Recent Dismissals of Claims Against Our Construction Clients
Ironworker - Fall - Summary Judgment In Favor of Developer
On August 31, 2009, Judge Brewer (Cook County, IL) granted Summary Judgment in favor of our client, the developer, on both Restatement 414 and 343 grounds, finding no retained contractual, supervisory, or operational control over the means and methods of the Plaintiff's ironwork (414), no actual or constructive knowledge of any allegedly dangerous condition or conduct, and no dangerous condition on the premises (343
Wrongful Death - Dismissal - Failure to Exhaust All Remedies, Court of Claims
On September 10, 2009, Chief Justice Robert Sprague (Court of Claims) dismissed Decedent's action against IDOT for failure to exhaust all available remedies before bringing the action against IDOT. Decedent, Ashley Wilson, died in a vehicle accident on the Dan Ryan Expressway on January 6, 2002, during reconstruction of the highway.
Wrongful Death - Choice of Law - Kentucky Law Provides for Dismissal Against Upper Tier Contractor
On September 21, 2009, Judge Flanagan (Cook County, IL) granted our client's (commercial bridge painting contractor) Motion for Summary Judgment based on Kentucky's "Up-the-Ladder" Contractor Immunity, even though the case was filed in Illinois. The decedent fell to his death from a scaffold underneath the John F. Kennedy Bridge outside of Louisville, Kentucky.
Trench Accident - Summary Judgment in Favor of General Contractor on Issue of Direct Negligence and Restatement 343 Liability
On October 19, 2009, Judge Larsen (Cook County, IL) granted our client's Motion for Summary Judgment as to any direct construction negligence liability and premises liability (Restatement 343 liability.) Plaintiff was injured while installing electrical conduit in a trench. The court ruled that the general contractor had ceded control of the trench to the sub-contractor prior to the injury.
Construction Manager - Summary Judgment Granted on Restatement 414 and 343 Theories - Plaintiff Claims Permanent Disability
After a lengthy battle involving motions for rehearing and multiple supplemental briefings on the issue of the role of a CMa (Construction Manager as Advisor) versus a CMc (Construction Manager as Constructor, or "at risk"), on November 5, 2009, Judge Maras (Cook County, IL) granted our CM client's motions for summary judgment as to all counts, in a case involving claimed permanent injuries to an ironworker resulting from unspooling of commercial perimeter cable. The steel fabricator and erector had previously settled, leaving only the CM as a defendant in the case.