Goranowski’s objection that the special interrogatory was defective because it covered only one of the many different allegations of negligence. Metra refused to submit a revised special interrogatory.

Goranowski received a $545,000 jury verdict, which was reduced to $272,500 based upon the jury’s finding that Goranowski was 50% at fault for his own injuries. In any event, Metra appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court.

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The family of a woman who died when her Toyota Camry suddenly accelerated and crashed, despite her efforts to stop it, has sued the Toyota Motor Corp. In opening statement the attorney for the plaintiff’s family asked the jury to return a verdict in excess of $20 million.

This case involves the death of Noriko Uno, who died in her Camry in 2009. This is the first case of this sort to go to trial in state court. The case was filed in Los Angeles County, Calif.

Toyota had recalled millions of its vehicles worldwide after it was reported by its drivers that some of its vehicles were surging without notice. The company has agreed to pay $1 billion in other related lawsuits.

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Archon Construction Co. was hired by the defendant U.S. Shelter to install a sewer system for a development, which was a small residential subdivision in Elgin. The contract between the parties was signed on June 5, 2005 and specified the types and quantities of material to be used by Archon. 

For example, PVC piping was specified. Any additional work beyond the original scope was, according to the contract, to be completed at an agreed upon price, time and materials. The City of Elgin was to review the work done by Archon within a year after completion of the work. U.S. Shelter hired a civil engineering firm to oversee Archon’s installation of the sewer system.  This was to make sure that it met with both the contract’s specifications and the City of Elgin’s legal requirements.

After Archon completed the installation, the engineering company reported that the work was done satisfactorily and complied with the contract and Elgin’s requirements.

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The Illinois Appellate Court weighed the application of the Illinois Health-Care Services Lien Act in an underinsured-motorist case. On Nov. 5, 2009, in Murphysboro, Ill., a car driven by Lori Maramba crossed the center line and struck a vehicle driven by David McRoberts. Caitlyn McRoberts and Kim McRoberts were passengers with David McRoberts, all of whom suffered injuries and damages. The defendant had a liability insurance coverage limit of $50,000. The McRoberts family collected all of that and additionally made claim under their underinsured-motorist benefits policy. The underinsurance allowed for the payment of an additional $50,000 to the McRoberts family.

The medical bills paid to the McRoberts family exceeded the settlement. That included the payment of both the tortfeasor’s insurance policy and the McRoberts family’s underinsurance policy.The total amount of the medical bills incurred was in excess of $321,000. 

Several of the health-care providers filed liens in compliance with the Health-Care Services Lien Act. The plaintiffs, the McRoberts family, filed a petition to adjudicate the medical liens on Dec. 1, 2011. The trial court held a hearing on the petition on Dec. 9, 2011. The trial judge allowed for application of the Health-Care Services Lien Act wherein 40% of the settlement amount of both the underlying tortfeasor insurance policy and the underinsurance were applied at 40% of the settlement. That means 40% of the $50,000 of the underinsurance policy was also distributed in proportional shares to the lien holders who had filed appearances with the court.

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