Under Illinois law, courts may under certain circumstances enter a judgment of dissolution in a divorce case and wait until later, as part of a bifurcated proceeding, to enter a property distribution judgment. The problem with that is that sometimes the parties’ sense of urgency to get the proceeding over with dims once the marriage has … Continue Reading
May a lifelong resident of Mississippi who alleges that he was exposed to asbestos and assorted other allegedly toxic agents while working out of the defendant’s Jackson Mississippi facility nevertheless sue for his alleged injuries in Illinois, even though numerous potential witnesses lived in Mississippi and plaintiff alleged no exposure here? On Friday morning, the Illinois … Continue Reading
Under Illinois law, a judgment of foreclosure does not end a mortgage foreclosure case; it remains modifiable by the trial court and is strictly interlocutory. After such a judgment is entered, the property is sold once periods for reinstatement and redemption have expired. The person who conducted the sale then reports to the court and, upon motion, … Continue Reading
Cooney v. Rossiter presented two questions: (1) was the plaintiffs’ individual action barred by the dismissal of an earlier putative class action; and (2) is a court-appointed psychological evaluator in a child custody proceeding entitled to absolute immunity from suit by one of the parents in the action. This morning, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the … Continue Reading
Special Counsel Hall R. Marston recently published an article in the California Daily Journal on Sargon Enterprises v. USC (pdf), a new California Supreme Court opinion setting out Daubert-like standards for admissibility of expert testimony. Anticipating interest in the article, the paper’s editorial staff arranged a video interview (subscribers only) for Hall to address the … Continue Reading
This morning, the Illinois Supreme Court announced that it will issue four more civil opinions on Friday morning to close out 2012. The upcoming decisions deal with issues as diverse as res judicata and absolute immunity, foreclosure judgments and appealability, domestic relations property settlements and forum non conveniens in tort actions. The four cases are: Cooney v. … Continue Reading
Our previews of the new civil cases granted review at the end of the Illinois Supreme Court’s November term conclude with Crittenden v. Cook County Commission on Human Rights [pdf]. Crittenden involves a question of administrative law which, depending on the breadth of the Court’s ultimate decision, could have broad implications: when can an administrative board … Continue Reading
Our previews of the new civil cases granted review at the end of the Illinois Supreme Court’s November term continue with The Board of Education of Peoria School District No. 150 v. The Peoria Federation of Support Staff, Security/Policemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association No. 114 [pdf]. Board of Education poses two questions: the constitutionality of a … Continue Reading
Our previews of the new civil cases granted review at the end of the Illinois Supreme Court’s November term continue with Hooker v. Retirement Fund of the Firemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, [pdf]. Hooker poses the question of whether the pensions for firefighter’s survivors should be set for all time pursuant to the … Continue Reading
Section 2-802(a) of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure provides that an order certifying a class action “may be conditional and may be amended before a decision on the merits.” 735 ILCS 5/2-802(a). But what’s a “decision on the merits”? In its third unanimous decision of the day, the Illinois Supreme Court answered that question this morning, … Continue Reading
In its second opinion of the day on the doctrine of res judicata, a unanimous Illinois Supreme Court has affirmed the First District, Fifth Division’s decision in Hernandez v. Pritikin [pdf]. A detailed discussion of the underlying facts and the rulings of the Circuit Court and Appellate Court appears in our pre-argument preview here. Our argument report … Continue Reading
The basic rule of res judicata is easy enough to state: a final judgment on the merits by a court with jurisdiction bars any further actions by the parties or their privies on the same claim. But what judgments (or orders) are “final”? And what’s a “claim”? The Illinois Supreme Court delved into those important questions this morning, … Continue Reading
Our previews of the new civil cases granted review at the end of the Illinois Supreme Court’s November term continue with Prazen v. Shoop [pdf], a dispute about the politically charged issue of public employee pensions. Prazen relates to an Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) plan adopted by a city pursuant to section 7-141.1 of the … Continue Reading
Our previews of the civil cases granted review at the end of the November term by the Illinois Supreme Court continue with Relf v. Shatayeva [pdf]. Relf involves a simple question: what happens if you sue somebody who’s died? The plaintiff filed a personal injury complaint against the defendant, alleging that he had negligently operated a … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that on Thursday morning, it will file opinions in three new civil cases. They are: Mashal v. The City of Chicago, No. 112341 – (1) What is a ‘decision on the merits’ under 735 ILCS 5/2-802 that would preclude the entry of a class decertification order? (2) Whether, in a … Continue Reading
In the closing days of the Illinois Supreme Court’s November term, the Court allowed petitions for leave to appeal in six civil cases. Our previews of the new grants begin with In re Marriage of Earlywine [pdf]. Although Earlywine arises from a divorce, it presents an interesting intersection of domestic relations law and attorney retainers. In conjunction … Continue Reading
As we wrote in our preview of Rodriquez v. Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, private attorney general statutes are not uncommon in the law. Such statutes provide that if a private plaintiff provides, by his or her suit, what the legislature regards as a public service, the plaintiff gets his or her attorney’s fees back. … Continue Reading
The Illinois state educational funding statute survived a constitutional challenge last week when the Illinois Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Robert R. Thomas, affirmed an Appellate Court decision dismissing Carr v. Koch for lack of standing. Our pre-argument preview of Carr, which includes a detailed description of the facts and lower court rulings, … Continue Reading
