If the total amount of the liens does exceed 40%, the individual liens may not exceed 20% of the settlement or award and the institutional liens may not exceed 20% of the settlement or award. Reallocation of the unused amount within the aggregate total amount of 40% may be used to satisfy as much of the liens as possible.
If the liens exceed 40%, then the attorney's lien may not exceed 30% of the settlement or award at trial. If the case is appealed, this limitation does not apply.
This Act also gives the injured person in a pending court action the right to examine his or her medical records. Failure to provide this information after written request voids any lien that is claimed under this Act.
If the settlement or award is to be paid over time by means of an annuity or otherwise, any lien under this Act must be satisfied by the party obligated to compensate the injured person to the fullest extent permitted under this Act before establishment of the annuity or other extended payment mechanism.
This Act takes effect on July 1, 2003, but any lien validly created under current law for the eight lien statutes for health care providers are enforceable under those statutes as they existed on June 30, 2003.
Mortgage Certificate of Release Act. House Bill 2550 allows title insurance companies to file certificates of release after notice to the lender and an opportunity to object or cure. It applies to mortgages and mortgage liens on 1-4 family residential real estate if the loan principal is less than $500,000.
It adds a definition of a "hold harmless letter" that a title insurance company provides to another title company that has previously insured the property.
It replaces the current 90-day notice in which the title insurer is required to provide the lender before filing a certificate of release with language allowing the title company to file releases if it has the lender's written payoff statement and allows a title company to rely on a hold-harmless letter from another title company that has insured the property as evidence that the mortgage(s) appearing in the chain of title have been paid off or insured.
House Bill 2550 further provides that the title company may file a certificate of release only if it does not have notice that the lender opposes the filing and subjects the title company to actual damages, attorney fees, and costs to the lender for an erroneous filing. Effective date of Dec. 31, 2003.
Editor
Doors that open also close
When is a door not a door? What school kid doesn't know the answer to that one. A door is not a door when it's "ajar," of course. Come to think about it, when certain doors are not all the way open, they can seem more like barriers than portals.
That is the picture, justice-wise, we discerned last month on a trip to Oregon, where all the courthouse doors in the state have been shut tight every Friday since March and will remain so by Supreme Court order, at least through the end of June.
Things looked rosy two years ago in Oregon, where the state motto is "Alis volat Propriis" (She flies with her own wings). But since July 2001, as jobs evaporated and tax revenues plunged, a two-year $416 million budget had come up $50 million short by the first of this year.
So in addition to battening down the courthouse hatches on Fridays, the processing of small claims cases and certain misdemeanors was suspended, more than 100 court employees were laid off, and lawyers could not be hired to represent indigents.
As reported in the National Law Journal (May 19), arrested car thieves, prostitutes, trespassers and shoplifters are being set free to continue plying their trades because there is no money to process paperwork or pay for defense attorneys.
The doorways to justice in Illinois remain precariously ajar, but things could become worse. Chief Justice Mary Ann McMorrow asked the legislature for a mere maintenance budget of $327 million, an increase of $28 million from the current fiscal year.
Keep in mind that Oregon, with a population of 3.5 million, provides about $208 million a year for state courts in 2001, while Illinois, with 12.5 million residents, eked out only $298 million for our court system in 2002. You do the math.
The allocation for the entire state-funded portion of the Illinois court system amounts to about six-tenths of one percent of the total state budget for 2003-04.
The legislature did come through last month with a trifling $4 million hike for the judiciary, including the cost-of-living salary increment that was withheld last time around. But the governor appears bent on whacking that by amendatory veto.
Probably on the slashing room floor are funds for the circuit and associate judgeships that have been authorized, or for implementation of a daunting subcircuit scheme for Lake, McHenry and Will Counties, or for such frivolities as court reporters and probation and detention services.
Already, Chief Judge Timothy Evans has told the bar that because of attrition, court reporters will no longer be available in Cook County courts where their presence is not mandated by statute or rule. Hire your own court reporter, that means, if your client can afford it.
And as reported previously, downstate circuits have been running out of funds to pay jurors. That prompted 99 percent of participants in the ISBA Future of the Courts Conference last year to urge a fully state-funded trial court system to ensure that every Illinoisan can receive equal justice.
