Ten CGW Attorneys Selected as 2024 Superlawyers!

Costello Ginex & Wideikis has just had ten attorneys recognized by SuperLawyers as top rated Illinois attorneys in 2024 due to their outstanding achievements representing their clients over the past year. Congratulations to all those selected!

Partners Gregory V. Ginex, Dan Costello, and Jim Wideikis (from left), all of whom were selected as SuperLawyers for 2024

2024 Illinois Super Lawyers

Daniel Costello: Construction

Gregory V Ginex: Personal Injury Defense

Jim Wideikis: General Litigation

Michael P Turiello: Civil Litigation (Defense)

2024 Illinois Rising Stars

Ashley Koda: Personal Injury matters

Chloe Polo: Construction

Jessica Biagi: Civil Litigation (Defense)

John Dark: Civil Litigation (Defense)

Shipra Mehta: Personal Injury matters

Brittney Frederick: Transportation

Shipra Mehta wins Motion for Summary Judgment Defending Construction Manager after Fall at Church

2020-L-007145 (Cook County, Illinois)

Partner Shipra Mehta won another summary judgment representing a construction manager who had done construction work on a church.

Plaintiff, a 58-year-old woman, was a member of a small church who slipped while she was walking up the church podium. She sustained injuries to her arm and shoulder, requiring surgery and incurring significant medical bills. Plaintiff sued a number of parties including the church and a variety of construction companies that had performed work on the church over the years. Shipra took up the defense of a construction manager who had done construction work on the church over a decade before the incident. All parties except the construction manager were dismissed voluntarily early on due to claims of non-involvement with the subject area of the fall.

Shipra defended the construction manager vigorously through over two years of discovery. Plaintiff attempted to attach liability to the construction manager by claiming both that the construction manager designed and constructed the podium that plaintiff fell on, and that the construction manager was responsible for ongoing maintenance and repair duties for the podium. Plaintiff further alleged that the construction manager was somehow responsible for allowing the premises to remain in dangerous and slippery condition despite not having worked on the podium for over 10 years.

After completing the necessary discovery, Shipra filed a motion for summary judgment claiming that plaintiff’s claims were time-barred by the statute of repose, and there were no facts whatsoever which supported a claim that there was any ongoing duty on behalf of the construction manager to the church or its patrons. Further, Shipra claimed any defect was open and obvious and that plaintiff cannot establish a proximate cause between any action from the construction company and the plaintiff’s injuries. The judge agreed, granting the motion and dismissing the construction company with Plaintiff’s claims in the entirety.

Shipra Mehta and Chloe Polo win Motion Dismissing Pet Store from Frivolous Animal Control Lawsuit

2021-L-009072 (Cook County, Illinois)

A young woman standing in the checkout line bent down to pet the dog of another couple in line and the dog turned to bite the woman in the face. The woman brought a 6-count complaint against the dog owners and the pet store, claiming both physical and emotional injuries as a result of the incident.

Plaintiff made allegations of negligence as well as violations of the Illinois Animal Control Act against both the owners of the dog and the pet supply store. The allegations against the pet supply store claim that the store was negligent in failing to monitor the dog, that it knew the dog was vicious and failed to restrain it, that the store failed to properly transfer the dog to its owners, and that the store failed to warn customers of the dog’s “vicious propensities.”

Attorneys Shipra Mehta and Chloe Polo took up defense of the pet store and believed the pet store had no liability whatsoever under either a negligence theory or under the Illinois Animal Control Act. Shipra and Chloe positioned the case for a motion to dismiss, but faced two hurdles: the store manager at the time of the incident had left the company and was unreachable, and secondly the case was given to a notoriously plaintiff-friendly judge in the Law Division of Cook County, already a heavily plaintiff-favored venue.

Nevertheless, Shipra and Chloe persisted in filing the motion, attempting to spare their client the burden of discovery, litigation, and defense costs. They claimed that the Animal Control Act does not apply to the pet store whatsoever, and that plaintiffs cannot establish that the pet store owed a duty to the plaintiff even accepting all the allegations of the complaint as true. The judge agreed with Shipra and Chloe and granted the motion dismissing the pet store from the case.

