Res judicata plea carries little weight

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted July 29, 2019 10:48 AM

This is the first of a two-part column. The second part will be published Tuesday.Splitting 4-3 on the rationale, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled res judicata did not bar Gerald Ward from refiling a medical-malpractice case against Decatur Memorial Hospital for negligence that allegedly killed his brother Clarence.A Macon County judge granted the hospital’s motions to dismiss the first three versions of Gerald’s complaint. All the orders included permission to replead and none of the dismissals …

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