J. Jason Coggins

Industry Contributions

Listed in the 2009 Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, Jason is an instructor for the National Business Institute and the Institute for Paralegal Education. He has also taught seminars covering several legal topics. He frequently lectures on employment, insurance, and subrogation issues in front of various legal and professional groups. Jason has also authored a variety of articles on employment law, insurance coverage, and subrogation. Representative articles and speeches include:

• Litigating Insurance Coverage Claims: From Start to Finish, (Speaker, National Business Institute).
• Workplace Privacy, Business, Law, and The Internet: Essential Guidance For You, Your Clients, And Your Firm, (Contributor, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education).
• Does the ADA Require Employers to Reassign Disabled Employees to Temporary Light Duty Positions Reserved for a Workers’ Compensation Program?, IRMA Newsletter (Illinois Retail Merchants Association).
• Creating Light Duty Programs, (Workers’ Compensation & Employer Liability Quarterly).
• Employment Discrimination Overview, (dblegal.com).
• At the Crossroads of the ADA, FMLA, and Workers’ Compensation Act: Return to Work Fitness Exams, (Workers’ Compensation & Employer Liability Quarterly).
• No Fault Leave Policies, (Workers’ Compensation & Employer Liability Quarterly).
• Regarded As Liability under the ADA, (Workers’ Compensation & Employer Liability Quarterly).

Notable Decisions

• City of Chicago v. Beretta U.S.A. Corp., et al., 213 Ill.2d 351, 821 N.E.2d 1099 (2004): Jason helped defeat an industry-wide lawsuit against manufacturers, distributors and retailers that sought compensation for law enforcement and medical expenditures allegedly incurred on the basis of gun violence. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the Cook County Circuit Court’s dismissal.
• Ross v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Chicago: Jason defeated a retaliatory discharge claim brought by an employee against his employer via a successful motion for summary judgment.
• Liberty Mutual v. Zyggi Construction et al.: Jason obtained a judgment of no coverage in favor of insurer in declaratory judgment action involving a claim for damages in excess of one million dollars.
• Lowell v. Oswego Excavation: Jason helped defeat a claim of respondeat superior against a contractor following a catastrophic truck accident involving legal exposure in excess of one million dollars. Jason assumed responsibility for a motion for summary judgment that successfully resolved the litigation in favor of the defendant prior to trial to avoid protracted litigation costs to the client. The decision was then affirmed on appeal.
• Gonzalez v. Screw Machine Engineering: Jason successfully obtained a dismissal of a charge of discrimination at the Illinois Department of Human Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
• Guzman v.Trees R Us: Jason successfully and quickly defeated a claim of negligence, including a claim for punitive damages, through a motion for summary judgment.
• The Hartford v.Ankem of Chicago: Jason efficiently resolved an insurance claim by obtaining judgment in favor of an insurer in a declaratory judgment action involving a substantial claim for damages.
• Liberty Mutual v. BND Construction et al.: Jason secured the immediate dismissal of a significant insurance claim for damages through a motion to dismiss on the basis of a policy exclusion.

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association (Labor and Employment, Tort, and Litigation Sections)
• Chicago Bar Association (Labor and Employment Committee)
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute