The appellate court reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit against a bus service for vicarious liability. A woman sued the bus service after she was sexually assaulted by one of its drivers. The court found the bus service could be held liable because the assault began while she was intoxicated and passed out on the bus, when the common carrier relationship existed. The woman alleged the driver took her home instead of getting her help, and assaulted her there while she was unable to consent. The appellate court said dismissing the suit was improper because the assault was initiated while she was a passenger on the bus.

1. TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2015
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Volume 161, No. 18
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R
elying on the vicarious
liability rule of Chicago
& Eastern Railroad Co.
v. Flexman, 103 Ill. 546
(1882), Janice Dennis
sued Pace Suburban Bus Service
for battery. The complaint alleged
she was sexually assaulted by a
Pace driver — after work, at his
house.
The 1882 case involved a brake-
man who smashed a passenger in
the face with a lantern. Because
the railroad placed its servants in
charge of the train, and “it alone
had the power of removal,” the
Illinois Supreme Court affirmed a
verdict for the passenger. “Justice
demands that [the railroad] should
be held responsible for their
wrongful acts toward passengers
while in charge of the train,” the
high court explained.
In the new case, the Illinois
Appellate Court recounted, Dennis
alleged that after becoming in-
toxicated she passed out after
boarding a Pace bus. But rather
than calling for help or notifying
his supervisor, the driver (iden-
tified in the opinion as Jeffrey
Moore) allegedly took her home at
the end of his shift and “sexually
assaulted her while she was in an
intoxicated condition and unable to
consent.”
A Cook County judge — con-
cluding that a common carrier’s
vicarious liability under Flexman
and Green v. Carlinville Community
Unit School District No. 1, 381
Ill.App.3d 207 (2008), does not
extend to a sexual assault that
occurs after work at an employee’s
home — granted Pace’s motion to
dismiss.
Reversing the ruling on vicar-
ious liability (Count 1), the ap-
pellate court concluded that Den-
nis alleged a valid claim against
Pace, because the driver “initiated
the sexual assault when plaintiff
was riding on the bus at a time
when she was a passenger and the
common carrier and passenger
relationship existed.” Dennis v.
Pace, 2014 IL App (1st) 132397
(Sept. 5, 2014).
Here are highlights of Justice
Stuart E. Palmer’s opinion (with
omissions not noted in the text):
Under the theory of respondeat
superior, “an employer can be
liable for the torts of his employee
when those torts are committed
within the scope of the employ-
ment.” Adames v. Sheahan, 233
Ill.2d 276 (2009). Under respon-
deat superior, an employer’s vi-
carious liability extends to the
negligent, willful, malicious or even
criminal acts of its employees
when those acts are committed
within the scope of employment.
“In the context of respondeat
superior liability, the term ‘scope of
employment’ excludes conduct by
an employee that is solely for the
benefit of the employee.” Deloney v.
52 pages in 3 sections
COURT CALL ...................................7
NEW SUITS.....................................19
CASE SUMMARIES......................22
CLASSIFIEDS.................................23
PUBLIC NOTICES.........................24
TRIAL
NOTEBOOK
TIME-OUT,
PAGE 5
Bus service
duty applies
beyond bus
Dennis v. Pace
Leagues ‘up their game’ on domestic violence
STEVEN P.
GARMISA
Hoey & Farina
NOTEBOOK, Page 5
VOIR DIRE
Colorado case
brings 9,000
possible jurors
PAGE 6
Each chief
justice and
his court have
contributed to
the legacy and
history of the
court.”
LAWYERS’ FORUM, PAGE 4
IN THE LAW FIRMS
C
ray, Huber, Horstman, Heil & VanAusdal LLC added Jeffrey A. Siderius as a partner.
Siderius practices in insurance coverage and appeals.
He was previously with Lindemann, Miller, Siderius LLP.
• • • • •
Hamilton, Thies and Lorch LLP elected Afton L. Gauron to partner.
Gauron handles estate, tax, probate and family law matters.
She joined the firm as an associate when it opened in 2005.
• • • • •
Thompson, Coburn LLP promoted Emily L. Peel to partner and Bethany A. Bruno to
counsel.
