Illinois Appellate Lawyer Blog

March 11, 2008

First District Illinois Appellate Court Defines Standards Of Review For Motion For New Trial And For Judgment Notwithstanding Verdict

Heather Addis sued Exelon for retaliatory discharge. Unhappy with the jury’s defense verdict, Addis moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial. After those motions were denied, Addis appealed.

The First District Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the two issues had different standards of review on appeal. A motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict is reviewed de novo. A motion for a new trial, the court stated, is reviewed for a clear abuse of discretion. In this case, Addis’s appellate brief argued only for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Even though she appealed from the order denying her motion for a new trial, her failure to argue that position in her appellate brief resulted in waiver of her new trial position.

This opinion muddies the “abuse of discretion” standard by defining it with “manifest weight” language. The court stated: “In determining whether the trial court abused its discretion, we consider whether the jury’s verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence.” So which is it − abuse of discretion or manifest weight?

March 7, 2008

First District Illinois Appellate Court States Standard Of Review For Class Certification

by Steven R. Merican

Affirming certification of a class of plaintiffs who allegedly were overcharged by a moving company, the First District Illinois Court of Appeals stated the standard of review for class certification: “‘The trial court has broad discretion to determine whether a proposed class satisfies the requirements for class certification and should err in favor of maintaining class [certifications].’ … ‘The trial court’s certification of a class will be disturbed only upon a clear abuse of discretion or an application of impermissible legal criteria.’”

The court described “abuse of discretion” (“arbitrary, fanciful, or unreasonable, or when no reasonable person would take the same view”), but did not state whether “clear abuse of discretion” called for anything more.

Get the whole opinion, Ramirez v. Midway Moving and Storage, Inc., No. 1-07-0997 (12/11/07), by clicking here.

March 5, 2008

Illinois Supreme Court Rules De Novo Standard Of Review Applies To Permissive Review Of Conflict Of Law Question

by Steven R. Merican

Michelle Townsend brought a product liability case Sears Roebuck on behalf of her minor son Jacob. Jacob was badly injured when he was run over by a lawn tractor operated in his yard. Sears allegedly designed and manufactured the tractor.

The accident happened in Michigan, where Michelle and Jacob resided. But Sears was domiciled in Illinois and made certain design and marketing decisions in Illinois. The parties fought over whether Illinois or Michigan law applied.

The trial court ruled that Illinois law applied. Pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 308, the trial court certified the question of the proper choice of law for immediate interlocutory appeal. The appellate court accepted the appeal, and affirmed the decision to apply Illinois law.

March 4, 2008

For A Really Good Time With Appellate Lawyers In DuPage County, Illinois . . .

by Steven R. Merican

Attend the DuPage County Bar Association Appellate Law and Practice Committee Luncheon Seminar on March 31, 2008, Noon to 2:00 p.m. (Full Disclosure: I chair this committee.) The luncheon will feature: A Blue Ribbon Panel On Illinois Appellate Advocacy.

There will be an excellent group of speakers:

• Judge William J. Bauer, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, speaking on, “Preserving the Record for Appeal”

February 28, 2008

Fifth District Illinois Appellate Court Looks At Waiver, Ex Parte Communication, And Trial Judge Misconduct. First District Appellate Court Reviews Completeness Of Appellate Record

by Steven R. Merican

A couple of quick hits today.

In a medical malpractice case, the Fifth District Illinois Appellate Court had this to say about the waiver rule: “’It is well established that both an objection at trial and a written post[ ]trial motion raising the issue are necessary to preserve an alleged error for review.’ … ‘Application of the waiver rule, however, is less rigid where the basis for the objection is the trial judge’s conduct.’”

In the same case, the court addressed the propriety of plaintiff’s ex parte communication with the trial judge. Ruling there was no reversible error, the appellate court stated: “In the present case … a reversal is unnecessary because there is no suggestion of bias or prejudice on the part of the trial judge, i.e., there is no suggestion that there was any outside influence or that the case was decided on any basis other than the evidence presented in the case. Accordingly, there was no appearance of impropriety. We therefore conclude that, under the circumstances of this case, any error committed by the trial court by conducting this brief ex parte communication was harmless.”

February 24, 2008

Employer’s Failure To Sufficiently Raise Position In Trial Court Results Waiver On Appeal

by Steven R. Merican

In a lawsuit in Missouri, Cambridge Engineering got an injunction against a former employee from engaging in sales-related activity for his new employer, Mercury Partners. Cambridge then sued Mercury in Illinois for tortious interference with contract.

