Jake Leahy

Website: https://www.chicagolitigationblog.com/
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This past October, a products liability claim was filed against L’Oréal in the Northern District of Illinois, alleging that the hair relaxers sold by the company are linked to cancer. The complaint alleges that the relaxers are primarily marketed and used by black women, and that the chemicals involved are linked with uterine cancer.

Count one of the complaint is for failure to warn, a strict liability action. It claims that the company knew, or should have known, that the chemicals included in the product were linked with a significant increase in the chance of developing cancer. It further alleges…
Continue Reading L’Oréal Faces More Product Liability Lawsuits Over Hair Relaxers, Which Are Primarily Marketed to Black Women

Since the 1960’s, Rosati’s has built itself into a powerhouse in the pizza dine-in and take-out business. While it has long been a dominant player in the Chicago pizza market, it has also expanded into a national presence. While disputes have arisen throughout the years between family members regarding how to best run the business, those have largely been resolved with various fixes through the years.

In the late 1990’s, after a hotly contested decade, the family decided to establish a new holding company which would license the intellectual property of the Rosati’s brand to each of the ten shareholders.
Continue Reading Frozen Pizza Dispute Puts Rosati’s in Court (Rosati v. Rosati)

This post reviews an older decision, a 2007 decision authored by Judge Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

This case involved a Metra engineer who brought forward a lawsuit against the company (formally known as Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter R. Corp.), the lawsuit alleged negligence under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) and a claim under the Locomotive Inspection Act. The engineer alleged that he injured his forehead after bumping into a sun visor that was facing down, after the engineer had entered the train early in the morning, while it was dark. He claimed that the light…
Continue Reading Posner Opinion in Railroad Negligence Case Emphasizes Need for Proper Evidence and Perhaps Demonstratives (Coffey v. Metra)

Thank you for reading – I am excited to be publishing and working with LexBlog on this blog. The purpose of this blog is simple, to provide a place to write about interesting cases that come up, from the perspective as a law student. While LexBlog focuses on its work with attorneys, I am not an attorney, just a J.D. Candidate at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. As such, the purpose of this blog is for educational purposes, to provide interesting insights into the legal system in the region (and sometimes beyond). My approach to this blog…
Continue Reading Purpose of this Blog

Gardner, et al. v. MeTV, 1:22-cv-05963

A class action complaint was filed against MeTV in the Northern District of Illinois at the end of October. Like many complaints of this nature, the allegations arise from MeTV’s use of Facebook Pixel, which purportedly discloses information about the video viewing habits of subscribers.

While the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) has been frequently used to combat disclosing personally identifiable biometric information, the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”) dates back several decades, and it prevents companies from disclosing personally identifiable video viewing history or information.

While sharing aggregate information likely does not run…
Continue Reading Video Privacy Protection Act Complaint Filed Against MeTV (Gardner, et al. v. MeTV)

Baker v. Match Group, Inc., et al.

Case No. 1:22-cv-06924

A class action complaint against Match Group, Inc., which owns numerous dating apps including Tinder and Hinge, was recently removed from the Cook County Circuit Court to the Northern District of Illinois. The complaint alleges the company violated the privacy requirements under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). 

The primary practice at issue is that Match Group, which at times requires photos to be uploaded, scans the uploaded images for biometric information after being uploaded. The complaint alleges that this practice is not disclosed at all to consumers. 

Prior to…
Continue Reading Class Action Privacy Lawsuit Against Hinge, Tinder, Others is Removed to Federal Court (Baker v. Match Group)

SYNOPSIS

The Northern District of Illinois Bankruptcy Court recently held that tens of thousands of dollars were not dischargeable in Chapter 7 for a Chicago-area family, who was alleged to have improperly shifted previously non-exempt bankruptcy assets. This case provides a helpful example to show when a discharge of debt under Chapter 7 can be denied.

THE CASE

Under the liquidation portion of the United States Bankruptcy Code, Chapter Seven (7), debtors are often able to dispose of virtually all of their debts. There are times however, that debtors are not entitled to have their debt discharged. A discharge for…
Continue Reading Where is the Line Between Effective Bankruptcy Planning and Fraud? Recent Case Provides Guidance. (In re Klawitter)

Illinois State Police Officer Shawn Myers was sued by Phillip Osborne (Phynelopha Johnson, as Administrator of the Estate of Phillip Osborne, Now deceased). Osborne alleged that the officer violated his Fourth Amendment rights and filed a Section 1983 claim.

Officer Myers had setup numerous drug purchases from Osborne using an information over the span of several weeks in 2014. Officer Myers however, did not seek an arrest warrant of Osborne several years later, until 2017. To obtain the warrant, Officer Myers provided information about the previous purchases, about the informant’s identification of the defendant, and drug buy videos.

Osborne was…
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Appeal Over Alleged Wrongful Admission of Certain Evidence (Johnson v. Myers)