Aundre Hobbs, 15, was a passenger in a car driven by his friend, another teenager, Armon Jones. Armon reportedly turned left at a green left-turn signal and crashed into a car driven by James Gorham. Aundre suffered a traumatic brain injury that required several life-saving surgeries. Aundre is now 17…
Relying on Paragraph 3 of the power of attorney statement that Billy D. Collins signed about a week before he died, Patricia Noltensmeier made herself the beneficiary of Collins’s $45,000 Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The power of attorney given to Noltensmeier included the power of an attorney-in-fact, the “power to…
The plaintiff, Maria Papadakis, was injured when she slipped and fell on an unsecured piece of equipment while exercising at the defendant health club under the supervision of the personal trainer. The court was found to have erred in dismissing counts alleging willful and wanton acts by the personal trainer;…
In August 2013, Matthew and Marcia Seebachan bought a used 2010 Honda Fit from a car dealer relying on a CARFAX vehicle report that showed that the car had a clean history with no structural repairs or hail damage. Unbeknownst to the Seebachans, the Honda’s previous owner had taken the…
Perry Odom was seriously injured when a semi-trailer collapsed on him at his job. His employer was Penske Logistics. However, this employer did not own the trailer; his employer’s sole shareholder, Penske Truck Leasing, was the owner. Odom and his wife brought a lawsuit against Penske Truck Leasing through a…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago addressed the issue of the need for expert testimony on causation when the issue is beyond the understanding of laypersons. The product liability claim here involved the allegation of a defective intrauterine device (IUD) that broke when it was…
In 2011, the Texas Legislature adopted a new congressional districting plan and new district team maps for the two houses of the State Legislature to account for population growth shown in the 2010 census. In order to comply with the Equal Protection Clause, the Fourteenth Amendment forbids “racial gerrymandering,” that…
In 2012, Justin Dominguez, 15, was playing with friends in a neighbor’s yard. The neighbor’s house was located next to a vacant spot that contained bamboo stalks under a 13,000-volt, uninsulated power line. Justin climbed up the bamboo stalks, which contacted the power line. He received a severe electric shock…
Diego Rodrigues Matos, 26, needed a truck replacement part to use for his landscaping business. He went to a truck lot owned by Rechtien International Trucks and showed an employee there a picture of the part that he needed. The employee directed him to drive around the lot in search…
On Aug. 7, 2013, Jessica Williams, 27, was stopped in traffic on eastbound Route 143 at the intersection with Blackburn Road in Edwardsville, Ill. The defendant, 29-year-old Jacob Smith, rear-ended the car she was driving. She sustained soft tissue injuries that required chiropractic treatment resulting in a total of $13,287…