An insurance policy required that the insured "immediately record the specifics of the claim" and "see to it that we receive written notice of the claim . . . as soon as practicable." The insured waited 27 months before giving its insurer written notice of a defamation suit. The Appellate Court held that the insured … Continue Reading
Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court filed opinions resolving four new civil cases: Hubble v. Bi-State Development Agency of the Illinois-Missouri Metropolitan District, [pdf] No. 109137 — In a personal injury action, the Court held that the Bi-State Development Agency, which was created by an interstate compact between Illinois and Missouri, is a "local public … Continue Reading
In a landmark decision, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal unanimously upheld a lower court’s ruling striking down as unconstitutional the state’s statute that prohibited gays and lesbians from adopting. In a 42-page opinion, Florida Department of Children and Families v. In re: Matter of Adoption of X.X.G. and N.R.G. (pdf), the Court found there … Continue Reading
The members of the Illinois Supreme Court have selected Supreme Court Justice Thomas L. Kilbride as the new Chief Justice. Justice Kilbride will begin his term on October 26, 2010, following the retirement of Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald. Justice Kilbride received his law degree from Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C. in 1981. He practiced law … Continue Reading
The beginning of the Illinois Supreme Court’s September docket was overshadowed this week by a surprise announcement from Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald. Chief Justice Fitzgerald told his colleagues that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, and would retire from the Court effective October 25, 2010, rather than running for a full ten-year term. Chief … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has released its annual report describing the operations of the Court from 2009 to 2010. The Court issued 105 opinions in this period, 42 of which were in civil cases. However, this does not account for the 30 habeas corpus petitions denied by order, so the court’s workload continues to be … Continue Reading
Pineda v. Bank of America addresses the controlling statute of limitations over a claim to recover penalties for the late payment of final wages and whether such penalties can be recovered under Bus. & Prof. Code § 17203. For more details on Pineda, see the Employment – Compensation & Benefits update page. Conservatorship of Roy … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court has granted review to again address preemption, this time in the timely area of consumer protection and banking. In Parks v. MBNA American Bank, the Court of Appeal reversed a judgment on the pleadings, finding that Civil Code § 1748.9, a state consumer protection law which mandates specific notice requirements regarding the … Continue Reading
