Lawyers for a woman who suffered permanent injuries when a chuppah (a wedding canopy used in Jewish marriage ceremonies) fell on her during her son’s 2021 wedding have reached a $2.3 million settlement with defendants, according to documents filed in Cook County court and the plaintiff’s attorneys.
Court records show that Ateres Ayala, a Skokie banquet hall that describes itself as a kosher wedding venue, Luxe Catering LLC and Jose Vargas Ortega reached a settlement with the injured parties, Janet Davis, 55, and her husband Edward Davis, on Sept. 13.
“Their (Janet and Edward) son’s wedding was supposed to be one of the happiest days of their lives. Instead, it turned into a tragedy for Janet and her family that was easily preventable and never should have happened,” said one of the Davis’s attorneys, Timothy J. Cavanagh.
“If this case went to trial, we were prepared to present video of the collapse and unrebutted testimony that Ateres and Luxe’s failure to secure the chuppah in a structurally sound condition properly was the cause of the chuppah collapse. Had Ateres and Luxe properly secured the chuppah, it would not have collapsed, Janet Davis’ injuries would have been avoided and the family would have enjoyed a beautiful wedding celebration.”
The chuppah’s creator, Jose Vargas Ortega, was also named a defendant in the lawsuit.
According to Marc McCallister, an attorney representing Janet and Edward Davis, Ateres Ayala paid $550,000 in restitution, Ortega paid $10,000 in restitution and Luxe Catering paid the remaining $1.74 million.
Justyna Kruk, an attorney representing Ateres Ayala and Luxe Catering, said she could not comment on the lawsuit. Luxe Catering and Ateres Ayala representatives were also contacted but did not reply to comment on the lawsuit.
“We are glad the case was resolved. It was an unfortunate occurrence,” said Peter Stamatis, an attorney for Ortega.
According to McCallister, Janet was directly below the chuppah when an approximately 87-pound support beam collapsed and struck her on the neck and back. The lawsuit stated that the wedding’s caterer, Luxe Catering, bought the chuppah and assembled it.
McCallister said the chuppah collapsed on Janet after wedding guests walked up to the chuppah to congratulate her son and his bride after her son performed the “breaking of the glass” ceremony. McCallister said it was possible that the chuppah might have been bumped into then, causing the collapse of the chuppah. Either way, he said, it was not supposed to fall.
Janet Davis’ medical bills, which included treatment for a concussion, tinnitus (left inner ear) and spine surgery, summed up to $325,000, according to McCallister. The inner ear and cervical spine injuries are permanent in nature, according to a press release from his firm.
Stamatis, the attorney for Ortega, noted the case was mediated by a former Cook County Circuit Court Judge, William Gomolinski, who passed away in September shortly after reaching the resolution in this case.
“It was a real privilege to work with him,” Stamatis said.