Justia Lawyer Rating for Robert D. Kreisman

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Colin Lacy was a truck driver for an oil recycling company. He took his Freightliner tanker truck to Empire Truck Sales for preventative maintenance. A mechanic at Empire replaced leaking oil seals on the truck’s rear differential but allegedly chose not to replace the lock nuts on the bolts of the lateral control rod.

A month later Lacy took the truck back to Empire complaining that it was vibrating at higher speeds and making grinding noises. The same mechanic test drove the truck but did not inspect the lateral control rod, which had loosened as a result of the earlier improper repair. The mechanic also allegedly found that the truck’s antilock braking system (ABS) was not working properly but chose not to correct it anyway.

When Lacy picked up the truck three days later and began driving it, the ABS warning light came on. He called Empire but was told that the braking system was fine. Later that day, while Lacy was driving in the rain, the truck began shaking. He applied the brakes, but the ABS system locked up. The truck went out of control, struck the median and rolled over.

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In an Illinois Appellate Court decision of first impression, it was found that a non-guardian spouse cannot challenge a guardian’s petition to seek an order to bring dissolution of marriage action on behalf of the ward in the probate court. Previously in the Illinois Supreme Court case of Karbin v. Karbin, 2012 IL 112815, the high court held that a guardian may seek court permission to bring a marriage dissolution action on behalf of a ward and overruled a contrary rule previously established. The Karbin decision was later codified as an amendment to the Probate Act, by amending 755 ILCS 5/11a-17(e).

The Karbin opinion and the Act set out certain procedural and substantive safeguards to protect the ward. Among those safeguards is the requirement that a circuit court considering a petition to file for dissolution of marriage hold a hearing to determine whether dissolution is in ward’s best interest. This case was one of first impression because it was a non-guardian spouse who attempted to challenge whether it was in the best interest of the ward to file a complaint for dissolution of marriage. The issue was whether the non-guardian spouse has standing in the “best interests of the ward” hearing.

George F. Warga, the ward, was 91 years old. When his first wife became ill, he hired a nurse, Laima Bacanskas, to help with her care. His first wife died in 2000. Warga continued to retain Bacanskas to help with household duties. In 2006, the two married. They had no children.

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The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District has held that an insurer had a duty to defend an additional insured who was entitled under the policy of insurance to coverage because of vicarious liability even though the underlying complaint against it included no allegations of vicarious liability. CSR Roofing Contractors was the general roofing contractor for a construction project in Lisle, Ill. It hired a subcontractor, Zamastil Exteriors, to perform a portion of the work in accordance with a master subcontract agreement.

The subcontract agreement required Zamastil to obtain additional insurance coverage for CSR that was not limited to vicarious liability. Vicarious liability is a term based on the principles of agency. In accident cases like this, the negligence of an employee or independent contractor can be imputed to the person’s employer when acting within the scope of employment. The legal doctrine of vicarious liability would make an employer liable for the acts of its employee. In other words, if the person is acting on behalf of the employer or master, the employer or the master can be held responsible for negligence caused by that employee.

The agreement between Zamastil and CSR provided that both CSR and Zamastil were responsible for complying with all federal safety regulations.

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On July 26, 2011, Lashaunda Carter was driving her car when she was involved in a crash with an uninsured motorist, Cortez Williams. Jasmine Carter was in Carter’s car and was injured as a result of the collision. Lashaunda was insured by American Access Insurance Co. Lashaunda’s insurance policy covered any compensatory damages Lashaunda would have to pay arising from bodily injury caused by her in an auto accident.

Under the terms of the insurance policy, American Access “shall defend any civil suit alleging such bodily injury.” The auto policy also required Lashaunda to give American Access written notice of any accident or loss as well as any filings in a lawsuit brought against her.

The policy stated that American Access would “not be obligated to pay . . . unless [American Access] received actual notice of a lawsuit before judgment had been entered in said suit.”

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On June 9, 2011, Giuseppina DiFranco, 50, was driving eastbound on Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale, Ill. DiFranco was rear-ended by defendant Constance Kusar whose car was then pushed into the vehicle in front of her car.

