Success Stories

CONSTRUCTION/COMMERCIAL LITIGATION

1. COOK COUNTY JURY AWARDS $4.75 MILLION TO MOVIE PRODUCTION STUDIO FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION DAMAGE.  Morrison & Morrison, P.C. represented plaintiffs Robert Hudecek and RAH Production Center in a three week jury trial in August, 2000.  The jury awarded $4,750,000.00 in favor of plaintiffs and against various construction companies which were improving the Dan Ryan Expressway which was adjacent to the movie production studio.  Hudecek is a well known director of photography, having worked on such popular productions as “E.R.” and “Chicago Hope”. 

Plaintiff was able to prove at trial that the construction companies damaged one of the walls of the production studio while excavating and pile driving in an area adjacent to the studio.  The jury awarded plaintiffs $450,000.00 for the repair of the building, and $4,300,000.00 for loss of business as a result of the damage to the movie production studio.  Defendant’s had offered only $200,000.00 prior to trial.  The jury deliberated for only two hours after a three week trial.

PERSONAL INJURY/AUTO ACCIDENT

2. $2,000,000.00  DOLLAR LAKE COUNTY SETTLEMENT FOR CLOSED HEAD INJURY AND FRACTURED VERTEBRAE FOLLOWING REAR END AUTOMOBILE COLLISION.  Morrison & Morrison, P.C. represented Raymond Balke after he was rear ended in 2002 by an auto parts truck owned by Greenfield Pontiac in Wisconsin.  The accident occurred on Route 22 in the area of Barrington, Lake County, Illinois.  Mr. Balke received a compression fracture in his lumbar vertebrae which was surgically repaired with great success.  Plaintiff also received a closed head injury which resulted in post concussion syndrome and pseudo seizure activity.  On almost a daily basis, after that automobile collision, plaintiff would literally pass out for a number of minutes.  However, during these “blackout spells”, plaintiff’s EEG’s and brain activity were reportedly normal.  All CAT scans and MRI’s were also negative for any injuries.

Morrison & Morrison P.C. also successfully alleged punitive damages against the driver of the truck, hiring an accident reconstruction expert to testify to his high rate of speed and arguing that Greenfield Pontiac’s scheduled route for this particular driver on the day of the accident was excessive, causing him to necessarily exceed the posted speed limits in order to perform his route in a timely fashion.  This case was pending in the Lake County Circuit for over two years, and ultimately settled after a lengthy pretrial conference just prior to trial for a total of $2,000,000.00.

PRODUCT LIABILITY

3. 2004 - CONFIDENTIAL PLAINTIFF SETTLES WITH CONFIDENTIAL APPLIANCE MANUFACTURER DURING FEDERAL JURY TRIAL FOR $1 MILLION DOLLARS.  Morrison & Morrison P.C. represented a Lake County infant after he became burned after opening the lower broiler door on a gas range.  The minor received second and third degree burns to his right hand, both of his cheeks, nose, and forehead.  A skin graft surgery was successfully completed by Dr. Richard Gamelli that the Loyola University burn unit, and the burns to his facial area were successfully treated by serial debridements.

Plaintiff alleged that the lower broiler door was defectively designed because it was too easy to open, and also alleged a failure to adequately warn. During discovery, it was discovered that the same confidential appliance manufacturer had notice of two similar injuries where infants had been burned by gaining access to the inside of the broiler on similar units.  Attorneys at Morrison & Morrison P.C. also discovered during the case that the manufacturer, after learning of one of the previous injuries, developed plans to add a spring to the broiler door to make the door approximately 7 to 10 times harder to open.  However, the manufacturer never implemented the design change.  Due to these previous similar occurrences and this proposed design change, the trial judge allowed the jury to consider awarding punitive damages in this case.  The case settled in the middle of trial for $1,000,000.00.

ZONING / REAL ESTATE LITIGATION

4.LAKE COUNTY JUDGE RE-ZONES PROPERTY INCREASING VALUE FROM $3,000,000 TO OVER $15,000,000. Morrison & Morrison, P.C.  represented the owner of approximately 90 acres of vacant land located at the northwest corner of Rt. 60 and the tollway in unincorporated Lake County. First, Morrison & Morrison, P.C. defended the owner in an eminent domain action filed by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority in which a Lake County jury awarded the owner over $500,000 as compensation for the taking of 5 acres for the tollway ramp. Thereafter, Morrison & Morrison, P.C. represented the owner in action filed in Lake County seeking a judicial re-zoning of the property from 2 acre single family residential to office/research. Following a three week bench trial, the judge re-zoned the property to office/research which increased the value of the property from approximately $3,000,000 to over $15,000,000. Morrison & Morrison, P.C. also successfully handled the appeal of that decision that was filed by the County of Lake. Following the appeal, Morrison & Morrison, P.C. handled the lengthy and complicated negotiations for the annexation of the property into the Village of Mettawa. The annexation of the property allowed the owner to sell the property to a nationally known office developer for over $15,000,000.

EMINENT DOMAIN / CONDEMNATION

5.LAKE COUNTY JURY AWARDS LANDOWNER APPROXIMATELY $350,000 FOR THE TAKING OF A STRIP OF HIS PARKING LOT. Morrison & Morrison, P.C. represented the owner of a strip shopping mall in Antioch when the Illinois Department of Transportation filed an eminent domain action to acquire a small strip of the parking lot to widen the highway. The Department had offered to pay the owner approximately $50,000 for the taking claiming that the taking would not substantially damage the remaining property. Morrison & Morrison, P.C. presented expert testimony during a jury trial that the taking of the strip of land would damage the remaining portion of the property because numerous parking spaces would have to be relocated to an area which could have been used for future development. The jury returned a verdict for the landowner for approximately $350,000.