Keating and B. Lothson, Secure Defense Verdict in Bench Trial on Behalf of CVS
Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP attorneys Richard J. Keating, Jr. and Benjamin D. Lothson secured a defense verdict for their client, Highland Park CVS, LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. (Rateb Khouri v. Highland Park CVS, LLC and CVS Pharmacy Inc., 1:2017cv08975)
In this case, the Plaintiff alleged that he sustained injuries when a defective cooler shelf collapsed. Plaintiff went on to claim that the collapse caused hundreds of beverage bottles to tumble out of the cooler, strike him in the chest, and cause him to fall in the retail store. The Plaintiff claimed that the incident resulted in various complex and permanent injuries, including pulmonary issues, elbow pain, coccyx pain, and back issues. Plaintiff claimed that the incident caused him to need supplemental oxygen and also pain injections.
At trial, Plaintiff’s counsel argued that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor applied, essentially arguing that the shelf could only have collapsed due to the negligence of CVS. As argued by both Keating and Lothson, the exclusive control requirement for the res ipsa doctrine to apply was not met. Further, there was no defect ever discovered, and the shelf was able to be re-installed into the cooler, where it continued to be in use for several years.
Additionally, in court, Keating and Lothson skillfully argued that Plaintiff’s numerous claimed injuries were not causally related to this incident. This included the claims that this incident required oxygen use, which was disputed by both treating and expert pulmonologists.
After weighing the evidence, the court issued a written judgment in favor of the defense, finding that the retail store was not liable for the incident. Post-trial motions are currently pending.
The case was originally filed in 2017 and extended over seven years, in part due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Plaintiff sought damages in the amount of $900,000.00. Following a five-day bench trial before Judge Franklin U. Valderrama, the court returned a verdict in favor of the defense.
Richard J. Keating, Jr. represents national and international corporations in various types of tort liability litigation matters throughout the United States. His practice focuses on tort litigation, premises liability defense, general liability matters, incident investigations, and security issues. Learn more about Rich and his practice.
Benjamin D. Lothson practices in general civil litigation with a focus on product liability, construction defect and contract disputes, commercial litigation, and other general tort and contract matters. Additionally, he has experience in appellate matters and drafting successful pre-trial and post-trial motions and briefs for complex, high-stakes litigation at the state and federal levels. Learn more about Ben and his practice.
Former 2024 Summer Associate Maya S. Ressler was also integral to the hard-fought favorable result, especially related to the over $1.0M in claimed medical damages.
