
PRACTICES
Insurance DefenseInsurance Coverage Opinion, Analysis, & Litigation
Housing Authority Litigation & Regulatory Compliance
Governmental & Municipality Law & Litigation
Employment Law & Litigation
General Litigation
EDUCATION
- Drake University Law School
- J.D.
- Drake University
- B.S.
ADMISSIONS
- Illinois
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
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Summary Judgment Affirmed on Appeal
James F. Best and Fritz V. WilsonNovember 2016BVH summary judgment in a premises liability case and affirmed on appeal by the First District
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Summary Judgment Affirmed on Appeal - Insurance Policy Special Limit Applied
James F. Best and Thomas J. Costello, IIIOctober 2016BVH obtains declaratory judgment that special limit of liability for jewelry applied, affirmed on appeal
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Declaratory Judgment Granted and Affirmed on Appeal - Insurance Policies Inapplicable
James F. Best and Thomas J. Costello, IIIMay 2016BVH obtains declaratory judgment that auto and umbrella liability policies did not apply due to regular use
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Summary Judgment - Premises Liability
James F. Best and Fritz V. WilsonJune 2015BVH obtains summary judgment on a premises liability case where the Plaintiff alleged she fell due to defects on the premises.
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Settlement - Wrongful Death/Product Design Defect
James F. Best and Mathew K. HargraveNovember 2012BVH obtains favorable settlement in favor of a design engineering firm that designed bicycle racks used by transit authorities throughout the country in a case where Plaintiff died after being run over by a transit bus while attempting to remove her bicycle from the front-mounted bicycle rack. Discovery proved that the design was not defective in any way and complied with the transit authority's specifications. As a result, and while the design firm's Motion for Summary Judgment was pending, Plaintiff settled with it for less than 1% of the total settlement.