Court Appoints Stephan Blandin and Adam Levitt Interim Co-Lead Counsel in Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against ComEd and Exelon by Consumers and Businesses
Romanucci & Blandin, LLC and DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC together announce that Stephan Blandin and Adam Levitt have been named Interim Co-Lead Counsel in the class-action lawsuit that they filed on behalf of consumers and businesses, alleging that Commonwealth Edison and Exelon (collectively “ComEd”) violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and unjustly enriched itself through its admitted scheme to bribe elected officials to secure passage of favorable legislation and lucrative subsidies, which were ultimately borne by its Illinois customers. The lawsuit was filed in late July in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division. It alleges that the recent $200M ComEd agreement to pay the government following a federal bribery investigation does nothing to compensate the individuals and businesses who suffered damages resulting from ComEd’s admitted wrongful conduct.
The Interim Co-Lead Counsel appointments were made by Judge Anna Loftus, the judge presiding over this litigation in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.
The suit was filed on behalf of three individuals and three businesses. The plaintiffs have been ComEd customers since at least 2011, the year federal prosecutors say the bribery scheme began. The suit came less than two weeks after ComEd admitted to the scheme involving jobs, contracts, and payments to government leaders in Springfield. No government official has been charged with any wrongdoing.
The class-action suit seeks to represent millions of Illinois individuals and businesses who were ComEd customers during the period of time established by prosecutors.
“Stephan and I are honored to have been appointed as Interim Co-Lead Counsel for this critically important lawsuit. ComEd bribed Illinois elected officials to secure favorable legislation and subsidies, resulting in millions, if not billions, of dollars in damages to ComEd’s own customers,” said attorney Adam Levitt of DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC.
“It is our hope and expectation that this class action will bring much-needed justice to consumers and businesses who have been damaged by ComEd’s conduct for years,” said attorney Stephan Blandin of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC.
In a separate lawsuit filed earlier, Blandin has also alleged that years of corruption by ComEd has led to a lack of safety standards relating to the inspection and repair of its equipment, which led to a tragic electrocution of two workers in 2016 and continues to pose a significant safety hazard across Illinois. Robert Zulauf was burned to death and his nephew, Jordan Zulauf, lost both arms while working on an electrical pole in Sterling, Illinois.
A hearing in this case is scheduled for November 25, 2020.
About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC
Romanucci & Blandin is a national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse, and wrongful death arising from police misconduct, corporate negligence, civil rights actions, medical malpractice, mass torts, and class actions. The attorneys’ steadfast commitment to fighting for those seeking justice around the country has helped the firm obtain multiple verdicts and settlements in the millions of dollars. The Chicago-based personal injury lawyers are dedicated to providing victims who suffered injury as a result of another’s wrongdoing full and fair compensation in a diligent, professional, skilled, and caring manner. The lawyers actively support their communities and provide advocacy at the national, state, and local levels on issues that support the U.S. tort system. Founded in 1998, Romanucci & Blandin is widely recognized for representing plaintiffs in numerous practice areas including: personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, workers’ compensation, pharmaceutical, mass torts, civil rights, police misconduct, excessive force, aviation, product liability and premises liability. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit www.rblaw.net or call (312) 458-1000.
About DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC
DiCello Levitt Gutzler combines excellence in commercial litigation, class action litigation, mass tort litigation, catastrophic injury litigation, medical malpractice litigation, and civil rights litigation. Practicing nationwide—and internationally—from offices in Chicago, Cleveland, New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C., we are an aggressive, attentive, and creative plaintiffs’ firm whose work speaks for itself—billions of dollars in recoveries in some of the highest-profile matters in U.S. history. The firm’s attorneys have successfully led—and are presently leading—many large class and multidistrict actions, including against industry titans such as Apple, Intel, General Motors, and Equifax, and representing businesses and investors in arbitrations and litigation in multiple courts. The DiCello Levitt Trial Advocacy Center proactively assists in all aspects of litigation strategy, framing, and trial preparation, with an in-house focus grouping and mock jury practice, using those tools to streamline cases, refine case messaging, and focus discovery on message-specific issues from the outset of litigation. Revered by clients and respected by defense counsel, our team gets results. For more information about DiCello Levitt Gutzler, please visit www.dicellolevitt.com or call (312) 214-7900.
