Three absentee landlords brought a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against the City of East St. Louis, Illinois and Waste Management of Illinois. The crux of their lawsuit was their claim that the City and Waste Management used the City’s nuisance ordinances to target plaintiffs and other property owners because they failed to pay for trash collection. They also complained of the procedures used by the City for prosecuting the ordinance violations. The Complaint pled 18 separate Counts including claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1983, the Fourteenth Amendment, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Sherman Antitrust Act and a variety of state law claims including Conspiracy, violation of the Illinois Collection Agency Act, Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, Malicious Prosecution, Slander and Tortious Interference to name a few. Partner John E. Sabo of Clayborne, Sabo and Wagner LLP represented the City and filed a motion to dismiss. The District Court granted the City’s motion dismissing all but one of the 18 claims with prejudice. Raven Securities. Inc., et al. v. City of East St. Louis, et al., U.S. Dist. Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
