When a liquor licensee’s former manager is convicted of conspiring to violate the federal Money Laundering Act, can the licensee be summarily stripped of its liquor license, based upon the criminal trial transcript, a stipulation of the parties, and brief arguments by counsel? In the closing days of its May term, a unanimous Illinois Supreme … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its May term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to clarify a fundamental issue for the employment bar: what are the parties’ respective burdens of proof in a case for wrongful termination? Michael v. Precision Alliance Group, LLC involves an agricultural company in the business of raising, packaging and distributing … Continue Reading
In the closing days of the recently concluded May term of the Illinois Supreme Court, the Court opened up the State’s Attorneys around the state to increased public scrutiny. In an opinion by Justice Lloyd Karmeier for a unanimous Court, the Justices held in Nelson v. County of Kendall that the offices of the State’s … Continue Reading
In the first civil appellate case in Florida to address the newly adopted Daubert standard for the admissibility of expert testimony, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal held that the standard applies retrospectively and, unlike the former Frye test, prohibits “pure opinion” testimony. See Perez v. Bell South Telecommunications, Inc., 39 Fla. L. Weekly … Continue Reading
[The following post was originally published on Law360.com on February 19, 2014.] With the publication of “The Behavior of Federal Judges,” by Lee Epstein, William M. Landes and Judge Richard A. Posner, rigorous statistical analysis of the appellate courts is beginning to move from academic publications to mainstream bar journals. Although academic analysts … Continue Reading
On April 17, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court resolved a certified conflict between two of Florida’s district courts of appeal, to hold that the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA) prohibits pregnancy discrimination. To read the full opinion click here. In so doing, the supreme court quashed the Third District’s decision in Delva v. Continental … Continue Reading
On March 27, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court reversed the Third District Court of Appeal’s decision in Reider v. Dorsey, 98 So. 3d 1223 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012), and ruled that a person in an altercation with another person owes that other person a duty of care when he blocks his means of escape, allowing … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court appeared skeptical of a due process challenge to revocation of a liquor license during the recent oral argument in WISAM 1, d/b/a Sheridan Liquors v. Illinois Liquor Control Commission. Our detailed preview of the facts and underlying court opinions in WISAM 1 is here. WISAM 1 involves a liquor store whose … Continue Reading
Based upon the especially heavy questioning directed at the appellant during the recent oral argument in Estate of Powell v. John C. Wunsch, P.C., the Illinois Supreme Court seems to be contemplating holding that counsel who brings a wrongful death action owes a duty of care not only to the administrator or administratrix of the … Continue Reading
Actively questioning both sides, the Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court seemed conflicted during the recent oral argument in In re Marriage of Turk. Turk poses a potentially important question of domestic relations law: when the non-custodial parent of a child has significantly fewer financial resources, can the custodial parent be ordered to pay child support? The … Continue Reading
According to Section 583.310 of the California Code of Civil Procedure, “An action shall be brought to trial within five years after the action is commenced against the defendant.” On the surface, it seems like a simple rule. But as with so many things, the devil is in the details. During last week’s conference, the California Supreme … Continue Reading
Fresh on the heels of signs during the Iskanian oral argument that the California Supreme Court might at least partially fall in line behind the rule of Concepcion (subscr. req.), we received a reminder that arbitration clauses continue to receive an uncertain reception in the Courts of Appeal. In Imburgia v. DirecTV, Inc., Division One of the … Continue Reading
In the only civil review grant from last week’s conference, the California Supreme Court agreed to review the Third District’s decision in Larkin v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. Larkin involves an issue of what temporary disability payments might be available to full-time, salaried peace officers. The petitioner filed a claim for temporary disability payments after he … Continue Reading
Depublication orders usually aren’t exactly the most earthshaking thing on the California Supreme Court’s weekly conference summaries. Nevertheless, I took particular notice of one on last week’s summary: Dattani v. Lee. Dattani is worthy of note for a couple of reasons. First, the Court took the unusual step of depublishing the Court of Appeal’s opinion on its own … Continue Reading
On March 13, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court, in a 5-2 ruling, issued its long-awaited opinion following review of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision in Estate of McCall v. United States, 642 F.3d 944 (11th Cir. 2011), and answered the following rephrased certified question in the affirmative: Does the statutory cap on wrongful … Continue Reading
On February 6, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court took a liberal view of self-insured retentions (SIRs) and held that an insured can apply indemnification payments from a third party to satisfy its SIR under a general liability policy. See Intervest Constr. of Jax, Inc. v. Gen. Fid. Ins. Co., 39 Fla. L. Weekly S75, … Continue Reading
Can the Illinois state courts order mandatory cleanups of older landfills? The Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide that issue late last month, allowing a petition for leave to appeal in People ex rel. Madigan v. J. T. Einoder, Inc. Einoder involves a husband and wife and two corporations which they control. The landfill site was … Continue Reading
The concept behind the innocent insured doctrine is simple: where there are multiple insureds on an insurance policy, a breach by one does not necessarily eliminate coverage for those not personally involved in the breach. But what if the breach occurs in conjunction with a renewal application? That’s the question the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has certified a question for review posed by the Ninth Circuit – Is the internet a “place of public accommodation” as described in the California Disabled Persons Act (“DPA”), Civil Code §§ 54, et seq.? The DPA provides at § 54.1(a)(1) that “[i]ndividuals with disabilities shall be entitled to full and equal … Continue Reading
With tomorrow’s oral argument before the California Supreme Court in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, our series of previews concludes with a look at the parties’ merits briefs. To read all the briefs in Iskanian, check out the National Chamber Litigation Center’s page on the case here. The argument in plaintiff’s opening brief … Continue Reading
We continue our previews of the civil cases accepted for review in the closing days of the Illinois Supreme Court’s March term with Harris v. One Hope United, Inc. In Harris, the First District declined to recognize the existence of a self-critical analysis privilege in Illinois, calling the recognition of new common law privileges “a … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has decided a number of cases in recent years involving choices between form and substance or strict and substantial compliance. In most (but not all) cases, a majority of the Justices have sided with substantial compliance and proceeded to the merits. The Court took one more such case as the March term … Continue Reading
As we await Thursday’s oral argument before the California Supreme Court in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, our series of preview posts continues. This time in Part 4, we take a look at the seven amicus curiae briefs filed in support of the defendant. To read all the briefs in Iskanian, check out the National Chamber … Continue Reading
As we await Thursday’s oral argument before the California Supreme Court in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation of Los Angeles, in Part 3 of our series of posts, we’ll take a look at the amici curiae supporting plaintiffs. To read all the briefs in Iskanian, both merits and amici, check out the National Chamber Litigation Center’s … Continue Reading