The trial court (1) entered judgment notwithstanding the verdict against Mercury and (2) directed a verdict in favor of Mercury on Cambridge’s claim for punitive damages.

Cambridge appealed. One of the issues was whether a nonsolicitation clause in Cambridge’s contract with its former employee provided a ground for recovery. The First District Illinois Court of Appeals ruled that Cambridge waived the argument because it was not argued in the trial court.

February 21, 2008

No Forfeiture Of Appeal Where Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint Does Not Include Defendant-Appellees

by Steven R. Merican

Plaintiff was arrested for shoplifting at a Wal-Mart. After his arrest by the Forest Park Police, he committed suicide in his jail cell. His estate sued the police department and one of the police officers, as well as Wal-Mart and a number of its employees.

The police department and the officer were granted summary judgment. The estate then filed an amended complaint that did not include counts against the department or the officer. More motions ensued, resulting in summary judgment for the remaining defendants.

The estate then appealed the summary judgment granted to the police department and the officer. They in turn moved to dismiss the appeal, arguing that the estate forfeited the right to appeal because the amended complaint did not include them.

February 19, 2008

Fourth District Illinois Appellate Strikes Brief For Lack Of Citation To Record Or Authority

by Steven R. Merican

In Crull v. Sriratana, the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court serves a sobering reminder that all arguments must be supported by record citations and legal authority. In Crull, a medical malpractice case, the appellate court struck plaintiff’s reply brief for lack of appropriate citations.

Rejecting plaintiff’s Joycian stream of consciousness style, the court stated:

The rules of procedure concerning appellate briefs are not mere suggestions, and it is within this court’s discretion to strike the plaintiff’s brief for failing to comply with Supreme Court Rule 341 … Rule 341(j) , which authorizes an appellant to file a reply brief, provides as follows: “The reply brief, if any, shall be confined strictly to replying to arguments presented in the brief of appellee and need contain only [a]rgument.” 210 Ill.2d R. 341(j). Rule 341(h)(7) requires appellants to give reasons for their contentions “with citation of the authorities and the pages of the record relied on.” 210 Ill.2d R. 341(h)(7). This court has stated that “[s]trict adherence to the requirement of citing relevant pages of the record is necessary to expedite and facilitate the administration of justice.” … A contention that is supported by some argument but no authority does not meet the requirements of Rule 341 and is considered forfeited.

February 14, 2008

Special Representative Gets Bonus Time To Appeal

by Steven R. Merican

LeRoy Voga sued his son, Lyle, to collect on a defaulted promissory note. After LeRoy got a judgment, Lyle’s former wife, Teresa, , intervened to quiet title to real property she had been awarded in her divorce proceeding with Lyle, seeking to prevent LeRoy from levyng on the property.

Teresa was granted summary judgment. Soon after, LeRoy died. Before a special representative for the estate was named, LeRoy’s attorney moved to vacate the summary judgment. After a special representative was appointed, the trial court denied the motion to vacate.

The special representative, Larry, appealed the summary judgment. Teresa moved to dismiss the appeal. She asserted that the motion to vacate the summary judgment was a nullity and therefore did not toll the time to file the Notice of Appeal. Without the tolling period, Teresa argued, the Notice of Appeal was late and did not confer appellate jurisdiction.

February 11, 2008

Illinois Supreme Court To Review IRMO Gutman. Is Civil Contempt Petition A Separate Claim From Underlying Divorce Case?

by Steven R. Merican

I mentioned IRMO Gutman in my January 3, 2008 entry regarding IRMO Knoerr. In IRMO Knoerr, the Second District Illinois Appellate Court overruled IRMO Gutman, which was only two months old at the time. On January 30, 2008, the Illinois Supreme Court announced it will review IRMO Gutman.

In IRMO Gutman, the Second District ruled that a pending civil contempt petition was a “separate claim” from the underlying divorce lawsuit. As a result, the divorce matters could be appealed while the contempt proceeding was pending without benefit of a Rule 304(a) order (trial court may allow appeal of final order of fewer than all claims). In IRMO Knoerr, another panel of the Second District ruled just the opposite and overruled IRMO Gutman.

Here’s to hoping the Illinois Supreme Court will settle the matter. I’ll keep you informed.