News
Goldberg Kohn's lawsuit on behalf of client RMG is featured in "Judge: Chicago's Bow to Activists, Imperling General Iron Permit, Not 'Final Decision,' So Not Yet Illegal Taking," published in the June 30, 2021, edition of The Cook County Record.
On Tuesday, June 29, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Dow Jr. dismissed a lawsuit that Goldberg Kohn attorneys David Chizewer and Harleen Kaur filed in May on behalf of Southside Recycling and its parent company, Reserve Management Group (RMG). RMG is the owner of the metal recycler formerly known as General Iron.
RMG's litigation is trying to force the city to issue an operating permit allowing it to open a relocated scrap-metal operation on the city's South Side. The litigation also seeks more than $100 million in damages due to the permit delay. Judge Dow dismissed the lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds, citing the fact that the permitting process has not been finalized and the process is on hold at the request of the US EPA. Dow wrote in his ruling, "Until the government makes up its mind, a court will be hard pressed to determine whether the plaintiff has suffered a constitutional violation."
In response, RMG issued the following statement:
"Southside Recycling will immediately seek a prompt ruling in state court ordering the city to issue the permit, based on the city’s broken promises and the fact that we have met every requirement imposed by the city’s own rules, which businesses have a right to rely upon. Despite multiple attempts since early May to understand how and when the city intends to proceed, the additional analysis that it is purportedly intending to perform remains undefined and the timing undetermined. It is truly damaging to the environment and the local metal recycling market that the best recycling facility in the country is on hold while the only other shredder in Chicago continues to operate without any pollution controls, but we will continue to fight for our right to service our suppliers and responsibly perform the critical service of metal recycling for Chicago."
Several news outlets covered the court action and have been following the dispute for many months. The Cook County Record suggested that in denying the operating permit the City was bowing to pressure from local activists "despite City Hall’s earlier urging to build the recycling center on the proposed site."
