During its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide an issue of importance to property and banking practitioners: is the statutory right to rescind a reverse mortgage limited to the original property owner? The Court granted leave to appeal from a decision of Division 6 of the First District, Financial Freedom Acquisition, LLC … Continue Reading
During its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral argument in a potentially important employment law case, Michael v. Precision Alliance Group, LLC. Michael poses questions about the parties’ burdens of proof in a case alleging wrongful termination. Our detailed summary of the facts and lower court opinion in Michael is here. The defendant in … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide an issue of potential importance to the domestic relations bar: how are Social Security benefits treated in a property settlement during a divorce? The Court allowed a petition for leave to appeal in In re Marriage of Mueller, a Rule … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide a question relating to the operation of Section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure: under what circumstances is the apparent lack of diligence of the party itself sufficient to justify denying the motion? In Warren County Soil & Water Conservation … Continue Reading
During its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide a novel question presented by a case arising from the Fifth District: does a prisoner have an implied right of action against the circuit clerk and county sheriff for failing to accurately calculate the credit he or she is due against a prison … Continue Reading
Not infrequently, the law calls upon a court to decide what another court would do with a particular issue or case. In the closing days of its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to take up Price v. Philip Morris, Inc. in order to answer one of the more interesting dilemmas in that category … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to return once again to what surely must be the most controversial subject at the moment in all of Illinois’ civil law: public pensions. Matthews v. Chicago Transit Authority is a putative class action raising various challenges to recent reforms to the … Continue Reading
During its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court debated the scope of courts’ authority to intervene in academic investigations at the University of Illinois in order to require University officials to follow their own rules for such proceedings. Our detailed summary of the facts and lower court opinion in Leetaru v. Board of Trustees of … Continue Reading
Last month, a divided Supreme Court held that a subcontractor on a public works program should have timely proceeded against the project bond, and had no remedy against the Village after the general contractor went bankrupt before paying the sub’s bill. In an opinion by Justice Theis, the Court held in Lake County Grading Company, … Continue Reading
Last month, a unanimous Illinois Supreme Court rejected assorted constitutional challenges to 2011 amendments to the Department of Professional Regulation Law governing medical licensing. In an opinion by Justice Burke, the Court affirmed the judgment of Division 1 of the First District Appellate Court in Hayashi v. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Our … Continue Reading
Last month, the Illinois Supreme Court handed down its unanimous decision in a case being closely watched by the local bar associations – Goldfine v. Barack, Ferrazzano, Kirschbaum & Perlman. Goldfine involved the issue of what damages are available, and how damages are calculated, in a claim for legal malpractice arising from an underlying claim … Continue Reading
On October 6, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case involving whether a public school owes a duty to maintain, make available, and use an automated external defibrillator (AED) on a student athlete who collapses during a school-sanctioned athletic competition. See Limones v. School Board of Lee County, No. SC13-932. The … Continue Reading
The Florida Supreme Court has accepted for review a First District decision holding that Florida’s state insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, is not immune from a statutory bad faith failure to settle claim. See Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Perdido Sun Condo. Ass’n, No. SC14-185. To view the First District’s opinion, click … Continue Reading
Register now to join us for the first in a new series of webinars by Sedgwick’s Complex Litigation Appellate Task Force. In addition to discussing important decisions coming this fall from the Illinois Supreme Court in the fields of tort law, the law of evidence, insurance law and civil and appellate procedure, we’ll be spotlighting the … Continue Reading
In the recently concluded September term, the Illinois Supreme Court heard one of the shortest civil arguments it has heard in many years in People ex rel. Madigan v. Illinois Commerce Commission. Madigan seems likely to result in guidance from the Court as to the interplay of the various filing deadlines which apply to challenging administrative … Continue Reading
Our previews of the newest additions to the Illinois Supreme Court’s civil docket continue with Hadley v. Subscriber Doe. Hadley is a defamation case arising from an anonymous internet posting, but that issue comes wrapped in a couple of interesting procedural problems. The plaintiff was a candidate for political office. At the end of an online newspaper … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its September term, the Illinois Supreme Court allowed a petition for leave to appeal in Brunton v. Kruger. Brunton involves the scope of the accountant-client privilege – more specifically, what happens to that privilege after the client dies, and how the privilege can be waived. In Brunton, an accounting firm assisted … Continue Reading
A unanimous Illinois Supreme Court recently decided Slepicka v. The Illinois Department of Public Health. The Court defined proper venue for an action under state law for judicial review of an administrative decision, and rejected a claim that improper venue was a jurisdictional defect necessitating dismissal. Our detailed summary of the facts and lower court opinions in … Continue Reading
In the recently concluded September term, the Illinois Supreme Court reaffirmed the “open-and-obvious peril” doctrine and gave needed definition to the “distraction” exception to that rule, unanimously reversing a decision of the Fifth District in Bruns v. The City of Centralia. Our detailed summary of the facts and lower court decisions in Bruns is here. Our report … Continue Reading
Now over 25 years old, Brown v. Superior Court established a significant precedent regarding medical products liability, and products liability generally. In addition to its specific holdings, Brown has been credited with articulating the three separate theories of products liability—manufacturing defect, design defect, and failure to warn—at a time when these were often lumped into … Continue Reading
A sharply divided Texas Supreme Court recently held that unclaimed class action settlement funds may be disposed of in the manner selected by the parties and are not subject to the state’s Unclaimed Property Act. In Highland Homes Ltd. v. The State of Texas, the court considered a settlement between a prominent Texas home builder and … Continue Reading
It’s not uncommon for state and federal regulatory schemes to provide for an award of statutory civil penalties to deter and punish certain conduct that it is difficult to monetize in a suit for damages. Frequently penalties may be assessed on a per-violation or per-day basis, permitting an astronomical award that bears little relation to the … Continue Reading
VERDICT FORM We, the jury, return the following verdict: 1. Did Defendants place the product on the market with a design defect, which was a legal cause of the decedent’s death? YES _______ NO X 2. Was there negligence on the part of Defendants which was a legal cause of decedent’s … Continue Reading
On June 20, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court accepted review of a Fifth District decision that certified the following question of great public importance: Is an oral agreement to play the lottery and split the proceeds in the event a winning ticket is purchased unenforceable under the statute of frauds when: there is … Continue Reading
