In March, Daniel P. Costello & Associates won two large cases with a combined value of over $5.6 million on motions for summary judgment.
Personal Injury Case- Janitorial Company
Plaintiff, a 32 year old resident of a condominium complex, was attempting to dispose of glass shelves into a dumpster when a mirror fell onto plaintiff’s foot causing severe injuries which necessitated an amputation of his left leg just below the knee. The plaintiff was seeking a settlement in excess of $4 million for his injuries. Plaintiff sued a number of defendants in Illinois federal court including our client who was the janitorial company allegedly responsible for garbage pickup, common area cleanup, and maintenance around the dumpster coral. Plaintiff alleged that the Janitors were negligent in placing the mirror on the dumpsters and/or failing to remove it. The defense team at Costello Legal headed by Managing Partner Dan Costello vigorously defended the janitorial company. Mr. Costello argued that not only was our client not responsible for creating the hazard but that they also had no notice of the hazard and therefore owed plaintiff no duty of care. The federal court agreed, and granted the motion on all counts and dismissed the case with prejudice.
Construction Defect Case
Dan Costello and Andrew Smith were able to obtain summary judgment and dismissal of all counts against their clients in a high stakes construction defect case. Mr. Costello defended handling the claim from the inception, including coordinating the investigation, coordinating coverage, bring in the third party defendants, and defending the Developer and General Contractor. The plaintiff’s in this case demanded over $1.6 million for alleged construction defects that went back to the construction of the building in 2002. Cook County Judge Mitchell ruled that the claims were barred under the statute of limitations/statute of repose as the plaintiff’s had direct knowledge of the minor water intrusions issues shortly after construction, and had a duty to investigate this claims. After several years of litigation and numerous depositions the Costello team were able to get all of the counts including breach of warranties, and fraud. The case is now subject to appeal.
