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Attorneys Joseph A. Power, Jr., Larry R. Rogers, Jr., and James I. Power Secure $33.4 Million Verdict

On Behalf of | Dec 18, 2017 | Firm News, James Power, Legal News, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death

Power Rogers attorneys Joseph A. Power, Jr., Larry R. Rogers, Jr., and James I. Power recently secured a $33.4 million combined verdict for the victims of a shooting that occurred in 2006.

Back in 2002, Joseph Jackson hired a patent attorney, Michael McKenna, to help him look into obtaining a patent for a portable toilet. While looking into whether or not this was possible, McKenna discovered a number of existing patents for similar products, and informed Jackson that his idea could not be patented.

Despite being told this, Jackson believed that McKenna stole his idea, and likely became obsessed with seeking revenge on the attorney. On December 8, 2006, Jackson entered the 500 West Madison office building where McKenna worked armed with a revolver, chain, padlock, hunting knife, and hammer in order to seek out and kill McKenna.

After loitering around the office for several hours, Sidney Chambers, the Security Supervisor of AlliedBarton, and Security Officer Robert Brown saw the building’s receptionist deny Jackson access to upper level tenant floors. Brown then asked Jackson to leave the 3rd floor, which he did before immediately returning to the lobby area.

Jackson returned shortly thereafter to see Brown standing by himself, who he approached and informed that he had a gun and wanted to be taken to the upper level tenant floors. Chambers saw the two standing together and approached them to ask Jackson if there was a problem. Chambers later testified that based on Jackson’s previous denial of access, as well as how close the two men were standing, he was suspicious of what was going on. Brown responded to Chambers’ question by reassuring him that everything was okay, only increasing Chambers’ suspicion since he addressed the question to Jackson.

Despite this, Chambers watched Brown and Jackson walk towards the building’s elevators without asking more questions about where they were going or alerting the tenants in the building of his presence.

Upon reaching the 38th floor, Jackson shot and killed McKenna, as well as Allen J. Hoover, and Paul Goodson. He also shot and injured Ruth Zak Lieb before Chicago Police SWAT officers killed him.

The contract between the defendant, AlliedBarton, and the building’s management company specified that the services provided were for the “protection of life” of those working in the building. Evidence showed that Chambers saw Jackson loitering around the office building for several hours that day. Chambers admitted that these sightings of Jackson caused him to become suspicious, but did nothing in response to his unlawful presence, despite the fact that action was required under AlliedBarton’s Post-Orders.

AlliedBarton’s failure to implement duress codes that its officers could use to communicate with each other when dealing with a dangerous person, and its failure to provide its security officers with proper training was a proximate cause of the Plaintiff’s injuries.

Power, Jr. represented the Estate of Michael McKenna and recovered $14.6 million for his client. Rogers, Jr. represented the Estate of Allen J. Hoover and secured an $11 million verdict for his client. Power represented Ruth Zak Lieb and secured a $5 million verdict. Daniel M. Kotin of Tomasik Kotin Kasserman represented the Estate of Paul Goodson and secured a $2.8 million verdict.

Our Chicago personal injury attorneys at Power Rogers are committed to providing injured victims with the passionate and knowledgeable representation they deserve. If you were seriously injured because of someone else’s actions, call us at 312-500-1792 today to discuss your situation with a member of our firm, or fill out our online form to start out with a free case evaluation.