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. Rossiter, No. 113227 – (1) Was the plaintiffs’ action barred pursuant to res judicata by the earlier Federal action, even though the earlier Federal action was a class, rather than an individual claim? (2) Did a court-appointed psychological evaluator in a custody hearing have absolute immunity from suit for alleged misconduct in connection with his opinions? For our preview of the case, see here. For our report on the oral argument, see here.
     
  • EMC Mortgage Corp. v. Kemp, No. 113419 – (1) Is a judgment of foreclosure final and appealable, or must an appeal await a final order approving the sale and distributing the proceeds? (2) Is an order of foreclosure immediately appealable when standing is challenged on the grounds that the order is void? For our preview of the case, see here. For our report on the oral argument, see here.
     
  • Mathis v. Mathis, No. 113496 – In a bifurcated dissolution proceeding, when a grounds judgment has been entered, and when there is a lengthy delay between the date of entry of the grounds judgment and the hearing on ancillary issues, is the appropriate date for valuation of marital property the date of dissolution or a date as close as practicable to the date of trial of the ancillary issues? For our preview of the case, see here. For our report on the oral argument, see here.
  • Fennell v. Illinois Central Railroad Co., No. 113812 – Did the trial court err by denying defendant’s motion for dismissal pursuant to forum non conveniens of an asbestos injury claim brought by a non-resident of Illinois? For our preview of the case, see here. For our report on the oral argument, see here.

Our reviews of the final four civil decisions of the year will begin Friday afternoon. In the meantime, happy holidays to all.