No settlement discussions have yet taken place for two lawsuits related to the May 13, 2017, hostage standoff at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva, according to a report filed jointly by all parties involved.
The parties include two nurses taken hostage, their husbands, and two other nurses; a patient; Delnor; Kane County; corrections officer Shawn Loomis; and Apex3 Security. The nurses in May anonymously sued the county, Loomis and the security company, while the patient, Victoria Weiland, filed suit in August against those three plus the hospital. The complaints seek a jury trial, along with compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and costs.
In the joint initial status report filed Friday, the parties said they anticipate they’ll be ready for trial in November 2020, and expect it to last two to four weeks. The litigation is next in court for a status hearing Thursday morning.
The nurses plan to file a motion seeking a ruling to make the hospital comply with a subpoena issued in July , according to the report. Currently pending motions include the defendants’ motions to dismiss the lawsuit and the patient’s request to file an amended complaint adding another patient as a plaintiff.
The report states the parties believe the court needs to rule on anticipated motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment, and that certain fact discovery needs to be completed before any substantive settlement talks can happen.
The hostage situation involved Tywon Salters, an inmate getting treatment at the hospital who took a handgun from Loomis after being unshackled, took two nurses captive, raped one of them, and ultimately died at the hands of a SWAT team, according to court documents.
The plaintiffs have filed claims that by unshackling Salters, Loomis created a danger which led to substantial injury, and that the county is required to pay any damages on his behalf. The claims against Apex3 allege the security company breached its duty of care, similarly causing injury. Weiland also asserts that Delnor voluntarily undertook to provide security measures and breached its duty of care to her.
Though the defendants have all asked for the lawsuits to be dismissed, no counter claims have been filed.
The judge who had been overseeing the proceedings, Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, retired Feb. 17, and the cases were reassigned to District Judge Amy J. St. Eve. Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Finnegan is the designated magistrate judge for both.