Share:Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis has reappointed TDR Partner Michael Rothstein to her Judicial Screening Committee. The Committee assists Justice Theis in evaluating the qualifications of applicants for judicial vacancies in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Mr. Rothstein has served on the Committee since 2012. An excerpt from the December 2, 2021 […]
Share:In this Law360 article, TDR Attorneys Brian Haussmann, Amanda Catalano, Amie Bauer, and Jonathan Kim analyze the key considerations for commercial tenants withholding rent. The article emphasizes how important it is for businesses and their advisors to understand the rights of commercial tenants and landlords, particularly whether and when a commercial tenant may withhold rent to offset losses cause by a […]
Share:TDR partner Gino L. DiVito has prepared a color-coded guide that compares the Illinois Rules of Evidence with the Federal Rules of Evidence and provides relevant commentary on both sets of rules. DiVito served on the Special Supreme Court Committee on Illinois Evidence that drafted the Illinois rules, which were approved by the Illinois Supreme […]
Share:TDR recently obtained a dismissal of all claims against a client in Cumberland County, Illinois. TDR argued that Illinois courts lacked personal jurisdiction. The client allegedly provided service on a truck in Arkansas. The plaintiff then drove the truck to Illinois where she was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. The driver sued the […]
Share:Partner Tim Hudson served as the moderator for the Federal Bar Association – Chicago Chapter’s continuing legal education seminar entitled “Voting Rights & American Democracy.” Panelists included Professor Ellen Katz from the University of Michigan Law School and Ami Gandhi, Senior Counsel for the Chicago Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights. Mr. Hudson is a partner whose practice […]
Share:Once again, about 2/3 of TDR Attorneys have been named as either Super Lawyers or Rising Stars by Super Lawyers Magazine and ThomsonReuters. Super Lawyers recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their legal practice. Special recognition goes to Mark Horwitch who has been named a Super Lawyer for the 10th time. He joins Gino DiVito, John […]
Share:TDR partner Tim Hudson was recently installed as the Treasure of the Federal Bar Association – Chicago Chapter, which represents and supports federal court practitioners and judges throughout the Chicagoland area. In a ceremony conducted via videoconference due to COVID-19 concerns, Hudson was sworn in by the Chief Judge of the United States District Court […]
Share:TDR partners Christopher D. Liguori, Timothy A. Hudson and John M. Fitzgerald and TDR associate Amanda N. Catalano successfully represented an attorney and her law firm in a defamation lawsuit, obtaining dismissal of the lawsuit at the pleading stage in the Circuit Court of Cook County. In that lawsuit, Rose McGowan’s former criminal defense lawyer […]
Share: Plaintiffs asserting purely economic losses in tort cases already face a significant hurdle in Illinois: the well-established economic loss rule, otherwise known as the Moorman doctrine. But those plaintiffs now face an additional challenge, because in Lewis v. Lead Industries Ass’n, 2020 IL 124107 (opinion filed May 21, 2020), the Illinois Supreme Court held […]
Share: In University of Chicago v. Department of Revenue, 2020 IL App (1st) 191195 (opinion issued May 15, 2020), the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court faced a unique property tax dispute that required the interpretation of a curious phrase in section 15-35 of the Illinois Property Tax Code. Section 15-35 states that "all […]
Share: Recently, the Illinois Appellate Court published its 2019 decision in Lopez v. Rendered Servs., Inc., 2019 IL App (1st) 181869. Lopez serves as a great refresher on the American Rule regarding attorney fees and statutory fee-shifting provisions in Illinois. In Lopez, the plaintiff parked his car in a private parking lot. His car was […]
Share: The Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in United States v. DISH Network LLC, 954 F.3d 970 (7th Cir. 2020), comes with a stern warning to companies that violate state and federal telemarketing statutes: "Someone whose maximum penalty reaches the mesosphere only because the number of violations reaches the stratosphere can’t complain about the consequences of […]
Share: In the medical malpractice case of Crim v. Dietrich, 2020 IL 124318 (issued on April 2, 2020), plaintiffs, the mother and father of the injured newborn baby, alleged that defendant, the doctor who delivered the baby: (1) failed to obtain the mother’s informed consent to perform a natural birth rather than a Caesarean section, […]
Share: On April 16, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court signaled that traditional notions of gambling are changing and that Illinois law must evolve to embrace those changes. The Court reached its decision in Colin Dew-Becker v. Andrew Wu, 2020 IL 124472 (2020). The Court’s decision involves the "daily fantasy sports" website, FanDuel.com. On websites like […]
Share: Illinois Rule of Evidence 705, which is substantially identical to its federal counterpart, reads as follows: The expert may testify in terms of opinion or inference and give reasons therefor without first testifying to the underlying facts or data, unless the court requires otherwise. The expert may in any event be required to disclose […]
Share: Shareholders in an Illinois corporation have a statutory right to examine the corporation’s books and records. See 805 ILCS 5/7.75. Minority shareholder oppression claims frequently include allegations that the corporation has violated a shareholder’s right to examine the books and records, often with the added allegation that the books and records are being withheld […]
Share:The Illinois State Bar Association has just published TDR partner John Fitzgerald’s Guide to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. The Guide is available in both hard copy and electronic formats. The Guide is the first published book about the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act and the rapidly developing case law interpreting it. It contains […]
Share: On Monday February 24, my colleague Amie Bauer posted an article on the purpose of Supreme Court Rule 213(f) as gleaned from ESP Global, LLC v Northwest Community Hospital, 2020 IL App (1st) 182023. That same case also provides important lessons for parties wishing to engage in services agreements that contemplate multiple phases, and […]
Share: On February 14, 2020, the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, made some law when it confirmed, apparently for the first time, that, under Illinois law, independent auditors do not owe a fiduciary duty to their clients. See Asian Human Services Family Health Center, Inc. v. James Wong, 2020 IL App (1st) 191049. While the […]
Share: In ESP Global, LLC v. Northwest Community Hospital, the appellate court affirmed that the defendant, Northwest Community Hospital ("Northwest"), breached its contract implied in fact with the plaintiff, ESP Global, LLC ("ESP"). 2020 IL App (1st) 182023. On ESP’s cross-appeal, the court reviewed the exclusion of some of ESP’s damages testimony based on the […]
Share: Lawyers are almost always happy to accept a voluntary dismissal of claims against their client. However, such a dismissal can create a trap for the unwary. In particular, a tort defendant might lose the ability to bring contribution claims against others if the plaintiff later re-files the action. Fortunately, there are steps counsel can […]
Share:TDR partner John Fitzgerald was quoted in a news story by Law360 concerning Facebook’s $550 million settlement of class action litigation under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. As Fitzgerald explained in the Law360 article, “This settlement shows that BIPA not only has teeth, but that those teeth are extremely sharp.” See Allison Grande, BIPA Bares Its […]
Share: After months or years of litigation against multiple defendants, you’ve finally reached a settlement for your client with one of the defendants. But, despite the settlement with one defendant, your client or the remaining defendants want to continue to litigate the case. Drafting the settlement agreement with the settling defendant should be as easy […]
Share:Non-Competition Restrictive Covenant Ruled Enforceable On January 15, TDR obtained a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois for an automobile dealership against an ex-employee in a case involving allegations that the ex-employee misappropriated his former employer’s trade secrets and violated a non-compete agreement. The district court found that the employer’s non-competition restrictive […]