Jendryk Wins Auto Appraisal
Clause Breach of Contract Trial
Jim Jendryk recently won a not guilty verdict
for his client auto carrier in a breach of contract claim involving issues surrounding
invocation of the appraisal clause in an auto insurance contract, following an
auto accident caused by an uninsured driver. In the case, the plaintiff claimed
consequential damages of over $400,000 based upon insurance premiums paid, debt
paid on the bank loan and loss of use of her vehicle for 67 months after it was
repossessed by the bank.
Littman Obtains Dismissal of
Case Through Use of Investigator
Chicago shareholder Roger Littman's recent decision to
obtain surveillance of a purportedly blind plaintiff resulted in the voluntary
dismissal of a lawsuit brought against one of Roger’s physician clients. In the
case, the plaintiff had been hospitalized with a rare medical condition known
as Pseudotumor Cerebrii, in which cerebro-spinal fluid builds up within the
cranium and causes severe headaches and, in some cases, loss of vision.
Plaintiff sued the neurosurgeon, the internist and the neuro-ophthalmologist
caring for him at one of the area’s top hospitals. Subsequent treaters opined
that the vision loss was near complete, permanent and related to the care of
the defendants. Indeed, reports of neuro-ophthalmologists in Illinois
and in Wisconsin
confirmed severe loss of vision on objective and subjective testing.
Following a female defendant's report
that she believed the plaintiff was looking at her during a deposition, an
investigator was hired and taped the plaintiff riding the CTA to a tavern;
crossing 6 lanes of of a major roadway without assistance and with his cane
folded up; and then being able to secure his own and a friend bottles of beer
from behind the bar, opening them and pouring just in time for the first pitch
of the White Sox home opener.
Prior to obtaining the voluntary
dismissal, Roger defeated multiple motions from plaintiff's attorneys seeking
to bar the videotape evidence and expert opinions were obtained documenting
that plaintiff was malingering and just plain faking his blindness.
Littman Defeats Claim Alleging Failure to Diagnose
Melanoma
Roger Littman obtained vindication for an internist sued for failing to
diagnose melanoma arising from a spot beneath a toenail. Following treating
plaintiff for a month for this condition with antibiotics, Roger's defendant
doctor referred the plaintiff to a podiatrist, who was also sued. Plaintiff
claimed that the persistence of the lesion over several appointments should
have resulted in a biopsy or referral to a dermatologist. Instead, after the
referral took place, the internist thought the problem was taken care of and
left the patient’s feet in the podiatrist’s hands.
Facing an expert he had used in a prior trial, Roger researched experts used by
his opponent and responded by hiring an expert that plaintiff counsel's office
had used several times. Instead of the $12.8 million requested by plaintiff,
the jury awarded a verdict in favor of all defendants.
