TED W. DENNIS
BIO
Ted Dennis is a trial lawyer practicing in all branches of the law, with concentration on trial practice. He has been trying major civil litigation for 35+ years and is currently handling a wide range of litigation with concentration in medical and legal malpractice. He has tried civil cases for both plaintiffs and defendants in state courts and has an exemplary record in those trials.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Mr. Dennis has prepared and tried more than 50 major medical malpractice cases from a defense viewpoint. These cases have been tried over the southern half of Illinois in numerous counties and in federal court. He currently represents several malpractice carriers, including ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company, Norcal Group, Medical Protective, PPIC, Medical Alliance Insurance Company and Illinois Risk Management Services. He has also represented various hospitals and medical groups as private counsel.
LEGAL MALPRACTICE
Mr. Dennis has tried legal malpractice cases from both sides. From the defense side, he has represented the Missouri Bar Plan and CNA. On the plaintiff side, he was lead trial counsel in the case of Home Insurance Company v. Williams & Montgomery, a Chicago law firm, which resulted in a verdict in excess of $6,800,000, all of which was recovered from the insurance carrier.
PRODUCTS LIABILITY
Mr. Dennis has been involved in and defended products liability cases since, as a very young lawyer, he represented the plaintiff in the case of Vaughn v. General Motors, a case which went to the Illinois Supreme Court in the early 1980's. Although his current practice has become more concentrated in malpractice law, Mr. Dennis has continued to represent manufacturers, as well as injured users.
REAL ESTATE LAW
Mr. Dennis retains an ongoing general practice case load, including real estate, estate planning, probate, and contract law.
GOVERNMENT PRACTICE
Mr. Dennis is entering his second four-year term as Village Attorney for the Village of New Athens in Illinois.
EDUCATION
Southern Illinois University School of Law, J.D. 1978
National Order of Barristers, Legal Writing and Moot Court Instructor, Associate Editor SIU Law Journal (1976-78), National Moot Court Team (1976-78)
Graduated in top 20% of the class
B.A. degree, Illinois College, 1975. Student senate three years, varsity debate team four years, numerous other extracurricular activities.
BAR ADMISSIONS
State of Illinois 1978; U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois 1981; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois 1983
EMPLOYMENT
Freeark, Harvey, & Mendillo, P.C., Belleville, Illinois, 1982 to date. Associate 1982-1985. Shareholder 1985 to date
1979-1982 — James J. Ellison, Chtd., Canton, Illinois, Associate
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
Storm v. Zimmermann, No. 03-L-999, Madison County, IL. Plaintiff's attorney, Rex Carr. Case tried twice, both times to defense verdict. Original verdict overturned in Appellate Court based on false answer given by juror in voir dire.
Dickerson v. MEDS, No. 05-1--302, St. Clair County, IL. Plaintiff's attorney, Christian Montroy. Tried to a defense verdict. Upheld on appeal.
Lipe v. Agarwal, No. 94-L-156, Jackson County, IL. Plaintiff's attorney, John Womick. Medical malpractice death of 12-year-old boy with undiagnosed heart ailment, Defense verdict. Reversed on appeal in Fifth District. Defense verdict reinstated by Supreme Court of Illinois without hearing.
Quick v. Burger, No. Il-L-248, St. Clair County, IL. Major medical malpractice case. Plaintiffs attorney, Rex Carr. Case tried to a defense verdict in 2013.
Thompson v. Serot, No. 06-L-708, St. Clair County, IL. Plaintiffs attorney, John Papa. Malpractice case against orthopedic surgeon. Defense verdict. Currently on appeal.
PRESENTATIONS
Mr. Dennis has acted as a presenter at numerous seminars on medical malpractice and other subjects. These have been primarily for ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company, but he has also lectured on behalf of USA&M in its seminar series. This includes working with Thomas Q. Keefe, Jr. in preparing the plaintiff's version and defendant's version of jury' selection.