Duane Morris LLP - Amy E. McCracken, Special Counsel

Amy E. McCracken

Amy E. McCracken
Special Counsel
Duane Morris LLP
190 South LaSalle Street, Suite 3700
Chicago, IL 60603-3433
USA
Phone: +1 312 499 0104
Fax: +1 312 277 6823
Email: AEMcCracken@duanemorris.com

Amy E. McCracken is a skilled trial attorney with a particular emphasis in healthcare, fraud and banking litigation. She represents long term care facilities throughout Illinois and has successfully defended long term care facilities in civil and administrative cases. Ms. McCracken represents banks in matters such as mortgage foreclosure, mechanics' liens, and creditors' rights enforcement.

A former registered nurse, Ms. McCracken has significant experience in medical device litigation, mass torts, Medicare fraud and other health care litigation matters. She represented amicus curiae in an action brought against Illinois hospitals seeking charity care, and in an action challenging rulemaking procedures by an Illinois regulatory agency.

Ms. McCracken is licensed to practice law in Illinois and Michigan. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys. Ms. McCracken is a 1990 cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and a 1982 graduate of the Wayne State University School of Nursing. She practiced as a registered nurse in critical care and neonatal care before and during law school.

Areas of Practice

Healthcare Law and Litigation
Commercial Litigation

Representative Matters

Won arbitration proceeding against therapy services company and obtained reimbursement for nursing home client.
Represented Wells Fargo Bank in condemnation proceeding which resulted in settlement the client found favorable.
Counsel to pharmacies in regulatory matters.
Represented wholesale tobacco distributors Arangold Corporation and Iwan Ries & Co. in an action which challenged the constitutionality of an ordinance amending the Cook County, Illinois tobacco tax and resulted in amendments to the ordinance that our clients found favorable.
Obtained permanent injunction prohibiting the City of Chicago from enforcing a tax ruling that required car-rental companies to collect transaction taxes on short-term car rental made outside the city to persons with Chicago addresses on their driver's licenses.
Represent long term care facilities in involuntary transfer and discharge cases.
Obtained on behalf of UniTech Services Group, Inc. a voluntary dismissal of a claim brought pursuant to the Price-Anderson Act.
Won claim brought by the Office of Inspector General against two healthcare workers resulting in dismissal of egregious neglect charges.
Obtained an order from an Illinois state court dismissing with prejudice a spoliation of evidence claim brought against a dialysis clinic.
Defended nursing home in qui tam lawsuit brought by two former nurses under the Federal False Claims Act and the Illinois Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act.
Obtained directed finding in favor of nursing home in administrative proceeding before the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Won summary judgment for a bank in a breach of contract lawsuit filed by an investor of bank's borrower, which was sustained on appeal.
Obtained dismissal with prejudice of an asbestos lawsuit on behalf of a demolition company.
Counsel to nursing facilities in administrative litigation matters before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Defended dialysis clinic in litigation involving allegations of negligence, conspiracy, fraud and breach of contract.
Represent long term care facilities in negligence and breach of contract lawsuits.
Counsel to banks in litigation involving multimillion-dollar real estate developments, including mortgage foreclosures.
Defended long term care facility in False Claims Act and fraud case brought by the state and federal government.
Represent architects and building contractors in breach of contract and negligence cases.
Represent real estate brokers in fee commission disputes.
Counsel to pharmaceutical manufacturers in average wholesale price litigation brought by the state of Illinois.
Represent heirs, guardians and administrators in probate-related litigation matters.

Selected Reported Cases

Tripplett v. Ill. Dep't of Human Servs., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94312 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 19, 2008) (commended by the court for "unusually thorough, well-researched, and well-written briefs").
Smith v. Duffey, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48895 (N.D. Ill. June 23, 2008).
Smith v. Dade Behring Holdings, Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3493 (W.D.N.C. Jan. 12, 2007).
Thomas v. Fuerst, 345 Ill. App. 3d 929 (1st Dist. 2004).
Mann v. Conlin, 22 F.3d 100 (6th Cir. 1994).

Professional Activities

Vice President of Illinois Pioneer Coalition Board of Directors
Past editor of Duane Morris LLP's Building & Bonding: The Construction & Surety Newsletter
Member of Planning Committee, Toxic Tort Program, sponsored by the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association, Dallas, Texas, 1999

Admissions

Illinois
Michigan
Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
Trial Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Education

University of Michigan Law School, J.D. cum laude, 1990
Wayne State University, B.S.N., with distinction, 1982

Experience

Duane Morris LLP
- Special Counsel, 2010-present
- Associate, 2003-2010
Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, Chicago, Illinois
- Associate, 2001-2003
Brown McCarroll, Dallas, Texas
- Contract Attorney, 1999-2001
Vial Hamilton Koch & Knox, Dallas, Texas
- Contract Attorney, 1997-1999
Wise & Marsac (presently Howard & Howard Attorneys, P.C.), Detroit, Michigan
- Associate, 1994-1997
Jacobs & Miller, Southfield, Michigan
- Associate, 1991-1994
Forty Eighth Judicial Circuit Court, Allegan, Michigan
- Judicial Clerk, Honorable George R. Corsiglia, 1990-1991

Civic and Charitable Activities

Member, P.E.O. International, a benevolent educational organization
- President, 2004-2006
- Vice President, 2002-2004
- Chair, Communications Committee, 2001-2002
- Co-chair, Yearbook Committee, 2000
Member, Greater Chicago Great Banquet

Honors and Awards

Recipient of the Group Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service presented by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, May 29, 2009

Selected Publications

Author, "Seven Tips to Protect Your Facility from a False Claims Act Lawsuit," The Administrator's Advocate, April 2013

Selected Speaking Engagements

Speaker, “How Can I Get This Disruptive Resident Out of My Facility? Using the ITD Procedure to Your Advantage,” Illinois Nursing Home Administrator's Association Conference, June 12, 2013
Speaker, "Infection Control: Mere Training Isn’t Enough," Illinois Health Care Association Annual Convention and Trade Show, Peoria, Illinois, September 11, 2012
Speaker, "Ensuring Infection Prevention and Compliance," Illinois Nursing Home Administrator's Association Conference, June 6, 2012
Speaker, "Emergencies Happen Without Warning: Be Ready for Anything!," Illinois Health Care Association Annual Convention and Trade Show, Peoria, Illinois, September 15, 2011
Speaker, "Does Your Infection Control Program Pass Muster?," Illinois Health Care Association Annual Convention and Trade Show, Peoria, Illinois, September 13, 2011
Speaker, "False Claims Act Update," Illinois Nursing Home Administrator's Association Conference, November 2, 2010
Speaker, Illinois Health Care Association Annual Convention and Trade Show, Peoria, Illinois, September 15, 2010
Speaker, "Avoid Survey Deficiencies," Illinois Health Care Association Annual Convention and Trade Show, Peoria, Illinois, September 17, 2009
Speaker, "Sexual Abuse and Long Term Care," Illinois Nursing Home Administrator's Association Conference, June 17, 2009
Speaker, "Whistleblowers and the Shape of Things to Come," Illinois Health Care Association Annual Convention, Peoria, Illinois, September 10, 2008
Speaker, "Update: Whistleblowers, Qui Tam Lawsuits and the Federal False Claims Act," Illinois Nursing Home Administrator's Association Annual Convention, November 6, 2007
Speaker, "Whistleblowers, Qui Tam Lawsuits and the Federal False Claims Act," Illinois Nursing Home Administrator's Association, June 4, 2007