Chicago Blackhawks’ request to dismiss negligence lawsuit denied

A Cook County judge rejected the Chicago Blackhawks’ request to dismiss a former player’s negligence lawsuit, clearing the way for the case to move to the discovery phase.

The former member of the Hawks’ 2009-10 “Black Aces” team, identified in the lawsuit as “John Doe,” sued the Hawks over allegations that the team was negligent in handling then-complaints of sexual assault and harassment in 2010. -video coach Brad Aldrich.

Doe was a Black Aces teammate. Kyle Beach suing the team in 2021 for similar allegations against Aldrich before reaching a settlement.

Arguments at the hearing at the Richard J. Daley Center on Wednesday focused on whether the statute of limitations had expired before Doe could file the lawsuit.

Cook County District Court Judge Thomas Cushing ruled that at this stage of the legal process, where the facts alleged in the case were admitted in good faith, the case met the burden of “fraudulent concealment” and that the plaintiff learned of the concealment in October. 2021, law firm Jenner & Block published independent research The team was assigned.

“I absolutely agree with the judge’s perspective on events and the reasoning as to why this case should proceed,” Jason Friedl, senior attorney at Chicago-based law firm Romanucci & Blandin, told the Tribune.

“Time does not run on a cause of action until this concealment is revealed. As we allege here, this secrecy came to light with the release of the Jenner & Block report, which concluded that Hawks management at the time covered up Aldrich’s alleged misconduct to preserve their Stanley Cup run.”

“Whether it was in 2010, 2021, when Kyle Beach came forward, or today, their model is to deny it as much as possible,” Friedl later told the Tribune, referring to the Hawks’ request for denial.

Asked for a response on Thursday, the Hawks declined to comment on ongoing litigation and cited their response to the lawsuit on Nov. 4.

It read in part: “Blackhawks takes allegations of workplace misconduct and corporate intervention very seriously, and that is why, more than two years ago, we launched a comprehensive, independent investigation into disturbing events that occurred in 2010.

“As a result of what happened, we have changed and implemented many positive improvements across our organization to ensure the safety and well-being of our players and staff.”

Cushing agreed with the plaintiff’s view that John Doe had five years from that point to file suit.

The Hawks argued that this should be limited to a two-year period; that’s the normal time to file a lawsuit after learning you have a claim, which meant Doe’s lawsuit, filed on Nov. 2, 2023, came too late. . This is what makes the decision to conceal the fraud important; He extended the deadline for Doe.

Much of both sides’ arguments at this point focused on Doe’s conversation with then-Hawks mental health coach James Gary.

For now, the judge accepted the plaintiff’s good faith claim that Gary, acting as the Hawks’ agent and therapist, made “positively misrepresentations” to Doe, including how the team’s investigation of Aldrich would be handled.

The lawsuit alleges that Gary misled Doe about an investigation into Aldrich and tried to convince her that she had instigated Aldrich’s advances and that she should “move on with her life.”

The judge ruled that, like Beach’s previous claim, “the silence of a person who is confident in the facts” was alleged in the case and could be considered concealment.

Hawks’ attorney, Patrick Collins, argued during the hearing that Doe did not disclose what was being kept from her in her conversation with Gary.

Cushing gave the Hawks until April 30 to dispute any of the allegations or factual statements with a more detailed response. From this point on, both parties will be able to conduct discovery and depose witnesses and go to a summary judgment hearing.

At this hearing, the judge, after re-examining some of the same arguments and hearing new ones, may decide whether to dismiss the case or proceed to a jury trial.

The Black Aces were a team of Hawks prospects recruited from the Rockford IceHogs who traveled with the NHL team during the playoffs in case of injury.