February 2012 Archives

Seven-year-old Jaylen Lane was rushed to the hospital when his parents noticed he was having trouble breathing. After going into cardiac arrest, doctors at Mercy Hospital told Lane's parents that the boy was dead. He wasn't.

Seemingly, the only people at the hospital who noticed that Lane was still breathing (and alive) were his parents who urged medical staff to continue working on their son as a funeral home employee stood outside the room ready to take the body, reports WLS News. Sure enough, Jaylen Lane was still breathing and was resuscitated by doctors. The child's parents now want to know why the hospital was so adamant about pronouncing their son dead.

As you can imagine, there were many things that are ridiculous about the Travel Channel hot dog lawsuit. First of all, the cable channel was being sued for footage it shot at a bawdy Chicago hot dog stand. Second, the Travel Channel was being sued for $1 billion.

Last year, several customers were filmed at the popular Chicago hot dog restaurant Wiener's Circle. The restaurant is as much famous for its wieners as it is for its staff's abrasive nature and potty mouths, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

In 2004, three-year-old Riley Fox went missing before being found dead in a creek. The girl's father was first suspected in the killing, before DNA evidence exonerated him. Eventually, neighbor and convicted sex offender Scott Eby confessed to the crime.

He is now serving a life imprisonment, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Prior to the confession, Riley Fox's parents hired private investigator firm National Investigators & Security Agency Inc. to find the girl's killer. After racking up a $70,000 bill, the firm says that the Fox's never paid. So the P.I.s sued their client, bringing a Riley Fox lawsuit for the unpaid amount.

Jordan. Qiaodan. One English, one Chinese, these two words are not spelled alike, but if you say it aloud, they sound awfully similar. Michael Jordan is involved in another lawsuit protecting the rights to his name and basketball identity. This time, instead of suing national grocery stores (as happened last week), Jordan is suing a Chinese company that he says has capitalized on his name.

Qiaodan Sports, located in Fujian province, has apparently made a living through its use of the Qiaodan name -- Jordan's name as commonly known in basketball-crazed China claimed in the Michael Jordan lawsuit, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The Indiana State Fair stage collapse last year killed several Chicagoans. Many of those killed were waiting for the country duo Sugarland to perform. At the time of the concert, there were reportedly wind gusts up to 70 mph. The show was still slated to go on, and there was a crowd of people near the stage when it collapsed due to the windy conditions.

The music group Sugarland now finds itself subject to a negligence lawsuit, and the defense to the Sugarland lawsuit may surprise you.

In 2009, Sports Illustrated published a special edition commemorating the greatness of Michael Jordan. As could be expected, flocks of advertisers printed ads to be included in the magazine that would likely reach a large audience.

Two of the advertisers were competing national grocery chain stores who used Jordan’s image to offer congratulations. Jordan — who is famously paid millions of dollars by companies like Nike, McDonald’s, and Hanes to be a spokesperson for their products — was not paid a cent by either of these grocery stores, and so the Michael Jordan lawsuit was brought regarding his right to publicity, reports the Associated Press.

The City of Chicago and lawyers representing more than 700 people allegedly unlawfully arrested during a 2003 Iraq war demonstration agreed to a $6.2 million settlement last week.

The Chicago Iraq war protest settlement is awaiting final court approval. Under the terms of the deal, those arrested and charged with a crime during the protest would receive up to $15,000 each, anyone arrested but not charged could get up to $8,750, and others detained on the street for more than 90 minutes before being released could receive up to up to $500, reports the Associated Press.

When you post something onto Facebook, you must do so with the expectation that the world will see it. In one case, a dad may lose his rights to see his daughter over what was purported to be a joke. In another case, a Chicago police officer is suing a cop over comments made on the social media site.

Police officer Lance Handzel lived in the Gresham district on the South Side of Chicago about one block away from 27-year-veteran Captain Juan Morado, reports the Chicago Tribune. Handzel was assigned to cover the same neighborhood where the two officers lived.

Banks and lenders were a large part of the blame for the 2008 financial collapse. It was claimed that banks just wanted to profit from mortgages while knowingly disregarding consumers’ inabilities to pay.

In a historic lawsuit, several state attorneys general, including Illinois AG Lisa Madigan, sued several big financial institutions for mortgage fraud abuse, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Yesterday, it was announced that the banks reached a settlement with the states, which included an Illinois mortgage settlement, and agreed to pay $25 billion to affected home owners.

Sandra Tinson was an assistant manager at Tom & Eddie’s in DuPage County. In August 2010, she says that as she was pouring beer at the restaurant, when one of the beer tap handles exploded without warning, shattering jagged pieces into her arm.

The handle allegedly sliced through Tinson’s left hand, wrist, and arm. Tinson said the injury required multiple surgeries, leaving her permanently disfigured, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Newt Gingrich sued over song choice? The presidential hopeful probably has enough distractions without worrying about the music he plays on the campaign trail. But the candidate found himself being sued by the 1980s music group Survivor for the decision to play the 1982 hit “Eye of the Tiger” on the campaign trail.

Chicago-born Frankie Sullivan co-wrote the song and has filed a federal lawsuit against Gingrich. Sullivan says his lawsuit is not politically motivated, but during the 2008 presidential campaign he similarly issued a cease-and-desist letter to Republican candidate John McCain, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

As the job market for most jobs dried up during the down economy, law graduates and aspiring lawyers seem to have been hit especially hard. Many people decide to go to law school because there is this misconception that all lawyers are paid well. This misconception may be perpetuated by law schools themselves who offer glowing data and statistics of 90-percent employment rates upon graduation and six-figure average starting salaries.

A class action lawsuit was filed against Carnival Corporation for the Costa Concordia cruise ship wreck. It was filed in Chicago of all places.

As you may have heard, 16 people were killed when the ship that was touring the Italian coast struck a rock and capsized earlier this month. Along with those killed, 16 others are still missing, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.