In Javon Bea Hospital v. City of Rockford (Winnebago County IL 2025) CJK was retained to represent the City of Rockford against Javon Bea Hospital who maintained that a flooding event in 2018 resulted in over $32 million dollars of damage to the hospital. The allegations asserted that Rockford negligently installed an undersized sewer system along the hospital property that could not handle flooding events. CJK was successful in having the case ultimately dismissed in accord with a Motion to Dismiss and later a Motion for Summary Judgment arguing that the Public Duty Rule applied as municipalities are not liable in tort to members of the general public to provide adequate government services, and no special duty or relationship existed in this case. CJK also successfully argued that Plaintiff could not prove this was a Taking Case under the law as it could not be proved that Rockford intended to flood the Hospital property when installing the sewer system originally in the 1960’s.