DiFranco, an administrative assistant, claimed that the collision caused her cervical radiculitis, thoracic outlet syndrome and soft tissue injuries to her neck, back, right arm and right knee. She claimed to have expended $29,111 in medical expenses.

The defendant, Kusar, stipulated to negligence but denied that the plaintiff, DiFranco, was injured or that she was injured to the extent that she claimed.

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In the latest of the cases alleging that the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal caused a man to grow female-like breasts, a Philadelphia jury has signed a verdict of $1,750,000 in a case that ended on Nov. 11, 2015.

The report of the case indicated that the jury deliberated for 2 ½ hours after a two-week trial.

Risperdal is manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which is a division of Johnson & Johnson. The Risperdal cases claim generally that the manufacturer chose not to warn health care providers and their patients of the condition known as gynecomastia, which causes boys and young men to grow female breasts. In this case, the 21-year-old plaintiff was Nicholas Murray.

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Gwendolyn Abasta was driving to an intersection when the traffic light turned yellow. Jose Alvarado was traveling in the opposite direction and turned left in front of Abasta’s car, which resulted in their collision.

Abasta struck her right knee against the dashboard and was thrown into the air bag. Abasta required emergency knee surgery and was treated for disk herniations, broken ribs and other injuries. She required four additional knee surgeries over the following three years plus epidural spinal injections. Her medical expenses alone were $460,000.

Abasta filed a lawsuit against Texas Automobile Leasing Inc. claiming that Alvarado was driving in the scope of his employment when this crash occurred. Therefore, Abasta sued the employer of the driver, claiming that employment relationship and agency. The defendant argued that the plaintiff ran a red light that caused the crash. Before trial, the parties settled the case for $1,750,000.

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In July 2009, Clarence Walker was trying to gain access to a broken elevator at 365 W. Oak St., Chicago, Ill., from the third floor of what was then Cabrini-Green in the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) building. The apartment building has since been torn down. At the time of the incident, the building was managed by It’s Time for a Change RMC. The company was a non-profit management firm run by building residents.

A witness testified that when Walker opened the third-floor elevator-shaft doors, he stepped forward and disappeared down the shaft. His body was found in the pit at the shaft’s bottom.

Celeste Walker, daughter of Clarence Walker, filed the wrongful-death lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County. She alleged in the lawsuit that CHA and the RMC management company chose not to service and maintain the elevator and chose not to warn residents about the elevator’s hazardous condition.

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Illinois Tool Works purchased commercial liability policies many years ago from Travelers Casualty Surety Co. and Century Indemnity Co. They were purchased by Illinois Tool Works for the years 1971 through 1987.The policies were designed to have the insurance companies defend Illinois Tool Works against toxic-tort injury complaints that did not allege dates or exposure or injury.

The insurance companies reportedly declined to defend Illinois Tool in thousands of toxic-tort cases in which the plaintiffs alleged that their injuries were caused by exposure to hazardous substances, which included asbestos, benzene and manganese in welding supplies and other products distributed by other companies Illinois Tool started buying in 1993. According to the facts in the case, Illinois Tool did not enter the welding product market until 1993, while the last insurance policy that was issued expired in 1987.

A Cook County judge granted Illinois Tool’s request for summary judgment. On appeal, the tort complaints were characterized this way: Continue reading

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Mark Harreld brought a personal-injury lawsuit against Lou Butler and DVBC Inc., but on Sept. 16, 2013 a Kane County Circuit Court judge granted the city of Elgin‘s motion to dismiss DVBC’s third-party contribution complaint against the city.

That order did not include the special language, “There is no just reason for delaying the enforcement or appeal of this order” that would have made the order immediately appealable under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 304(a).

Even still, DVBC filed a notice of appeal on Oct. 10, 2013 and eventually noticed its appeal was premature because of the lack of the appeals language in the Sept. 16, 2013 order. However, DVBC used the wrong court procedure for correcting the misstep.

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