Travelers Casualty & Surety sued the Bowmans for payment on performance bonds. The Bowmans raised statute of limitations defenses, but one of the statutes was not raised in the trial court. Nonetheless, that defense was fully briefed and argued to the appellate court. When the case reached the Illinois Supreme…
Courtney McNiff sued Mazda Motor of America under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. After they settled the dispute, Courtney’s lawyers, who had a contingency fee agreement with Courtney, petitioned the court for an award of attorney fees. Based on the lawyers’ time reports, the trial court awarded fees that were in…
The Illinois Environmental Agency awarded a pollution discharge license to U.S. Steel Corporation. American Bottom Conservancy filed an objection to the award to the Illinois Pollution Control Board. American Bottom objected because the Agency did not hold a public hearing concerning the issuance of the license. The Illinois Pollution Control…
The Illinois Constitutional Convention Referendum Case has been resolved – for the moment. An Illinois appellate court affirmed the trial court’s remedy for the “downright misleading” and unconstitutional ballot: hand out a flyer to voters telling them to disregard the referendum “Explanation” and “Notice” that are printed right on the…
The Illinois constitutional convention referendum is at a legal and electoral crossroad this week. The integrity of the referendum process, which is mandated by the Illinois Constitution, is at stake. Voters need speedy decisions if their constitutional right to a referendum free from underhanded politics is to be respected. The…
Voters in Illinois will have a referendum at the November 2008 election on whether to hold a constitutional convention. The referendum, which comes up automatically every 20 years, is required by the Illinois Constitution. Several days ago, the Illinois Secretary of State published a copy of the referendum ballot that…
Stephen Wartalski, a pipefitter, was injured while doing construction work at a Panera restaurant. He claimed that a glass shield over a temporary lighting fixture broke, exposing him to ultraviolet radiation. The radiation, he said, caused facial contractions and traumatic dystonia. Wartalski sued the construction contractors for negligence, and a…
Wabash Environmental Technologies, a limited liability company, was convicted of violating the Clean Water Act. The company was ordered to pay restitution and was placed on probation. After Wabash failed to make payments under the original restitution order, the company agreed to another payment schedule with the government. The case…
Tyson Foods moved for summary judgment in a class-action lawsuit. Tyson argued that the claims against it were preempted by federal law. The summary judgment motion was denied, and Tyson appealed. Ordinarily, the denial of a summary judgment motion is not appealable because it is not a final judgment. But…
Diana Holland, who owned real property in Florida, filed her Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Illinois. She asserted that Florida law exempted the Florida property from the bankruptcy. The bankruptcy trustee argued that Illinois law applied, and that it did not exempt the Florida property. The bankruptcy court ruled that Illinois…