Peel, a member of the business litigation practice group, practices in contract disputes,
business torts, real estate and foreclosure litigation, commercial loan enforcement and
trust and probate litigation.
Part of the real estate practice group, Bruno practices in commercial real estate and
business and corporate law matters.
• • • • •
Arnstein & Lehr LLP partner Thomas P. Conley was elected president of the Illinois
Association of Healthcare Attorneys.
Conley chairs the firm’s health law group. He concentrates his practice in transactional
health-care law and regulatory compliance matters. He is an active member of the Illinois
State Bar Association, previously chairing its Health Care Section Council.
IAHA is an 850–member organization serving attorneys representing the health-care
industry.
IN THE NEWS
(From left) Pia N. Thompson, executive director and deputy general counsel at
Navigant Consulting Inc.; Cynthia Photos Abbott, chief litigation counsel at
Motorola Mobility; and Cathy Landman, general counsel for Jostens; lead a
Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law panel discussion event, “In-House to
Power-House — Professional Development Series: Success Stories,” on Jan. 14
at Locke, Lord, Edwards LLP. Michael R. Schmidt
Emily L.
Peel
Bethany A.
Bruno
Jeffrey A.
Siderius
BY CHRISTINE M. PUSATERI
TURN
INSIDE
IN THE NEWS, Page 2
Merger creates
world’s new
largest law firm
Dentons’ move with
Dacheng means new
business in China
Jury awards $5.8M for
surgery complications
BY ROY STROM
Law Bulletin staff writer
On Monday, John Z. Huang was
managing partner of a three-
lawyer office at 300 W. Adams St.
that served as the Chicago outpost
for the largest law firm in mainland
China, 4,000-lawyer Dacheng Law
Offices.
On Tuesday, he became a mem-
ber of the world’s new largest law
firm, Dentons, whose 135-lawyer
Willis Tower office across the
street less than five years ago was
branded Sonnenschein, Nath &
Rosenthal.
In its latest and most historic
step to becoming the largest firm,
Dentons announced Monday night
its merger with Dacheng — the first
official tie-up between a large glob-
al firm and a Chinese firm —
creating a brand with more than
6,500 lawyers and professionals in
120 locations.
“It hasn’t been a question of if a
trans-Pacific combination would
happen but when, and it’s hap-
pening now,” said Kent Zimmer-
mann, a consultant at the
Zeughauser Group.
“It’s the biggest news the legal
industry has seen in a long time.
For any firm that’s global or aspires
to be global, China is too big a
market to ignore.”
The move underscores the im-
portance of the Chinese economy
and legal market for major law
firms. As the world’s second-largest
economy continues to grow at an
envious pace, Chinese businesses
are also encountering new legal
needs that put U.S. and interna-
tional lawyers in demand.
For instance, China’s outbound
investments last year outpaced the
inbound flow of capital for the first
time, suggesting Chinese firms will
need local counsel in foreign coun-
tries where they increasingly in-
vest.
“All of our competitors are look-
ing East,” Elliott Portnoy, who will
be global CEO of the new firm, said
in a statement.
“By uniting East and West in one
firm — not merely through a few
offices in large cities, but with a
deep presence across China — we
can provide Chinese businesses
with global ambitions and inter-
national clients with interests in-
side China a reach and depth that
simply can't be found elsewhere.”
Firm leaders were not available
for comment by early this after-
noon. Dentons’ local office man-
aging partner is Mary G. Wilson.
Dentons has about 2,600 lawyers
and professionals worldwide and
last year recorded revenue of $1.26
billion, according to The American
Lawyer. Created by a three-way
merger in March 2013, Dentons
employees still send e-mails with a
tagline announcing the event:
“SNR Denton is proud to join
Salans and FMC as a founding
member of Dentons.”
Dacheng was co-founded in 1992
by Peng Xuefeng, who is based in
Beijing, still serves as the firm’s
director and will be the chairman of
the new firm’s global board.
Dacheng, which is significantly
larger than Dentons, took in rev-
enue around $400 million last year.
On a per-lawyer basis, the Chinese
firm’s revenue is a fraction of its
new partner.
