Howard Agins died of cancer. His estate sued his doctor for failure to evaluate, diagnose, and treat the condition. During trial, the circuit court ruled the Estate waived its right to bar certain of the doctor’s testimony under the Illinois Dead Man’s Act, which ordinarily would prohibit the doctor from…
A construction contractor sued a homeowner for labor and materials used in remodeling work. The homeowner defended by claiming the contractor did not comply with the Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act: there was not a signed contract; the contractor did not give the homeowner the required consumer-rights brochure. Those…
Back from the DL. Let’s catch up. Answering a question of first impression, the Illinois Supreme Court established the standard of review “on the question of whether a provision in a trust document or will is void as a matter of public policy.” The court ruled that a de novo…
Minimally esteemed author of illinoisappellatelawyerblog.com has been placed on the bloggers’ disabled list. He has been on the shelf since mid-February when a momentary lapse in coordination caused his left typing appendage to fail. Underwhelmed News Network was first to learn about the injury. Unable to feign a manly attitude,…
The Dunns sued Lawrence Patterson, their lawyer, claiming estate documents Patterson drafted contained certain provisions that were void because they were against public policy. After the Dunns won a declaratory judgment in the trial court, Patterson appealed. The Dunns argued that Patterson did not have standing to appeal the declaratory…
Marsha Dienstag sued her doctor, Lawrence Margolies, for medical malpractice. She claimed that Margolies did not timely diagnose her cancer. A jury agreed, and gave her a verdict for more than$5.9 million. Margolies had an “assignment and forbearance” contract with Dienstag. Dienstag agreed not to seek payment of the judgment…
Richard Henry, then 89 years old, signed a will in 2004 that overrode all of his previous wills and codicils. The 2004 will left a substantial part of Henry’s estate to Peter Wemple and Mick Zawierucha. Henry’s prior will did not. Wemple was named executor of the 2004 will; Zawierucha…
Rosa Neal was guardian of a disabled person’s estate. On behalf of her ward, Rosa contracted to sell the ward’s home to Damon Perry. Damon asked for, and received, approval from the probate court of the contract for sale of the property. The contract had a mortgage contingency clause. Damon…
Clara George Minch and Ronald George were divorced in 1982. In 2003, Clara learned that Ronald had sold his interest in a company that owned Florida real estate for more than $950,000. She sued George for fraud, asserting that during the divorce proceedings he misrepresented his interest in the stock.…
Mary Ann Aiello passed away with more than 29 months left in her term on the Winnebago, Illinois County Board. Theodore Biondo was appointed to fill the vacancy. By the time Biondo’s appointment went through there was less than 28 months left in Aiello’s term. Under the Illinois Election Code,…