The HCBullet: The blog of the Attorneys at HCB

Court Rules that Deputy Had Probable Cause to Arrest Plaintiff for Obstruction When Plaintiff Refused to Accept Service of Protective Order

July 12, 2017

Judge Joe Billy McDade of the U.S. District Court of Central Illinois granted summary judgment in favor of Livingston County Deputy, Brian Hoffmeyer, in Stevenson v. Meredith, et al., No. 15-cv-1340. Pro se Plaintiff Timothy Stevenson claimed that he was arrested without probable cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment by Deputy Hoffmeyer. On June…

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U.S. Supreme Court Finds Free Exercise Clause Violation in State’s Practice of Refusing Grants to Religious Pre-School

July 12, 2017

The Trinity Lutheran Church Child Learning Center in Missouri is a preschool and daycare center, operating with Trinity Lutheran Church on its property. In 2012, the Center sought to replace the gravel on its playground with a rubber surface by participating in Missouri’s Scrap Tire Program. The Program, run by the State’s Department of Natural…

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Court Grants Summary Judgment in Defendants’ Favor in Inmate’s Failure to Protect and Medical Care Case

June 27, 2017

Central District Judge Eric Long granted Defendant’s motion for summary judgment in Whiteside v. County of Kankakee, et al., No. 16-2115. Plaintiff, a jail inmate, alleged that a correctional officer failed to protect him from an altercation with another inmate and that the jail nurse was deliberately indifferent to his injuries following the altercation. The…

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Non-Home Rule Municipalities May Create Administrative Procedures to Determine Eligibility for Benefits Under §10 of PSEBA

June 27, 2017

In December 2008, Steven Englum was employed as a police officer by the City of Charleston (City) – a non-home-rule municipality – when he was injured while exiting his police cruiser. In November 2013, Englum sent the City a letter requesting health insurance benefits under §10 of the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act (PSEBA). In…

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Court Grants Discretionary Immunity in Sidewalk Defect Case

June 27, 2017

In Monson v. The City of Danville, 2017 IL App (4th) 160593, Barbara Monson tripped and fell on an uneven sidewalk seam maintained by the City of Danville. Monson required nine stitches, bruising and dental work as a result of her fall. Monson sued the City, alleging that the City’s negligence and willful and wanton…

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