Woman suffered
nerve damage after
knee replacement
BY MARC KARLINSKY
Law Bulletin staff writer
A Cook County jury has awarded
more than $5.8 million to a woman
and her husband for permanent
nerve damage she suffered from
complications after knee surgery.
Celeste Trevino and her hus-
band, Ignacio, first filed a com-
plaint in Cook County Circuit Court
against several doctors who par-
ticipated in her knee-replacement
operation in September 2007 and
her post-operation recovery at the
since-closed Neurologic and Or-
thopedic Institute of Chicago.
The surgery resulted in a
popliteal pseudoaneurysm — a leak
in the artery in the space behind
the knee.
“During the knee-replacement
surgery, the artery was apparently
nicked in some way,” said David A.
Axelrod of David A. Axelrod &
Associates P.C., who represented
the Trevinos.
The leaking blood was trapped
by surrounding tissue and put pres-
sure on the artery and nerves near-
by, he said.
Two days after the surgery,
Trevino could not move her right
toes or right ankle, and the foot was
numb up to the ankle, she alleged.
She also showed signs of anemia,
edema and had more pain than was
expected from the operation.
Trevino alleged that surgeon
Mitchell Sheinkop failed to monitor
and evaluate her condition after
conducting the knee replacement.
The lawsuit also named Dr.
Michael Y. Lee, the internist who
was on-call at NOIC three days
after the surgery when a nurse
called for a doctor to Trevino’s
bedside to assess swelling and pain
in her leg.
Axelrod said there was nothing
written in Trevino’s charts to in-
dicate what Lee had assessed or did
in response to her condition — or
whether he tended to her.
Trevino was transferred from
NOIC four days after the surgery to
the Alexian Rehabilitation Hospital
in Elk Grove Village. Doctors there
recognized the injury to her right
leg and conducted bypass surgery
for the pseudoaneurysm and a two-
compartment fasciotomy to relieve
the pressure in her leg.
New trial ordered on ‘honest services’ counts
BY PATRICIA MANSON
Law Bulletin staff writer
A federal appeals court has
thrown out the mail fraud con-
victions of two Cook County work-
ers who admit they took money
from a confidential informant but
deny they intended to do anything
in return for the payment.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals on Monday ruled that
Thomas Hawkins and John W.
Racasi are entitled to a new trial on
the counts.
Jurors were told they could con-
vict Hawkins and Racasi of mail
fraud only if they determined that
the men planned to deprive Cook
County of its right to their honest
services through bribery in con-
nection with fixing property values,
a three-judge panel of the court
wrote.
The jurors heard that bribery
includes accepting something of
value “corruptly” with the intent to
be “rewarded in connection with
some business, transaction or se-
ries of transactions of the gov-
ernment or government agency.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has
ruled that the “honest services”
provision of the mail fraud statute
applies only to bribery and kick-
back schemes, the panel wrote,
citing Skilling v. United States, 561
U.S. 358 (2010).
In Skilling, the high court held
that bribery requires the govern-
ment employee to perform — or
plan to perform — an official act in
exchange for the money.
And Hawkins and Racasi, who
worked for the Cook County Board
of Review, contended they were
lying when they told informant Ali
Haleem they would reduce the val-
ues on certain parcels of property
in exchange for the money he gave
them. The lower value would lead
to a lower property tax bill.
Hawkins and Racasi argued that
they planned to take Haleem’s mon-
ey but do nothing in return.
“The definition of ‘bribery’ in the
instructions allowed the jury to by-
pass the question whether Hawkins
and Racasi were scamming Haleem
rather than Cook County,” Judge
Frank H. Easterbrook wrote for the
panel. “The error therefore cannot
be called harmless, and defendants
are entitled to a new trial of the
mail-fraud charges.”
Haleem, a Chicago police officer
facing criminal charges of his own,
agreed to act as an undercover
agent.
In addition to mail fraud,
Hawkins and Racasi were convict-
ed of violating the so-called federal
program bribery statute.
The statute prohibits state and
local officials employed by agencies
that receive federal funds from
“corruptly” accepting bribes “in-
tending to be influenced or re-
warded in connection with” any
VERDICT, Page 22
DENTONS, Page 22
‘‘
HONEST, Page 22