The self-critical analysis privilege – the notion that organizations should be able to take a candid look at their own procedures and performance without fear of being forced to disclose the results in discovery – has been lurking around the periphery of civil litigation for forty-four years, since Bredice v. Doctors Hospital, Inc. in 1970. … Continue Reading
Late in the March term, the Illinois Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Brunton v. Kruger, an opinion with potentially significant implications for Illinois accountants. Brunton posed three related questions about the statutory accountant’s privilege (225 ILCS 450/27): who holds it – the accountant or the client; is there an exception for will contests; … Continue Reading
In July 2004, the Illinois legislature amended the state Environmental Protection Act to authorize the Attorney General to seek “an injunction, prohibitory or mandatory, to restrain violations . . . or to require such other actions as may be necessary to address violations of this Act.” The following year, the Supreme Court held in People … Continue Reading
When a defendant is convicted of a criminal offense and sentenced to prison time, the Unified Code of Corrections requires the Circuit Court clerk to transmit to the Department of Corrections the total time the defendant served prior to entry of final judgment so that the the defendant’s credits for “time served” can be calculated. … Continue Reading
The Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) includes various provisions for determining where a custody and parentage dispute should be litigated when multiple states are involved. But what happens when the Circuit Court enters a custody order even though the UCCJEA appears to say the dispute belonged somewhere else? Last week, the Illinois Supreme … Continue Reading
On February 12, 2015, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the Fifth District Court of Appeal’s decision in Sanislo v. Give Kids the World, Inc., 98 So. 3d 759 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012) and held that an exculpatory clause was effective to bar a negligence action, despite the absence of express language in the clause releasing … Continue Reading
This evening will bring an event likely not seen in Illinois in more than a century – an evening session of the Illinois Supreme Court. Last Friday, the Court announced that People v. Richardson, one of the three cases docketed to be argued on the morning of March 17, would be rescheduled for a special … Continue Reading
In the closing days of February, the Illinois Supreme Court handed down its decision in LVNV Funding, Inc. v. Trice, a direct appeal from the Cook County Circuit Court. LVNV is noteworthy because it clears away ambiguous language in certain cases describing a lack of statutory prerequisites to an action as depriving the court of … Continue Reading
This afternoon, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral argument on the biggest case on its civil docket, In re Pension Reform Litigation. In re Pension Reform Litigation involves the question of whether SB-1, the pension reform act adopted by the Illinois General Assembly in 2013, violates the Illinois Constitution’s Pension Protection Clause. The Clause provides: … Continue Reading
In their reply brief in the Public Pension Reform Act appeal, the State immediately zeroes in on what it perceives as the central difficulty of the plaintiffs’ position: the trial court’s conclusion that the Pension Protection Clause had no exceptions at all. Plaintiffs’ “super-contract approach,” the State writes, “would deny the State the ability to … Continue Reading
A law firm partner innocently repeats a misrepresentation by one of his or her partners on a renewal form for the firm’s malpractice insurance. Can the misrepresentation be grounds for completely rescinding the policy? On February 20, a divided Illinois Supreme Court held that the answer was “yes,” reversing an Appellate Court judgment in Illinois … Continue Reading
In a few weeks’ time over at Appellate Strategist’s sister blog, the Illinois Supreme Court Review, we’ll address the question of just how rare it is to get an unpublished decision – what we in Illinois call a Rule 23 order – accepted for review by the Illinois Supreme Court. As we wrap up our … Continue Reading
If you’re on Flipboard, check out Illinois Supreme Court, featuring news and analysis on the work of the Illinois Supreme Court from many different viewpoints gathered from around the internet. Image courtesy of Flickr by David Wilson (no changes).… Continue Reading
The plaintiff files a skeletal class certification motion the same day as his putative class complaint. Subsequently, the defendant tenders a check to the plaintiff representing everything the plaintiff could recover for his action. Is the plaintiff’s class claim moot? That’s the question that the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide in the closing days … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its January term, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral argument in Hadley v. Subscriber Doe. Hadley poses the question of whether the defendant is entitled to quash the plaintiff’s subpoena seeking to discover the identity of an anonymous internet poster. Our detailed summary of the underlying facts and lower court … Continue Reading
If you’re on Flipboard, check out California Supreme Court, featuring news and analysis on the work of the California Supreme Court from many different viewpoints gathered from around the internet. Image courtesy of Flickr by OmiB91 (no changes).… Continue Reading
In the closing days of its January term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear a case from Division 5 of the First District, Petrovic v. The Department of Employment Security. Petrovic presents an interesting issue on the merits – exactly what has to be proven to trigger the exception to unemployment compensation for employees … Continue Reading
A Circuit Court has subject matter jurisdiction to enter a child custody order pursuant to the Illinois Constitution. But the Court apparently lacks jurisdiction to proceed pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (750 ILCS 36/201). If the Circuit Court proceeds anyway, is the resulting order void, voidable, or something else? In … Continue Reading
As we’ve written here, here and here, the plaintiffs in the Pension Reform Litigation pending before the Illinois Supreme Court needed to accomplish three things in their Appellees’ Briefs to put themselves in a position to prevail – answer the State’s construction of: (1) the history that led to the Pension Reform Act; (2) the … Continue Reading
Can a personal injury claim be barred by judicial estoppel if you fail to disclose the unliquidated claim in your personal bankruptcy proceeding? That’s the question the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide late in its January term in Seymour v. Collins, a case from the Second District. In April 2008, plaintiffs filed a petition … Continue Reading
Section 2-1401 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1401) provides that a judgment may be set aside more than thirty days after its entry on petition for various reasons. So when is the apparent lack of diligence of the party seeking to set aside the judgment sufficient grounds for denying the petition? … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its January term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide an issue of considerable potential importance to the real estate bar – when does a foreclosure sale on a condominium unit extinguish the Association’s lien for assessments incurred before the sale closed? In 1010 Lake Shore Association v. Deutsche Bank … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its January term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide a question involving the potential collision of several different aspects of Illinois constitutional law: are school districts subject to local zoning? The case is Gurba v. Community High School District No. 155, a decision from the Second District. Gurba began … Continue Reading
We conclude our discussion of the July 21, 1970 debate on the Pension Protection Clause at the Illinois Constitutional Convention. Today, we’ll take a look at more statements by opponents of the measure, the summations by the co-sponsors, and the vote. After Delegate Kinney’s remarks, Delegate Lyons, the Vice-President of the Convention, spoke. “I am … Continue Reading
