Paul Rettberg and Brandon Lemley recently obtained dismissal of a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by an arrestee against a Chicago suburb and three of its police officers. The Plaintiff, arrested in 2000, claimed that the defendants falsely arrested and imprisoned him, and that they used excessive force during the arrest. Although the Court initially held that the lawsuit might not be barred under a then-existing exception to the statute of limitations in claims under the Fourth Amendment, it subsequently dismissed the lawsuit in its entirety after Querrey & Harrow successfully argued that a recent U.S. Supreme Court case, Wallace v. Kato, controlled the statute of limitations analysis.
Chicago shareholder Bob Huebsch was recently re-elected to the Board of Directors of the Gateway Foundation; an organization dedicated to the treatment and cure of substance abuse. Information on Gateway Foundation can be found at http://www.gatewayfoundation.org/index.html.
Paul O’Grady, who joined our Municipal Liability practice group following completing his tenure as Director of Operations for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, was recently named as a Commissioner of the Orland Fire Protection District. Information on the District is available at http://www.orlandfire.org.
Joliet office shareholder Christine McAsey is a volunteer at the LEEDA House through the Chicago Cares program, helping disabled adults plant flowers at their group home and start a garden to grow vegetables. Information on the Chicago Cares program is available at http://www.chicagocares.org/index.asp.
Chicago shareholder Chris Johnston recent obtained a not guilty verdict for his client, who was sued by the estate of a man found dead in a gangway of the client’s building. Plaintiff alleged that the decedent fell as a result of a railing on the porch and stairwell that was lower than required by the Chicago Municipal Code. However, investigation revealed the decedent was intoxicated at the time of his fall and the decedent’s own negligence was advanced in defense of the claim. At trial, plaintiff counsel requested a verdict “in excess of $1 million” from the jury.
