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Our reports on the oral arguments during the May term of the Illinois Supreme Court continue with Bruns v. City of Centralia. Bruns poses a question with the potential to blow a significant hole in the open-and-obvious peril doctrine of tort law: does the doctrine apply when a reasonable property owner can reasonably expect visitors … Continue Reading
In its second significant decision on public employee pensions of the morning, the Illinois Supreme Court has reversed the Appellate Court in The People ex rel. Madigan v. Burge. In an opinion by Justice Anne M. Burke, joined by Justices Thomas, Karmeier and Theis, the Court holds that the Circuit Courts lack jurisdiction to hear most … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has issued its much-anticipated opinion in Kanerva v. Weems. Kanerva represents the Court’s first opportunity to address the state Constitution’s Pension Protection Clause since the Illinois General Assembly enacted pension reform eight months ago. In the wake of the 6-1 decision, the task facing defenders of reform likely has gotten significantly more difficult. Our … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that opinions in two cases addressing public employee pensions, Kanerva v. Weems and People ex rel. Madigan v. Burge, will be filed tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. With the Governor having signed a comprehensive state pension reform act only eight months ago, the opinions – Kanerva in particular – might provide … Continue Reading
Our reports on the oral arguments from the May term of the Illinois Supreme Court continue with Goldfine v. Barack, Ferrazzano, Kirschbaum and Perlman. Goldfine poses a number of issues about legal malpractice actions arising under the Illinois Securities Law. Based on the number and tenor of the Court’s questions, several Justices seemed troubled by the breadth … Continue Reading
Our reports on the oral arguments from the May term of the Illinois Supreme Court continue with Lake County Grading Company, LLC v. The Village of Antioch. Lake County – which comes to the Court from the Second District – poses the question of whether subcontractors can look to local governments for payment when the general … Continue Reading
A unanimous Illinois Supreme Court added a new complication for plaintiffs’ counsel handling wrongful death cases late last week, unanimously holding in In re Estate of Perry C. Powell that an attorney representing the decedent in a wrongful death action owes a duty of due care akin to the duty owed his direct client – … Continue Reading
In child custody cases where the parent awarded primary custody of the children has significantly greater resources than the non-custodial parent, can a court order the custodial parent to pay child support to the non-custodial parent? Late last week in In re Marriage of Turk, a unanimous Illinois Supreme Court held that the answer is “yes.” … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court at least partially retreated from a long-standing reluctance to enforce many business arbitration agreements. In an opinion by Justice Goodwin Liu, a 6-1 court affirmed in most respects the decision of the Court of Appeal in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles LLC, including on the crucial point of class action … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has announced that it will hand down its much-anticipated decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC this morning. According to the Court’s Pending Issues Summary, Iskanian presents the following issues: (1) Did AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion (2011) 563 U.S. __ [131 S. Ct. 1740, 179 L.Ed.2d 742] impliedly overrule … Continue Reading
Our reports on the civil arguments during last month’s term of the Illinois Supreme Court begin with Slepicka v. State of Illinois, a decision from the Fourth District which poses two important and closely related issues for administrative law: what is the proper venue when challenging an administrative agency’s decision, and what happens if the … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its May term, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to decide whether an academic at the University of Illinois could obtain injunctive relief from the Circuit Court to halt an ongoing University investigation into plaintiff’s alleged research misconduct. The Court allowed a petition for leave to appeal in Leetaru v. Board … Continue Reading
Although Illinois courts are courts of general jurisdiction presumed to have subject matter jurisdiction, this presumption doesn’t apply to workers’ compensation proceedings. Pursuant to Section 19(f)(2) of the Workers’ Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/19(f)(2)), in order to vest the circuit court with jurisdiction to review an award made by the Commission, a party must file … Continue Reading
In the closing days of its May term, the Illinois Supreme Court allowed a petition for leave to appeal from a decision of the Appellate Court for the Second District in Ferris, Thompson and Zweig, Ltd. v. Esposito. Ferris, Thompson poses the question of whether the Workers’ Compensation Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over a … Continue Reading
It’s one of the most fundamental rules of appellate practice: the notice of appeal has to be timely filed, or the appellate court is without jurisdiction to do anything other than dismiss the appeal. In the closing days of the May term, the Illinois Supreme Court allowed a petition for leave to appeal in Williams … Continue Reading
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
[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
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
