Our second new grant of the May term at the Illinois Supreme Court is McFatridge v. Madigan [pdf]. McFatridge involves a simple question: if an elected official gets sued for his or her official actions, who pays the lawyer? Turns out, there’s conflicting statutory language on that one. Plaintiff used to be the State’s Attorney — an … Continue Reading
Today we begin a new feature for Appellate Strategist — detailed previews of civil cases just granted review in the latest term of the Illinois Supreme Court. This week we will review the late May grants, and the feature will continue shortly after the end of each term of the Court. Poris v. Lake Holiday Property … Continue Reading
Effective January 1, 2012, the Florida Supreme Court amended the civil rule regulating mediation procedures in Florida. See In re Amends. to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.720, 75 So. 3d 264 (Fla. 2011). Significantly, the Court added subparagraph c which defines the phrase “party representative having full authority to settle” found in subparagraph b. (Subparagraph b considers … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that on the morning of Thursday, May 24, it will file opinions in two civil cases [pdf]: Bonhomme v. James, No. 112393 et al. — (1) Should the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation be extended to a largely personal setting on the facts pleaded? (2) Did the plaintiff plead justifiable … Continue Reading
It is not uncommon for a deposition witness testifying regarding critical events to make somewhat inconsistent statements under direct- and cross-examination. For decades California trial courts have denied summary judgment motions on the ground that such inconsistencies create triable issues of fact that must be resolved by juries. The lower courts cite two California Supreme … Continue Reading
Last August, the California Supreme Court issued one of those once-in-a-generation opinions that cut a wide swath across many areas of tort law. A 6-1 opinion, Howell v. Hamilton Meats held that personal injury plaintiffs are limited to recovering, as medical special damages, the amount plaintiff’s private health insurer actually paid plaintiff’s medical provider in full satisfaction of … Continue Reading
Last week, two long-standing judicial emergencies in the district courts ended with the Senate’s confirmation of Gregg Jeffrey Costa as a District Court Judge for the Southern District of Texas and David Campos Guaderrama as a District Court Judge for the Western District of Texas. Judge Costa’s seat had been vacant since June 11, 2010, and … Continue Reading
Yesterday the Illinois Supreme Court published its Oral Argument Calendar [pdf] for the May term, and the Court will hear oral argument in eight civil cases. The cases, with the issue or issues presented in each, are: May 22: Moore v. Chicago Park District, No. 112788 – Does an unnatural accumulation of snow and ice constitute … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that on the morning of Thursday, April 19, it will file an opinion in one civil case [pdf]: Santiago v. E. W. Bliss Co., No. 111792 – When an injured plaintiff intentionally files a complaint using a fictitious name, without leave of court as provided in 735 ILCS 5/2-401, … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has issued a resounding and conclusive opinion rejecting the surging liability theory that a product manufacturer may be held liable for harmful defects in products made by third parties unless the manufacturer’s own product contributed substantially to the harm, or the manufacturer participated substantially in creating a harmful combined use of … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court heard oral argument in O’Neil v. Crane Co. The Court’s decision will likely define an important area of strict products liability law in California – specifically, it will expand or limit the duty of product manufacturers to warn about the hazards of replacement parts made by others that are subsequently incorporated by … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that on the morning of Thursday, October 27, it will file opinions in two civil cases [pdf]: A.B.A.T.E. v. Giannoulias, No. 110611 — Does a state statute permitting the transfer of funds from the Cycle Rider Safety Training Fund to the General Revenue Fund violate the Takings Clause of … Continue Reading
Witnesses called to testify as “experts” are cloaked with prestige and authority, and positioned to exert heavy influence on juries. This is accentuated with areas of expert testimony that are highly technical or specialized. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 595 (1993), that “[e]xpert evidence can be both … Continue Reading
This afternoon the Illinois Supreme Court published its Oral Argument Calendar [pdf] for the September term, and the Court will hear oral argument in ten civil cases. The cases, with the issue or issues presented in each, are: September 20: Simpkins v. CSX Corporation, No. 110662 — Does an employer owe a tort duty of due … Continue Reading
Adding its voice to a continuing national debate, the California Supreme Court has adopted the minority rule and held that tort damages for past medical expenses are limited to those amounts actually paid and accepted as full payment for the services provided, when such amounts are determined by an existing agreement with the plaintiff’s … Continue Reading
Governor Jerry Brown has acted to fill the California Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement earlier this year of Associate Justice Carlos R. Moreno by nominating U.C. Berkley law professor Goodwin Liu to the post. Professor Liu, 40, has never been a judge, but recently garnered headlines as President Obama’s nominee for a seat … Continue Reading
In a day and age when every other day there seems to be a sex scandal involving a politician’s “indiscretions,” the Florida Supreme Court has been asked to examine a legal issue arising out of an alleged sex scandal. In DelMonico v. Traynor, No. SC10-1397, the Court must determine whether an attorney is protected by the … Continue Reading
Under respondeat superior, an employer is held vicariously liable for the acts of an employee when driving a vehicle within the scope of employment, irrespective of any fault by the employer. Alternatively, an employer can be directly liable for its own negligence under the theory of negligent hiring/retention or negligent entrustment. As a practical matter, … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that on the morning of Thursday, June 16, it will file opinions in four civil cases [pdf]: Studt v. Sherman Health Systems, No. 108182— Does the Illinois pattern jury instruction on professional negligence (Civil No. 105.01) correctly state the applicable standards? See Tort Law. Sheffler v. Commonwealth Edison Co., … Continue Reading
In the blog posting dated March 25, 2011, the author discussed the Florida Supreme Court’s review of Cevallos v. Rideout, No. SC09-2238, where the Court will determine how, or if, the rebuttable presumption that a rear-driver was the sole, proximate cause of a rear-end collision applies when the rear-driver was the plaintiff. No decision has been … Continue Reading
The Texas legislature has recently passed civil justice reform legislation. While most of the publicity concerning the legislation focused on the “loser pays” provisions, other changes also deserve note. The new statutes permit an interlocutory appeal of a ruling on a controlling legal issue where such an appeal is approved by the trial court and … Continue Reading
Appellate Strategist’s survey of potential nominees to the California Supreme Court begins with Mariano-Florentino Cuellar. Cuellar graduated from Calexico High School in Calexico, California. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 3 years (magna cum laude, 1993), he received a Master’s degree in political science from Stanford in 1996, followed by a law degree from Yale in … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that on the morning of Thursday, May 19th, it will file opinions in four civil cases (pdf): General Motors Corporation v. Pappas, No. 108893— (1) Does the 2005 amendment to the Property Tax Code, 35 ILCS 200/23-20, providing for the payment of interest on property tax refunds at the … Continue Reading
On Friday the Illinois Supreme Court published its Call of the Docket [pdf] for the May term, and the Court will hear oral argument in five civil cases. The cases, with the issue or issues presented in each, are: May 11: Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive Condominium Association,No. 110505 – Are the provisions of the … Continue Reading
