Rhythmic Gym Sues Mom; Fails Twice
Francis Patrick Murphy, a partner at Corboy & Demetrio scored a large victory for all parents forced to sign parental indemnification contracts to allow their children to participate in sports in barring a rhythmic gymnastics gym from forcing arbitration against a mother.
On July 14, 2016, Jennifer Hillier, then 16 years old, broke her arm doing drills during the cool down phase of a two-day summer workout practice. Jenny needed surgery to repair her arm. She still suffers from pain and lack of strength in her arm. She may need a second surgery to remove the plate and screws.
Jennifer filed a lawsuit against Vitrychenko Academy and its owners, Olena Vitrychenko in Cook County.
After two years, the Academy filed for arbitration against Crisann Hillier to reimburse it for its defense attorney fees and any award it may owe Jennifer.
Using contract law, Murphy convinced a Circuit Court Judge in Cook County that Jenny could contest the agreement signed by her mother a year before she was injured. The Court found the alleged contract unenforceable in total. The Court also found that the arbitration provision unenforceable.
“The growing trend in Illinois is that parents are required by sports organizations to sign a parental indemnification clause. Theses clauses mean the parents’ financial status is at jeopardy for the organization’s negligence,” Murphy explained. “If an Academy is negligent and it harms a child, it should not be allowed to pass that negligence onto the parents,” Murphy continued.
The Court in Cook County found the parental indemnification clause violated specific case law and public policy.
The Academy filed another lawsuit the next day in a different county. Murphy convinced that Court that the second was really a continuation of the Cook County case. The Court agreed. It dismissed the suit.
No appeals were made by defendants in either case.
Defendants then settled Jennifer’s lawsuit in Cook County shortly before trial.