Tom Pender has secured a dismissal with prejudice of a massive statewide class action filed by Illinois physicians against the firm's client, a top U.S. insurance organization. The class action was filed in the perennial "Judicial Hellhole" - Madison County, Illinois, and the dismissal order brings to an end ten years of litigation, including six appeals.  The dispute centered on the physicians' claim that insurance companies took PPO discounts that they were not entitled to take on medical bills incurred by patients that had workers compensation claims.  The class representatives filed suit against more than a dozen insurance companies that wrote workers compensation coverage in Illinois over that past decade.  At least 10 of those carriers settled with the plaintiff class, most for a minimum of $4 million.  Tom aggressively fought to convince the trial judge that, not only were discounts taken consistent with the PPO agreements that the physicians had signed but also that they were allowed under Illinois law.  After the trial court initially certified the case as a class action, Tom lost two appeals of the class certification issue.  Undaunted, once back in trial court, he convinced the trial judge to reverse the class certification ruling.  Following two more appeals, both of which Tom prevailed in, he obtained a dismissal of the now de-certified claim and prevailed again in two subsequent appeals of that ruling.  On November 25, 2015, the Illinois Supreme Court issued an Order denying the physicians' Petition for Leave to Appeal, bringing this epic litigation to a quiet end.