Cook County has issued GAO 20-7 setting mandatory pre-trial conferences for Law Division that had upcoming jury trials suspended due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. See below for details:
Cook County Courthouse Announces Official Reopening Plan
New COVID-19 Order for 3rd Municipal District - Cook County
6/29/2020 order available here.
Arbitration Win in Suspected Staged Car Crash
2018-M1-300927 (Illinois, Cook County)
A truck driver driving a Mack truck with a dumpster on back was on his way to a drop-off when a car passed him and abruptly swerved in front of his truck in the middle of traffic. Despite trying to slow down, the truck still hit the car, rear ending him but not causing significant damage. There were three passengers in the car, who called the police, whereupon they all began complaining of various pains and injuries, and eventually sued the trucking company.
The defense of the case for the trucking company was handed to Costello Legal, and based on the facts the crash appeared to be a staged fraudulent crash. Ultimately the case went to mandatory arbitration, where Matt Pierotti handled the case for Costello Legal. Despite the fact that the truck rear ended the plaintiffs, Matt convinced the arbitration panel that there was no negligence on the part of the truck driver and was able to secure a full defense verdict.
Jessica Biagi Earns Full Defense Verdict in Inflatable Amusement Park Case
The Secret to Combating Runaway Jury Verdicts, Part II
What is the Top End for Verdicts?
Costello Legal Wins Defense Verdict for Property Manager in Jury Trial
2 Stunning Victories From Our Partner Jessica Biagi
Back-to-Back Wins on Motions for Summary Judgment
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.
Sixth Jury Trial Win for Costello Legal
Daniel P. Costello & Associates just racked up the firm's sixth jury trial victory in a row, this time a large case in Cook County.
2010-L-13633 (Illinois, Cook County)
Plaintiff tripped and was injured in a parking lot, dying four days after the fall. As a result, plaintiff's estate brought a wrongful death claim against the owner of the lot, Berwyn Eagles Aerie. Plaintiff alleged that a parking stop was left in a dangerous condition in the lot for over a year, causing the plaintiff to trip and get injured. Partners Dan Costello and James Barrow represented the defendant Berwyn Eagles and ultimately took the case to trial, showing clearly that the defendant was not negligent in its upkeep of the lot in any way. After only 20 minutes of deliberation, the jury agreed and found in favor of the defendant on all counts.
Costello Legal Wins Two Jury Trials in One Month
Daniel P. Costello & Associates congratulates two attorneys within the past two weeks who won full defense verdicts for our clients in jury trials in Cook County, a historically plaintiff-friendly venue.
Nicolau v. Mt. Prospect Child Care Center, Inc.
After a five year old girl fell off the monkey bars and broke her arm, her parents sued the day care center in the Cook County Law Division alleging negligent supervision and claiming $64,442.14 in damages. During the jury trial, Plaintiffs presented seven witnesses in their case-in-chief over three and a half days, including a liability expert. The firm received the case just one month prior to trial and Jessica Biagi, an associate at Daniel P. Costello & Associates, LLC, did an outstanding job quickly preparing the matter for trial reviewing thousands of pages of evidence. Within only an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
Jeff Wilson v. Action Towing, Inc. and Roxanne Rorah
The plaintiff, a 50 year old limousine driver, claims he was injured after falling off the back of a flat bed tow truck owned by our client. The Plaintiff claimed the defendant gave him instructions on climbing the truck and failed to warn him of the danger involved. The plaintiff asked for $152,000 in damages including over $37,000 in medical specials. For the defense, Partner James Barrow first won a motion for summary judgment as to counts for res ipsa loquitur, negligent spoilation and intentional spoilation, leaving only negligence counts. During the four day trial, James got the plaintiff to admit he knew what he was doing was dangerous and made it clear to the jury that the defendant bore no fault for the plaintiff’s accident. After deliberating for two hours the jury returned a full defense verdict.Congratulations to both Jessica and James!
What a Way to End a Year, 2012 Ends in a Bang
As another year draws to a close the internet is a buzz with stories of the top ten movies of the year, this year's best gifts, and the stories of the year. We have been doing quite a bit of reflecting here again, and we wanted to share some of the highlights of 2012 with our friends and clients.
Although typical lists try and recap the entire year, we won't try and do so here. It just happened in December but we would be remiss if we didn't start with an excellent trial result. On December 10, 2012 a Cook County jury found in favor of our client, a national retailer, in a high stakes jury trial. The plaintiff asked the jury for $9.5 million dollars where he had nearly $1 million in paid past medical bills, $2.1 million in wage loss and a claimed $6 million in non-economic damages. The plaintiff would not move off a $5.4 million pre-trial demand, and turned down a joint defense offer of $2 million dollars, with indications for additional settlement. The jury found for our client, and assessed 0% liability. This was a major victory as joint and several liability in Illinois would require payment of medical for any verdict including 1% on liability. The trial team of Dan Costello, James Barrow, and Jessica Biagi tried the case for nearly two weeks, ending in a verdict followed by the Illinois Trial Lawyer's association. In addition to success in the Courtroom the firm has spent a great deal of time developing and studying industry best practice.
In September 2012, Dan Costello presented on the Ethics of Alternative fees to global risk managers and insurance executives in Philadelphia. He presented on a panel with former Associate General Counsel for Harleysville Insurance, along with the former Chief Legal Counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance. Shortly after presenting, Dan was part of the second Litigation Management Institute at Columbia Law School in October 2012. The intensive program provided by CLM is a one of kind program putting experienced litigation attorneys, risk management officers, and corporate leaders through rigorous course work for three days. Leaders from Google, Marriott, Liberty Mutual, and other Fortune 100 companies guided the attendees through best practice in litigation management and service to clients. Dan is one of 170 people in the U.S. to have completed the course, and he earned the CLMP designation.
Finally, the firm prides itself on the work that it is doing with two national insurance carriers in regards to litigation management. 2012 saw the firm work successfully with two major U.S. based carriers to create counsel scorecards, litigation management best practices, and unique solutions. These solutions will create value long into 2013 and into the future. Although a successful 2012 is over, there are many exciting events planned for next year, and we look forward to celebrating them with our friends and clients.
Daniel P. Costello specializes in construction litigation, complex litigation, and litigation management.
