Helpful Articles

Does Garden-Variety Employee Owe Fiduciary Duties of Loyalty to Employer?

I’m going to answer with a (soft) “yes.”  Its a soft yes because the duty owed by a “regular”, non-officer employee is more limited than that owed by a corporate officer.  There also aren’t many published Illinois cases that discuss an employee’s duties to his erstwhile employer. By contrast, cases are legion that catalog, in painstaking detail, the manifold duties owed by corporate officers to their corporate employers.  The case law is replete with mult...

What is the Cost of a Liquor License in Chicago?

I get this question all of the time.  The answer depends on a lot of things. For example, an applicant may qualify for one type of license, but not another. Similarly, certain licenses may be appropriate for one applicant, but not another. So, your individual circumstances can dictate how much the City will charge you. Here's the current City of Chicago pricing list. The fee is due with the application and is nonrefundable. If the application is approved, the license fee is good for two y...

What you should know about insurance company surveillance and your workers' compensation claim.

It is well known that workers' compensation and liability carriers take drastic measures to mitigate claims costs. Often times, their mitigation strategy will come in the form of an Independent Medical Examination (IME) where an insurance carrier’s doctor will render an expert opinion as to causality of an injured worker’s medical condition in an attempt to suspend benefits or reduce damages. Under certain circumstances, however, insurance companies will employ more invasive measures....

Driverless Cars and Your Legal Rights

They are all over the news. They have already hit the road. The big tech giants from Apple to Google to Uber have invested heavily in their use. Driverless cars are here to stay. What's more, the companies investing in these technologies have also developed and tested driverless freights trucks. The downside to this exciting technology rests in its potential for accidents. A handful of driverless car accidents have already been reported in California. So, this begs the question: What...

Vacating A Money Judgment in Illinois: When and How to Do It (Section 2-1301 and 2-1401 Motions)

Code Sections 2-1301 and 2-1401 (735 ILCS 5/2-1301, 735 ILCS 5/2-1401) govern motions to vacate judgments in Illinois.  Section 2-1301 applies where you’re trying to vacate a final judgment within 30 days of its entry (i.e. if judgment entered on April 15, 2014, you have through May 16, 2014 to move to vacate it under 2-1301).  Section 2-1401 covers attempts to vacate judgments that are more than 30 days but less than two years old (judgments entered from between 31-7...

Recovering Loss of Earning Capacity Damages When the Plaintiff Is Self-Employed

The plaintiff in Keiser-Long v. Owens, 2015 IL App (4th) 140612, a self-employed cattle buyer, sued for injuries she suffered in a car accident with the defendant.  The defendant admitted negligence and the parties went to trial on damages. The defendant successfully moved for a directed verdict on plaintiff’s attempt to recover for lost earning capacity at trial and the Plaintiff appealed. Reversing, the Fourth District appeals court expanded on the potential damages a perso...

Installment Contracts and the Statute of Limitations Defense in Illinois: From When Is the Time of Breach Measured

The statute of limitations defense and the equitable doctrine of laches are firmly-entrenched legal devices aimed at fostering finality in litigation.  The limitations and laches defenses both look to the length of time a plaintiff took to file suit and strive to balance a plaintiff’s right to have his claim heard on the merits with a defendant’s competing right to timely defend a lawsuit. The inherent tension between the goals advanced by the l...

Michael Keaton Beats Breach of Contract Suit Based On Box Office Bust

“The ultimate badass introduction. Say this upon meeting someone tough and they’ll never mess with you.” That’s how no less an authority than Urban Dictionary (who said I wasn’t high-brow?!!) describes “I’m Batman!” – a film-defining movie line that seems to have been catapulted into cultural idiom status. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I’m+Batman) Not sure if Michael Keaton unveiled this quiver-inducing Statement as a breach of contract defense but t...

Economic Loss Rule Equals Severe Reduction in Damages in Breach of Contract Action Versus Furniture Maker - 7th Circuit

http://paulporvaznik.com/economic-loss-rule-requires-reversal-of-2-7m-damage-verdict-in-furniture-makers-lawsuit-7th-circuit/9845...

Tenant Can Recover Attorney Fees in Successful Counterclaim Under Chicago Landlord-Tenant Ordinance

http://paulporvaznik.com/chicago-tenant-can-recover-attorneys-fees-in-successful-counterclaim-under-city-landlord-tenant-ordinance-first-dist-rules/9830...

Foreign Evidence in U.S. Product Liability Law

International Manufacturers Beware Foreign Evidence in U.S. Product Liability Law By Christopher T. Miller and William Seth Howard   In this global economy manufacturers are compelled to produce many alternative product lines, including one intended to comply with American laws and safety standards and others intended to comply with foreign laws and standards.  Recently, plaintiffs in the United States have attempted to use foreign standards or foreign prod...

Illinois Court Requires That Corporate Parties be Represented by Legal Counsel at all Administrative Hearings

On March 31, 2014, the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, ruled in Stone Street Partners, LLC v. City of Chicago, 2014 IL App (1st) 123654, that corporate parties involved in administrative hearings must be represented by legal counsel. In its ruling, the court held that an appearance by a non-attorney on behalf of a corporate entity at an administrative housing hearing was null and void because the individual was not an attorney. The court explained its reasoning stating �...

OSHA Expands Reporting Requirements

OSHA recently passed a new rule expanding injury reporting requirements starting January 1, 2015. Under the current rule, employers are required to report to OSHA all fatalities and all incidents resulting in the in-patient hospitalization of three or more employees within eight hours. Under the new rule, employers are required to report to OSHA all fatalities within eight hours and all in-patient hospitalizations, loss of an eye, or amputations within twenty-four hours, even if o...

Construction Legal Updates: Mechanics Lien Act, Administrative Hearings, and Tort Immunity Exception for Outside Safety Consultants

Amendment to the Mechanics Lien Act In February of 2014, Senate Bill 3023 was introduced, providing that any contractual agreement requiring a contractor or subcontractor to subordinate its mechanics lien rights was against public policy and unenforceable. Before the bill was introduced, subordination provisions in construction contracts were generally allowed between the owner and the general contractor, but were only allowed between the general contractor and downstream subcont...

Criminal OSHA Charges Brought Against Operations Director and Safety Manager

On October 11, 2013, an employee at a Bumble Bee Foods plant in California entered a large oven used to sterilize cans to make an adjustment inside the oven. While the employee was in the oven, another employee, who assumed that there was no one in the oven, turned the oven on, resulting in the death of the employee in the oven. Following the incident, California OSHA (similar to federal OSHA) cited Bumble Bee Foods for six separate violations, nearly all relating to confined spa...