Loevy & Loevy is well-known for its willingness to take difficult cases to trial -- and winning.
In trying so many cases, Loevy & Loevy has also developed a tremendous track record for success. (We also have an exemplary appellate practice. To read about some of our victories in appeals, click here.) Some examples of our firm's trial successes include:
In June 2009, we won a $21 million jury verdict for our client in federal court in Chicago. The client had spent nearly 12 years wrongfully imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. The jury concluded that a Chicago Police Department detective violated the client's constitutional rights by causing his wrongful conviction.
In August 2008, we won a $16 million jury verdict for our client in federal court in Missouri. The client was wrongfully convicted in 1999 of sexually abusing his adopted daughter, and he served more than five years in prison. The client's conviction was based on an investigation by an officer who was romantically involved with the client's ex-wife, who accused our client of the sexual abuse. However, the police hid that fact from the client and his criminal defense lawyers, which violated the client's constitutional rights.
Abuse by school teacher: In July 2010, a federal jury in Chicago awarded $3.5 million to our clients who had been sexually abused by a band teacher in Berwyn, Illinois. There was evidence at trial that the school principal was aware of allegations that the teacher had been abusing children, yet took no meaningful action in response. The jury awarded $100,000 in punitive damages against the principal.
In November 2009, after a lengthy trial in Cook County Circuit Court, a jury awarded $11 million to our client. The client was a partner in a business that eventually became another name, which later merged with the New York Stock Exchange to become NYSE Group, Inc. The trial included evidence that the client was defrauded into giving up his share of the partnership for $250,000 in February 1998 because the client's partners misrepresented the value of the business, including withholding from him the fact that Goldman Sachs was prepared to invest millions in the business.
In October 2006, we won a $9 million jury verdict for our client, a Mexican immigrant who spent four years in prison as a teenager after being wrongfully convicted. We proved at trial that the Waukegan Police Department violated his constitutional rights, including the use of a highly suggestive line-up procedure, to frame him for rape he did not commit.
In February 2007, we won a jury verdict for our client who was shot and killed by the Chicago Police following a car chase. There was eyewitness testimony that the client was unarmed at the time, but four officers testified that he pointed a gun at them. The jury concluded that the gun later recovered in the car was planted after the fact. Following the jury's verdict, the City agreed to pay $5 million.
An ex-Chicago Police officer alleged that he was framed by the FBI for a murder in Illinois and a kidnapping in Missouri. He received the death penalty for the former, and life in prison for the latter, though both sentences were eventually reversed. The client's lawsuit alleged that he was framed by certain FBI agents, who fabricated evidence and manipulated the witnesses against him. After a five-week trial in December/January 2005 before Judge Kennelly, the jury found in our favor and awarded $6.5 million in damages for the wrongful convictions.
The $28 million jury verdict obtained by Loevy & Loevy in 1999 (in a case tried before Judge Shadur) is the largest police brutality jury verdict in the history of the City, and is believed to be the highest tort verdict against Chicago as well. The client was beaten into a coma by two Chicago Police Officers and ever since, he has been in a "locked in" condition: conscious, yet unable to move or speak.
$1 million jury verdict in a trial before Judge Holderman in 2003 for a beating inflicted by an off-duty Chicago police officer. Through a comprehensive study and analysis of the City's internal affairs "O.P.S." files, we established that the City's system for investigating/punishing Chicago police officers is so deficient that officers are effectively encouraged to believe they can engage in violence with virtual impunity. This "municipal liability" jury finding holding Chicago accountable for its broken O.P.S. system is one of the first of its kind in the country.
$373,000 jury verdict in 2003. The Urbana police were called in response to a domestic incident, and the plaintiff was drunk and by his own admission ran from the police. With no witnesses other than the client (testifying against four police officers) we were able to prove excessive force, resulting in a $373,000 jury verdict in a trial before Judge Baker in the Central District of Illinois in 2003. The jury also found Urbana liable on a "Monell" policy and practice claim because of our proof that the illegal police control techniques which caused the client's injuries were condoned by the Department.
$2.015 million jury verdict in a trial before Judge Hibbler in 2002. The client, a computer technician, made the mistake of squirting a Chicago police officer with a water bottle. The police seized him from his home and "taught him a lesson," covering the window to the interview room with paper and then slapping him repeatedly and kneeing him in the groin. They also held him overnight unnecessarily and towed and damaged his car. The case was pursued courageously by the client on principle, consistent with our firm's belief that police officers should not take the law into their own hands and exact street justice. Though the client had no witnesses to counter the denials of multiple police officers, the jury credited the plaintiff's case and awarded $2 million in punitive damages in 2003.
$275,000 jury verdict in police brutality case tried before Judge Zagel in August of 2005. Our client was carrying illegal drugs, and led the police on a chase driving a stolen Blazer. When the police caught him, they beat him up and broke his rib. Seven police offices testified as adverse eyewitnesses, but the jury ultimately believed the client.
Our client was suspended by the Alsip Police Department after he initiated an investigation into video poker at a local tavern. His First Amendment retaliation claim was tried before Judge Conlon in 2004, and at the close of Plaintiff's case, the defendants settled the case before it went to the jury for $900,000.
$1.5 million jury verdict in 2003 (before Judge McGrath in the Circuit Court of Cook County) for a young man shot and killed by a Chicago Police Officer who insisted that the client was shooting at a rival gang member at the time in the Cabrini Green housing project. The jury credited the testimony of two admitted gang members over that of the Chicago Police Officers after we carefully took apart the official police version and exposed it to be a lie. The truth was that this young man was shot in the back in cold blood.
$200,000 jury verdict in Title VII case for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as reinstatement. A black, over-40, male brought suit after his wrongful termination by United Airlines. United initially won summary judgment, but after Loevy & Loevy succeeding in getting that decision reversed by the Seventh Circuit, the case was tried in 2002 before Judge Leinenweber against Mayor, Brown & Platt. Without any direct evidence of discrimination, Loevy & Loevy instead proved a circumstantial case by comparing the client's treatment to hundreds of other employees.
$300,000 jury verdict (Judge Lefkow) for a man shot by a Harvey Police Officer who claimed that the plaintiff was pointing a gun at him. Loevy & Loevy prevailed twice, first at trial, and then after a re-trial in 2002 because of an inconsistent verdict. At both trials, Loevy & Loevy proved with compelling evidence that after the police shot the client, they planted a gun on the ground, a gun which had been seized on a different police raid earlier that day. At least one police officer had to plead the Fifth on the stand, and another claimed complete alcohol-related amnesia. The jury also found Harvey liable on a "Monell" policy and practice claim because its failure to discipline its officers was so egregious that officers were encouraged to believe they could commit this sort of abuse.
$100,000+ verdict (remitted by more than half) for unlawful detention and search of African American motorist driving through the town of Willowbrook. Tried before Judge Leinenweber in 1999.
Loevy & Loevy co-tried this employment case with another firm and recovered a $509,000 jury verdict (compensatory and punitive damages) before Judge Kennelly in 2001 against American Medical Response of Illinois, defended by Hinshaw & Culbertson and another firm.
