Illinois Wesleyan students garnered a $7 million verdict for a plaintiff in a simulated trial Wednesday based on an actual court case.
Associate Professor Robert Kearney’s business law class argued the real pending lawsuits of two families against Comcast cable company and a subcontractor in the case of the Chicago “cable murders” in the very real courtroom of the McLean County Law & Justice Center (115 E. Washington St., Bloomington).
In the actual lawsuit, which has not yet reached court in Chicago, families were seeking to hold Comcast and a subcontractor accountable for employing the man who is accused of raping and murdering two women while in their homes to install cable systems.
The jury, comprised of 12 volunteers from the community, heard arguments from students who took on the role of lawyers for the plaintiffs and defense. After deliberating an hour, the jury found only the subcontractor responsible, awarding the family of one of the victims the $7 million decision. Student plaintiff attorneys argued the subcontractor was negligent in failing to remove the cable installer from duty after the first murder. The volunteer jury found Comcast not negligent in the case.