As we wrote in our preview of Rodriquez v. Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, private attorney general statutes are not uncommon in the law. Such statutes provide that if a private plaintiff provides, by his or her suit, what the legislature regards as a public service, the plaintiff gets his or her attorney’s fees back. … Continue Reading
The Illinois state educational funding statute survived a constitutional challenge last week when the Illinois Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Robert R. Thomas, affirmed an Appellate Court decision dismissing Carr v. Koch for lack of standing. Our pre-argument preview of Carr, which includes a detailed description of the facts and lower court rulings, … Continue Reading
In Toftoy v. Rosenwinkel [pdf], the 2nd District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that Illinois’ "Right to Farm Act," 740 ILCS 70/1, didn’t bar the plaintiff’s nuisance suit against the defendants and their cattle farm. Today — as we predicted in our pre-argument preview here — the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously reversed in an … Continue Reading
This morning, a unanimous Illinois Supreme Court has held that the doctrine of subject matter waiver of attorney-client and work product privileges does not apply in the vast majority of cases to disclosures made outside the context of litigation. For our pre-argument preview of Center Partners, Ltd. v. Growth Head GP, LLC [pdf], see here. For our … Continue Reading
In the first of six opinions issued in civil cases this morning, the Illinois Supreme Court held that publicly-owned recreational facilities have broad immunity from liability to users who fall on snow or ice. The question arose in Moore v. Chicago Park District. Plaintiffs’ decedent was leaving a facility owned by the Chicago Park District after … Continue Reading
Resolution of child custody issues — and particularly, the issue of removing the children from the jurisdiction — is often one of the most contentious points in a divorce proceeding. On Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court handed down a decision in In re Marriage of Coulter which should make it easier for parties to resolve such … Continue Reading
