In re Illinois Bell Switching Station Litigation

Plaintiffs filed a complaint, framed as a class action representing customers of defendant Illinois Bell Telephone Company (Bell), against Bell, alleging economic damages as a result of a fire in Bell’s Hinsdale, Illinois, switching station which disrupted service for one month. Counts I and II of plaintiffs’ complaint alleged violations of the Illinois Public Utilities Act (the Act) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 111⅔, par. 1 — 101 et seq.), count III alleged common law willful and wanton misconduct, count IV alleged breach of contract, and count V sought a declaratory judgment that a provision…