4/28/2023 0 Comments Greed corp unable to launch 3dSpecifically, she believed they authorized bids from companies that were not manufacturers, did not meet Globetrotters’ quality specifications, and/or were owned or affiliated with Jeff Baum of Total Lighting Resources (TLR) and Design Galleries. Larson was disturbed by Parker’s lighting specifications for the CCH project. Holcor was a women’s business enterprise (WBE) that manufactured, among other things, fixtures for institutional applications such as hospitals. At the time, she was president of *1019Holcor. In the fall of 1997, Larson decided she wanted to sell Holcor products for use in the CCH project. Although he was responsible to ensure the information on the lighting specifications was accurate and met Globetrotters’ quality assurance guaranties before he sent it out for bidding in January 1998, he sent out “incomplete” lighting specifications. Parker drafted the lighting specifications which became the subject matter of this lawsuit. His responsibilities included the drafting of a lighting fixture schedule or specifications of fixtures to be installed in the new CCH. He was responsible for the electrical and lighting design for the new CCH. Parker was employed by Globetrotters as a senior electrical engineer. Although Globetrotters was retained by the County to do the electrical and mechanical design work, including lighting design and specification, the County’s agent on the CCH project always was Turner. Globetrotters Engineering Corporation (Globetrotters) was one of four private firms selected in early 1997 to form the design team for the CCH project. These firms were responsible for designing the hospital and preparing drawings, plans, and specifications that detailed how the hospital was to be built, including the types and quantities of materials for the project. The design team comprised a partnership or joint venture of four private firms. The County hired Turner Construction (Turner) as the program manager to oversee the CCH project.Īs program manager, Turner was to oversee the work of a design team of private architectural and engineering firms. The new CCH would replace the old CCH on the near west side of Chicago. In 1994, Cook County (County) received approval to build a new state-of-the-art hospital. We reverse the trial court’s order granting summary judgment and remand for further proceedings. Parker also contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on his false light claim “where the record contained substantial evidence of actual malice,” sufficient to raise material questions of fact. On appeal, Parker contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on his claim for defamation per se because Larson’s statements in her two letters were not privileged communications, and if Larson’s statements were found to be privileged, the trial court should have allowed a jury to determine whether she abused that privilege. The trial court entered an order granting summary judgment, finding *1018that because her statements in the letters involved a matter of public interest, i.e., construction of a public hospital using taxpayer monies, they were privileged communications. Larson moved for summary judgment, contending the letters she wrote were substantially true and were privileged communications. Larson, individually and in her capacity as president of House O’Lite Corporation, d/b/a Holcor (collectively Larson), alleging Larson published false and defamatory statements when she wrote two letters questioning his specifications for lighting fixtures to be used in a multimillion dollar project to build a new Cook County Hospital (CCH). (Parker), brought this suit for defamation per se and false light invasion of privacy against defendant Susan M. This case requires us to examine whether the defendant defamed the plaintiff, whether she was protected by a qualified privilege, and, if the privilege did exist, whether it was abused. For these occasions the law provides a qualified privilege, one that can be abused and lost. There are times when someone speaking out on such a matter gets the facts wrong and ends up defaming someone else. The free flow of information on matters of compelling public interest is highly prized in our society. Hinshaw & Culbertson, of Chicago (Steven M. Viner, both of Varga Berger Ledsky Hayes & Casey, of Chicago, for appellant. HOUSE O’LITE CORPORATION, d/b/a Holcor, et al., Defendants-Appellees. HOUSE O'LITE CORPORATION, d/b/a Holcor, et al., Defendants-Appellees
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