Shipra and Chloe win Motion for Summary Judgment in Inflatable Slide Case

Plaintiff took her sons to a play area which included inflatable playing areas and an inflatable slide. Both plaintiff and her sons used the slide multiple times, plaintiff went down the slide again holding her son, where she says her toe got caught on a piece of fabric which pulled her backwards and caused her injury. Plaintiff alleged that the inflatable provider had dangerous jumping surfaces and failed to maintain the slide in question, leading to her injuries.

Shipra and Chloe defended the inflatable slide provider, and showed that there was no evidence to support the plaintiff’s claim that there was any kind of defect with the slide in question. Even after many depositions and years of testimony, Plaintiff could only support her claim with speculation as to the cause of her injuries. Not only had her children and other patrons used the slide with no issues and the inflatable provider had no notice of a dangerous condition. The judge agreed that there was no evidence of negligence and dismissed the inflatable provider prior to trial.

Shipra Mehta Wins Defense Victory for Concrete Subcontractor in Death Case

2017-L-000052 (Lake County, Illinois)

A woman slipped and fell while leaving a Bank of America in Waukegan, Illinois, and then died months later. The deceased husband, as Special Administrator of her Estate brought suit against the Bank of America and property owner, attributing her death to complications from this fall, bringing wrongful death and survival claims against the defendants. Plaintiff alleged the ADA ramp was negligently maintained, though as the ramp was built a few years before the fall, the owner and property manager subsequently sued the contractors involved with the prior construction alleging improper construction and noncompliance with the plans and specifications.

Shipra Mehta defended the concrete subcontractor and after multiple depositions including the completion of expert discovery, filed a motion for summary judgment emphasizing the speculative nature of the overall claim, lack of notice of any issues with the construction, and compliance with the construction plans and specifications. As such, Shipra argued, no reasonable jury could find against the concrete subcontractor. The Court agreed, granting the concrete subcontractor's motion for summary judgment, dismissing all claims brought against the subcontractor in its entirety.

Three Costello Legal Attorneys Recognized for 2021 "Super Lawyers" List

Three attorneys at Costello Legal have been recognized in the 2021 list of "Super Lawyers": Jessica Biagi and Shipra Mehta were both selected as “Rising Stars” and Dan Costello was selected as a 2021 Super Lawyer. Congratulations to all three for being recognized for your hard work!

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Dan Costello, Super Lawyer 2021

Jessica Biagi, Rising Star 2021

Shipra Mehta, Rising Star 2021

Shipra Mehta Wins Case and Subsequent Appeal on Trip & Fall at Child Care Facility

2017-L-423 (Illinois, Will County)

Plaintiff, an elderly man tripped on a small staircase at a daycare when coming to pick up his granddaughter. He sued the daycare, bringing negligence and premises liability counts against the daycare. Plaintiff also claimed that the stairs were not up to code and hired an expert to support the claim.

Shipra Mehta defended the child care facility, and after multiple depositions, filed a motion showing that there was no defect the plaintiff or their expert could point to in the staircase, and that the stairs were an open and obvious hazard. As such no reasonable jury could find for the plaintiff. The judge granted Shipra’s motion, but the plaintiff appealed the decision to the 3rd District of Illinois Appellate Court. Shipra continued to defend her client at the appellate level, drafting a brief and defending her motion in oral argument. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s granding of the motion for summary judgment, resulting in a full defense verdict.

Costello Legal Wins Motion on Liability Waiver after Plaintiff Tripped on Tree Stump at Paintball Course

2019-L-000369 (Illinois, Kane County)

Attorney Shipra Mehta won a motion to dismiss on the issue of a liability waiver, avoiding unnecessary litigation and defending a paintball facility. Plaintiff was playing paintball at a commercial paintball course and tripped over a tree stump that was in a wooded area adjacent to the main paintball playing area. However, the plaintiff signed a liability waiver before playing paintball. Upon receiving notice of the lawsuit, Shipra filed a motion arguing that the plaintiff waived her right to recover against the facility based on the facts alleged, and the court agreed dismissing the matter in its entirety.