Today, let’s begin our section by section tour through the American Law Institute’s new Insurance Restatement. Chapter 1, Section 1 of the Restatement includes definitions of common terms found in the law of liability insurance, including such commonplace concepts as a condition, the insuring clause, a mandatory (versus non-mandatory) rule, a policy limit and a … Continue Reading
Two weeks ago, we announced a new biweekly series analyzing, section by section, the new Restatement of the Law of Liability Insurance. Before we begin talking about specific sections, let’s review the response so far to the Restatement from courts and other authorities outside the ALI. Pushback against the Restatement began even before final approval … Continue Reading
Pardon the Jimi Hendrix allusion, but it seemed appropriate given yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, No. 16-466 (June 19, 2017), in which the California Supreme Court’s finding of specific jurisdiction against a drug manufacturer was reversed as to non-California plaintiffs, who sued alleging personal injuries due to … Continue Reading
In Johnson v. Omega Insurance Co., 200 So. 3d 1207 (Fla. 2016), the Florida Supreme Court held that an insured was entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees under section 627.428, Florida Statutes and the confession of judgment doctrine based on an insurer’s post-suit tender of policy benefits for a sinkhole claim after the insurer … Continue Reading
A non-lawyer with no apparent formal connection to a corporation is the sole representative of the corporation at an administrative proceeding. When the decision comes down, it’s never properly served on the corporation. Is the non-lawyer’s participation imputed to the corporation, meaning that the corporation had notice of the adminstrative proceeding and it’s now final … Continue Reading
The Illinois Administrative Review Law provides that a complaint for judicial review of an administrative decision must be filed within 35 days from the date that a copy of the decision to be reviewed was served upon an aggrieved party. In Grimm v. Calica, the Illinois Supreme Court held that the date in the heading … Continue Reading
Civil forfeitures have been controversial for a number of years. The underlying idea – that a person can be said to have forfeited his or her rights in a particular item of property by using it to commit a crime – is difficult to challenge, but some observers believe that the remedy has been abused … Continue Reading
In order to recover damages under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, an employee of a railroad must show that the railroad operated in interstate commerce, that the plaintiff was injured in the scope of his or her duties, and that the injury resulted “in whole or in part” from the employer’s negligence. What this means, … Continue Reading
According to Section 3-107(b) of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, no public entity or public employee is “liable for an injury caused by a condition of . . . [a]ny hiking, riding, fishing or hunting trail.” 745 ILCS 10/3-107(b). The purpose of the statute is to encourage public entities to maintain … Continue Reading
According to Section 9(g)(4) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act, any purchaser of a condominium unit who acquires a property either at a foreclosure sale or by post-foreclosure purchase from the mortgagee must pay the last six months’ worth of delinquent assessments on the unit. 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(4). So where the wholly-owned subsidiary of the … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has long held that when parties enter into a broad arbitration agreement but it’s unclear whether the specific subject of a dispute is covered, the question of arbitrability is initially decided by the arbitrator, not a court. But that rule is subject to a big caveat: the right to arbitrate can … Continue Reading
At a closed session of the school board, six of the seven members sign a separation agreement with the outgoing school superintendent, but don’t date it. Several weeks later, the Board holds a public meeting. The agenda posted on the website states that the Board will approve “a resolution regarding the separation agreement and release” … Continue Reading
On February 16, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court declined to adopt the Daubert standard for the admissibility of expert evidence into the Florida Evidence Code to the extent it is procedural in nature. See In re Amends. to the Fla. Evid. Code, No. SC16-181, 2017 WL 633770 (Fla. Feb. 16, 2017). To read the full … Continue Reading
The City of Chicago levies a tax on the lease or rental of personal property within the City or the privilege of using personal property leased elsewhere in the City. In 2011, the City’s director of the department of revenue issued Ruling 11, which provided that the City Department of Revenue would hold suburban car … Continue Reading
In the vast majority of cases, the Illinois Supreme Court is in complete control of what cases wind up on its docket – parties file a petition for leave to appeal, and the Court allows it or doesn’t in the exercise of its “sound judicial discretion.” But there’s one instance in which, curiously enough, the … Continue Reading
In 2003, the Illinois Supreme Court held that anyone who qualified for a line-of-duty pension under section 4-110 of the Illinois Pension Code qualified as having a “catastrophic injury” within the meaning of Section 10(a) of the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act, thus triggering a right to have their health insurance premiums paid. But does … Continue Reading
Courts in most jurisdictions have been cautious about the parameters of any possible cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress where the plaintiff has pled no physical impact. The Illinois Supreme Court clarified the scope of that claim in one of its last decisions of 2016, affirming the Appellate Court in Schweihs v. … Continue Reading
In early December, a unanimous Illinois Supreme Court held that a Board of Education’s decision to terminate a tenured high school teacher’s employment was “arbitrary, unreasonable, and unrelated to the requirements of service,” affirming an earlier order that she be reinstated with back pay and benefits. The Court affirmed a decision from the Fifth District … Continue Reading
In 2007, the Cook County Board of Commissioners created the Office of the Inspector General. The Board tasked the IG with investigating corruption, fraud, waste and mismanagement, including by “separately elected County officials,” and instructed all county departments, employees and elected officials to cooperate in the IG’s investigations. The IG is empowered to conduct sworn … Continue Reading
Does a person designated as someone’s successor power of attorney owe the principal duties before the contingency built into the Power of Attorney happens? That’s one of the questions which the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide in the closing days of the November term, allowing a petition for leave to appeal in In re … Continue Reading
Is an attorney referral agreement enforceable if it doesn’t expressly state that the attorneys are assuming “joint financial responsibility” in representing the clients? Late in the November term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide that issue, allowing a petition for leave to appeal in Ferris, Thompson & Zweig, Ltd. v. Esposito, a decision from … Continue Reading
Illinois law provides that every health care professional and health care provider that “renders any service in the treatment, care, or maintenance of an injured person,” the care provider may assert a lien against “all claims and causes of action” of the injured person up to the amount of the care provider’s charges. In the … Continue Reading
May the Illinois Commerce Commission grant a certificate of public convenience and necessity, authorizing construction of new projects by an entity which not only is not a public utility, but isn’t applying to be certified as one? That’s one of the many important questions for the utility bar which the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to … Continue Reading
Can a hospital be held vicariously liable under the doctrine of apparent agency set forth in Gilbert v. Sycamore Municipal Hospital and its progeny for the acts of the employees of an unrelated, independent clinic that is not a party to the present litigation? The Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide that issue in the … Continue Reading