In the closing days of its November term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to review a decision from Division 5 of the First District with potentially significant implications for developers: Henderson Square Condominium Association v. LAB Townhomes. Henderson Square poses several related questions about the marketing of condominium units and the breadth of a developer’s … Continue Reading
According to the Election Code, anyone wishing to get judicial review of a decision of an electoral board must “serve a copy of the petition upon the electoral board and other parties to the proceeding . . .” But how do you do that – particularly when the electoral board has no permanent offices? That … Continue Reading
This post updates the article posted on July 23, 2014. To view the earlier post, click here. On November 13, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court answered the following certified question of great public importance in the negative: “In a civil appeal, shall error be held harmless where it is more likely than not that … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court just announced that on Thursday morning, it will hand down decisions in two civil cases: Bettis v. Marsaglia, No. 117050 – “Does a plaintiff’s failure to name the Electoral Board as a party defendant and separately serve the Board with her petition for review in the Circuit Court deprive the Circuit … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its November term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide whether a pension board’s finding that an officer is disabled for pension purposes is preclusive of the employer’s liability for health insurance premiums under the Public Safety Employees Act. In The Village of Vernon Hills v. Heelan, the Second District … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its November term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide an issue of potentially enormous consequence to a major Illinois utility, agreeing to review an order of the Illinois Commerce Commission requiring a major utility to enter into sourcing agreements with FutureGen 2.0, a non-profit corporation organized to create … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its November term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide an issue of potential importance to the medical malpractice bar: what kinds of documents are privileged from disclosure in a negligent credentialing claim in a medical malpractice case? The question arises in a decision from the Fifth District, Klaine v. … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its November term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide an issue of considerable importance for Illinois’ car rental industry: can a self-insured car rental company be held liable without limitation for its customers’ accidents if the customer defaults? In Nelson v. Artley, Division Two of the First District … Continue Reading
Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court reaffirmed the principle that retaliatory discharge is a narrow exception to the general doctrine of at-will employment under Illinois law. Unanimously reversing the Fifth District of the Appellate Court in Michael v. Precision Alliance Group, LLC, the Court held that where an employer chooses to give a valid, nonpretextual … Continue Reading
The basic Illinois statute of limitations for personal injury actions is two years. But the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (745 ILCS 10/1-101) provides that for actions against a “local public entity,” the limitations period is one year. In the closing days of its November term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to … Continue Reading
In the final days of its November term, the Illinois Supreme Court allowed a petition for leave to appeal in McVey v. M.L.K. Enterprises, LLC. McVey, a case from the Fifth District, presents the following question: must attorneys’ fees and costs be deducted from a tort settlement before a lien under the Health Care Services … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its November term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide a simple issue with potential implications across a wide variety of civil litigation: is a trial court’s order granting or denying sanctions under Supreme Court Rule 137 per se reversible error when it fails to include reasons for the … Continue Reading
On Thursday morning, a unanimous Illinois Supreme Court affirmed in Huber v. American Accounting Association. As briefed, Huber presented the question of whether a postmark was sufficient proof of timely mailing to trigger Illinois’ limited mailbox rule. But in the end, in an opinion by Justice Mary Jane Theis, the Court held that the plaintiff didn’t … Continue Reading
On Thursday morning, the Illinois Supreme Court resolved a confused issue in utilities law, holding unanimously in The People of the State of Illinois ex rel. Madigan v. Illinois Commerce Commission that the 35-day period provided by the Public Utilities Act (220 ILCS 5/10-201(a)) to appeal from orders of the Illinois Commerce Commission trumped … Continue Reading
State of Illinois ex rel. Pusateri v. The Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company presented an important question for the utilities bar: do the Circuit Courts have jurisdiction to order rate refunds on the grounds that the utility allegedly used falsified information in support of its rate case? On Thursday morning, a unanimous Illinois Supreme … Continue Reading
One of the most widely anticipated cases on the Illinois Supreme Court’s civil docket ended on Thursday morning with a surprise: the Court decided not to decide, dismissing the appeal in a per curiam order. Keating v. City of Chicago was a constitutional challenge to the validity of Chicago’s red light camera ordinance. Our detailed … Continue Reading
During its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral argument in Bettis v. Marsaglia. Bettis presents an issue of potential significance to election lawyers: is a petition for Circuit Court review from an Electoral Board decision which isn’t served on the Board itself procedurally defective? Our detailed summary of the facts and lower court rulings … Continue Reading
During its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Marks v. Vanderventer, a direct appeal from the Circuit Court after the court’s order finding the fee collection provisions of a “Rental Housing Support Program” unconstitutional. Plaintiff sued the Recorder of Deeds in Lake County, seeking a declaratory judgment holding that the … Continue Reading
So what’s the difference between a private postal meter, a postage label purchased at a postal service kiosk, and a postmarked stamp? The Illinois Supreme Court debated these issues with much at stake in the closing days of the September term in Huber v. American Accounting Association. The question presented in Huber is what proof of … Continue Reading
During its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court debated an issue of considerable importance to the State’s utilities. People ex rel. Madigan v. Illinois Commerce Commission is a challenge brought by the Attorney General to volume-balancing-adjustment (“VBA”) riders to approved natural gas rate schedules. Our detailed summary of the underlying facts and opinions in Madigan is … Continue Reading
During the September term, the Illinois Supreme Court debated an important question about the scope of the state Whistleblower Act: does a plaintiff state a claim under the statute by alleging that the defendant falsified information in its rate case? The Court is reviewing a decision of the Fourth Division of the First District, State … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide a question of potentially great import for Illinois first responders: do public entities and their employees owe a tort duty of care to callers to 911 emergency lines? In Coleman v. East Joliet Fire Protection District, the Third District held … Continue Reading
What happens when the City doesn’t properly serve a notice of building code violations? In the closing days of its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide that issue in Stone Street Partners, LLC v. City of Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings, a decision from the First District of Division One. In 1999, … Continue Reading
In Turcios v. The DeBruler Company, a case from the Second District, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide a simply stated question: can a plaintiff state a claim for wrongful death as a result of a suicide? Plaintiff and her husband lived in an apartment with their three children. Plaintiff is a Honduran immigrant … Continue Reading
