Case Summaries

Construction

[06/24] Muscarello v. Ogle County Bd. of Comm'rs
In plaintiff's suit against multiple defendants asserting various claims based on the U.S. Constitution, the Illinois Constitution, Illinois statutes, and the common law, arsing from the county's decision to amend its zoning ordinances to allow special permits for the construction of windmills used to generate power, and in particular, the construction of 40 windmills adjacent to plaintiff's property, judgment of the district court is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff's federal takings, equal protection, and due process claims fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; 2) plaintiff's state law trespass and nuisance claims are not ripe for review; 3) plaintiff has failed to avail herself of the opportunity to allege and support an independent basis of federal subject-matter jurisdiction over the other seven claims; and 4) the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion for an administrative stay.

[06/22] US Ex Rel. Miller v. Bill Harbert Int'l. Const., Inc.
In a False Claims Act (FCA) action claiming that five companies and one individual rigged the bidding on three contracts in Egypt funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, judgment for plaintiff is affirmed in part where: 1) the government's claims concerning one contract were not barred by the statute of limitations because they related back to plaintiff's original timely complaint; 2) although the false claims provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act and the FCA did overlap, the two statutes were fully capable of coexisting. However, the judgment is reversed in part where: 1) certain of plaintiff's claims were barred by the statute of limitations because he added them after the limitation period had run; and 2) allowing the government to contradict a factual stipulation called into question the credibility of defendant's counsel, severely impeding counsel's ability to effectively advocate for his client.

[06/21] Thrifty Payless, Inc. v. Mariners Mile Gateway, LLC
In a tenant's suit against the landlord over a lease for new commercial property, trial court's grant of defendant's motion for nonsuit and expert witness fees is affirmed where: 1) trial court's decision granting the nonsuit was proper as a matter of law; and 2) trial court did not err by allowing defendant to recover its expert witness fees pursuant to the lease.

[06/18] Tomlinson v. County of Alameda
Trial court's denial of plaintiffs' petition for a writ of administrative mandate, challenging a decision of a county to approve a subdivision development is reversed as the project was not exempt from CEQA review as the county used the wrong legal standard in applying the exemption and substantial evidence does not show the proposed subdivision satisfied the exemption's criteria.

[06/17] Jones v. Town of Carroll
In an action seeking a declaration that a zoning ordinance restricting landfills could not be validly applied to plaintiffs' property because the use variance and their activities on the land established a right to operate a landfill on all 50 acres, the appellate division's reversal of summary judgment for plaintiffs is reversed where the ordinance did not apply to plaintiffs because plaintiffs acquired a vested right to use their 50-acre parcel as a landfill for construction and demolition debris before the enactment of the zoning law.

More...