IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS 

LAWRENCE H. GRESS, on behalf of himself 

and others similarly situated, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY, an 

Illinois corporation; JOHN DOES 1-100, 

Defendants. 

 

Case No. 1:20-cv-04405 

MOTION TO PARTICIPATE IN OCTOBER 6, 2020 HEARING 

South Branch LLC, TFO Golub Burnham LLC, d/b/a The Burnham Center, TFO Golub 

IT 2.0 LLC d/b/a International Tower, and Rockwell on the River LLC, who are plaintiffs in a 

proposed class action, South Branch LLC, et al. v. Commonwealth Edison and Exelon, 20-cv4980 (“South Branch Plaintiffs” or “Movants”), currently pending before Judge Pacold, 

respectfully move the Court to allow them to participate in a hearing in this case scheduled for 

October 6, 2020 at 9:30 am (“October 6 hearing”). 

1. Like the plaintiff in this case, the South Branch Plaintiffs seek damages arising 

from Commonwealth Edison and Exelon Corp.’s (collectively, “ComEd’s”) vast, decade-long 

bribery scheme to secure the passage of favorable legislation in the Illinois General Assembly, as 

described in ComEd’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the United States, entered on July 

17, 2020. The South Branch Plaintiffs seek to represent a class of “Large Commercial utility 

customers of ComEd (those classified as peak load of 100kW or higher) from January 1, 2012 to 

the present.” South Branch Complaint, 34, attached here as Exhibit 1. 

Case: 1:20-cv-04405 Document #: 42 Filed: 09/30/20 Page 1 of 4 PageID #:490
2 

2. The South Branch Plaintiffs are the subject of two motions pending in this case, 

which the Court is scheduled to hear on October 6, 2020 at 9:30 am. Minute Entry, Doc. 33. 

They must be permitted to participate in the October 6 hearing in order to protect their interests 

and those of the class they seek to represent. 

3. First, Gress and the plaintiffs in Brooks, et al. v. Commonwealth Edison and 

Exelon Corp., 20-cv-4555 (“Brooks Plaintiffs”), currently pending before Judge Coleman, filed a 

Motion for Appointment of Interim Lead Counsel (“lead counsel motion”). Doc. 30. Gress and 

the Brooks Plaintiffs seek to represent a class of all ComEd customers during the relevant time 

period, which would encompass the South Branch class. Therefore, the South Branch Plaintiffs 

wish to be heard on the lead counsel motion. 

4. Second, ComEd filed a Motion to Reassign Related Case requesting this Court to 

find that South Branch is related to Gress, Brooks, and Potter, et al. v. Madigan, et al., 20-cv4675, currently pending before Judge Ellis, and to recommend that the Executive Committee 

reassign South Branch to this Court. Doc 39.1

 Although the South Branch Plaintiffs did not join 

or object to ComEd’s motion, they request to participate in the hearing given that possible 

reassignment of their case is at issue. 

WHEREFORE, the South Branch Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court enter an 

order permitting them to participate in the October 6 hearing. 

September 30, 2020 Respectfully submitted, 

/s/ Matthew J. Piers 

One of the Attorneys for Movants 

1

 Gress filed motions to reassign Brooks and Potter, and the Court set those motions for the 

October 6 hearing. Docs. 20, 22, 27. Although ComEd did not notice their motion to reassign 

South Branch, Movants anticipate that the Court will address all motions for reassignment 

together at the October 6 hearing. 

Case: 1:20-cv-04405 Document #: 42 Filed: 09/30/20 Page 2 of 4 PageID #:491
3 

Matthew J. Piers 

Mark Dym 

Chirag G. Badlani 

Charles D. Wysong 

Emily R. Brown 

Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. 

70 W. Madison St., Suite 4000 

Chicago, IL 60602 

mpiers@hsplegal.com

mdym@hsplegal.com

cbadlani@hsplegal.com 

cwysong@hsplegal.com 

ebrown@hsplegal.com 

(312) 580-0100 

 

Case: 1:20-cv-04405 Document #: 42 Filed: 09/30/20 Page 3 of 4 PageID #:492
4 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

 I, Matthew J. Piers, an attorney, certify that I caused copies of the foregoing Motion to 

Participate in October 6, 2020 Hearing to be served on all counsel of record via the Court’s 

electronic filing system. 

/s/ Matthew J. Piers 

Counsel for Movants 

Case: 1:20-cv-04405 Document #: 42 Filed: 09/30/20 Page 4 of 4 PageID #:493