Articles

LEGAL TRENDS, April 2006

Legal Trends Features Recent Firm Victories and a Significant Wage and Hour Case.

In this issue of Legal Trends, the Hollander Law Offices celebrates a recent settlement against Yellow Cab and a record jury verdict against Rosebud Restaurants. We also highlight a substantial verdict against Wal-Mart in a wage and hour case.

Personal Injury Law

Hollander Law Offices Settles Case Against Yellow Cab After Sanctions Granted Against Defendant.

June 25, 2004 should have been like any other day for Paul Douglas. In the span of a few seconds that evening, however, Paul's life changed forever.

In the evening hours of June 25, 2004, Paul Douglas was having dinner with a few friends at a local establishment, Roscoe's, located at the
corner of Roscoe and Broadway in Chicago. At about 8:00 P.M., Paul got up to say goodbye to the group, and intended to walk across Roscoe Street to play pool with some other friends. Paul waited for the light to change and took one step into the crosswalk.

As he started to cross the street, Omar Gamawa was driving a Yellow Cab speeding westbound on Roscoe. Evidence in the case revealed that Gamawa was driving his vehicle at a speed of 50 miles per hour. Gamawa told the fares in his cab that he liked to "scare people." As Gamawa approached the intersection of Roscoe and Broadway, he ran a red light, swerved around a vehicle that had not cleared the corner, and struck Paul. Paul flew up in the air and landed on the pavement - his friends thought that he was dead. Miraculously, Paul survived, but sustained multiple fractures to both of his legs. He underwent two surgeries and was unable to walk unassisted for a number of months. Paul's past medical expense was approximately $117,000, and he anticipates $35,000 in future medical expenses.

The Hollander Law Offices filed suit on behalf of Paul in the Circuit Court of Cook County against Gamawa, Yellow Cab Management and other related Yellow entities. Initially, during the course of the litigation, Yellow Cab provided sworn testimony that their liability insurance limits were $350,000. The former President of Yellow Cab also swore under oath in a deposition that the policy limits were only $350,000. After the trial judge granted Paul's motion to present the issue of punitive damages to the jury against Gamawa, Yellow Cab disclosed an additional policy of $650,000, for a total of $1,000,000 of available insurance proceeds.

The Hollander Law Offices then brought a Motion for Sanctions against Yellow for their belated disclosure of this crucial information. The Court sanctioned Yellow Cab for their late disclosure and allowed Paul to engage in further discovery as to why Yellow Cab failed to disclose this information in the first place. Eugene Hollander and Erin Buck then mediated the case and settled for a confidential sum. As a part of the settlement, the sanctions were vacated.

Employment Law

Hollander Law Offices Obtains Record Verdict Against Rosebud Restaurants In Pregnancy and FMLA case.

On September 8, 2006, a federal jury in Chicago returned a $380,000 verdict against Rosebud Restaurants in a pregnancy discrimination and Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") case. According to the Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter, this was the second largest verdict in Chicago for a pregnancy and/or FMLA case.

Kristine Buffone, daughter-in-law of Chicago Bears great Doug Buffone, was employed by Rosebud in various capacities for approximately eight years. In September, 2002, Kristine was promoted to Manager of its Theater District Restaurant, located at 70 W. Madison Street. Kristine earned $30,000 annually with benefits. On June 10, 2003, Kristine announced to her supervisor, Yvonne Burke, that she was pregnant. Kristine testified that the Executive Chef at the restaurant stated that "no one wants to watch a pregnant woman while they are eating dinner - that is disgusting." Burke later told Kristine that she was "getting big," "getting too big, and that we have to get you out of here." Kristine also testified that in 2001, Burke referred to two other female employees as having "crazy pregnant lady syndrome."

Rosebud refused to schedule Kristine after July 7, 2003. In late September, 2003, she inquired of Nancy Krause, Executive Administrator of Human Resources, about insurance and benefits. Krause, who conceded at trial that she was aware of Kristine's November 3, 2003 due date, told her to write and backdate two letters for July 1, 2003. The first letter requested FMLA leave from July 8, 2003 through September 30, 2003, and the second letter requested an additional month of medical leave, expiring on October 31, 2003 - prior to the time that Kristine was to deliver her baby. Kristine testified that it was her intention to work up until her due date, and then take leave.

On November 17, 2003, Kristine delivered her baby via C-section. Kristine started to call Rosebud corporate and Burke in December 2003, seeking to return to work in either late December, 2003 or early January, 2004. Burke told Kristine in January, 2004 that "they were full," and that she "chose to have a family, and could not expect Robbie (her male replacement) to step aside."

Kristine was asked to fill in for several part-time shifts as host and bartender in February, 2004 and did so. Kristine's last work with the company was on February 14, 2004. The defense contended that Kristine quit in July, 2003. Kristine refuted that theory by offering evidence that she was placed on FMLA in July, 2003, that Defendant paid for her insurance during FMLA, and that an internal e-mail from the Payroll Manager to the Chief Financial Officer in September, 2003 stated that Kristine was on "maternity leave" and that she intended to return to work within six weeks after the delivery of her baby.

Rosebud also argued that Kristine wished to have her FMLA start on July 8, 2003. Kristine countered that argument with her testimony that she wished to work until her due date, and that since her husband was unemployed at that time, she needed the insurance and the benefits to support her family.

The jury found in Kristine's favor on her Pregnancy Discrimination Act Claim and her claim under the FMLA. The jury awarded Kristine $55,000 in backpay damages, $75,000 in compensatory damages, and $250,000 in punitive damages. Since the verdict, the trial judge has denied Rosebud's Motion for a New Trial. Kristine currently has pending a motion for liquidated damages to double her backpay, and a petition for attorney's fees seeking approximately $165,000 in addition to the jury verdict. Eugene Hollander and Paul Ryan, in his first federal jury trial, handled the proceedings.

Wal-Mart Hit For $78 Million in Wage and Hour Case.

A Philadelphia jury returned a $78.5 million verdict against mega retailer Wal-Mart for failing to pay its workers for missed rest breaks and overtime. The verdict, returned on October 13, 2006, capped a six week trial over worker's pay starting in 1998. After the lengthy trial, the jury needed just two hours to make its decision. In addition to the backpay awarded, the workers' lawyers are seeking an additional $62 million in damages. Under Pennsylvania law, each person in the class can receive an additional $500.00 beyond actual damages. There are 186,979 members in the class. The female workers claimed that Wal-Mart made them skip 33 million rest breaks from 1998 to 2001 to boost productivity. Their lawyers argued that the rest breaks were worth $76 million in damages and that the unpaid time was worth $2.5 million. Former employees testified that they were pressured by store manages to skip their breaks. Wal-Mart has vowed to appeal the jury's verdict.

About the author:

Eugene Hollander is a trial attorney who currently heads his own law office in Chicago. Mr. Hollander has tried numerous cases in the state and federal courts. The Law Offices of Eugene K. Hollander is a full service law firm, concentrating its practice in employment discrimination claims, personal injury and medical malpractice suits, and various types of commercial litigation.

For more information, visit our web site at http://www.ekhlaw.com/, or contact us directly at:

The Law Offices of Eugene K. Hollander
33 N. Dearborn
Suite 2300
Chicago, IL 60602
(312)-425-9100
E-mail: EHollander@ekhlaw.com

Copyright © 2006 The Law Offices of Eugene K. Hollander. This publication may be considered advertising material under the Illinois Code of Professional Responsibility and is not intended to create any attorney-client relationship. The reader should not rely upon any statement or opinion as legal advice, but rather, should consider it as generally informative.