Chiseled into the stone facade of one of the stately judicial buildings in downtown Portland, Ore., is this reminder from Dr. Martin Luther King: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
The injustice of the stinginess imposed on the Illinois judiciary by the legislative and executive branches is indeed a threat to justice. The courthouse doors are still ajar, but the light inside glimmers more like dusk than dawn.
Filing fee hikes hamper justice, too
The half-baked concept of funding the courts by taxing the litigants is yet another threat to justice. Imagine if only the people whose homes were on fire had to pay for maintaining a community fire department.
The previous Illinois General Assembly permitted counties of more than 500,000 to increase court filing fees (Cook, DuPage, Lake and Will). This year, House Bill 269 has granted that tempting largesse to every county board, thanks to the handiwork of the circuit clerks association.
Once again, the hardest hit are the least able to pay, particularly the thousands of indigents being helped by dedicated pro bono attorneys and legal assistance agencies. Of our Future of the Courts conferees, 82 percent said courts should not be funded by fees and fines.
Here's some good news. The finance and budget committee in Kane County, where officials had lobbied for the legislated increases, decided last month that boosting the filing fees might not be such a good idea. "We don't want to gouge the public just because we can," said one county board member.
Hallelujah and a hearty huzzah for the Kane crew. But if your county is among the other 90-plus that may be considering the fee hikes, let 'em know they're limiting justice for a good many voters.
June 19-22 127th Annual Meeting; The Abbey on Lake Geneva, Fontana, Wis.
Thursday, June 26, 12 noon Young Lawyers Division brown-bag luncheon program with County Division Judges Robert Bertucci and Nathaniel Howse; Chicago Regional Office.
Thursday, July 17, 12 noon ISBA Senior Counsellors recognition luncheon; Standard Club.
Friday, July 18, 9 a.m. Board of Governors meeting, followed by annual board alumni dinner; RitzCarlton Hotel, Chicago.
Friday, Sept. 19, 9 a.m. Board of Governors meeting; Olympia Fields Country Club.
Friday, October 17 Board of Governors meeting; American Club, Kohler, Wis.
Friday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m. Illinois Bar Foundation Gala dinner dance, auctions and award presentation to Jerold Solovy; Four Seasons Hotel, Chicago.
Friday, Nov. 7 Midyear Meeting, consisting of Assembly meeting, joint luncheon with the Illinois Judges Association, and annual Supreme Court dinner; Sheraton Chicago Hotel (adjourned meeting continues Nov. 8-15 at Disney's BoardWalk Inn, Orlando, Fla.)
Friday, Nov. 21 Lawyers' Assistance Program annual dinner.
Friday, Dec. 5, 6-10 p.m. Young Lawyers Division holiday benefit reception for Children's Assistance Program; Joe's Sports Bar.
Friday-Saturday, March 5-6 High School Mock Trial Championship; University of Illinois, Springfield.
Judges' military service won't result in pay cuts
Illinois judges who are called to military duty will not lose full compensation or benefits during the first 30 days of service. After 30 days, they will receive only the difference between their judicial salaries and base military pay.
The Illinois Supreme Court recently amended Rule 76 to increase the allowable period of compensable military service for judges to 12 months from 30 days in a one-year period or six months in a two-year period.
Justice Rita B. Garman recommended the rule change after receiving a request for a waiver from 11th Circuit Associate Judge Robert L. Freitag, who had expected to be called to duty in February.
Judge Ronald D. Spears of the 4th Circuit, chair of the ISBA Committee on Military Affairs who served on the Board of Governors, noted that members of the reserves and National Guard usually are subject to service for two years.
See page 4 for a summary for judges of typical legal issues that involve military personnel.
Comings and goings
David E. Haracz, an attorney with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, has been appointed to fill a Cook County Circuit Court vacancy through Dec. 6, 2004. He succeeds Frank Orlando, who retired last year.
A 1989 graduate of the Hastings College of Law at the University of California-San Francisco, Haracz joined the LAF legal staff that year. He was a senior attorney from 1994 until 1997, when he became supervising attorney of a neighborhood office.
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Pontiac attorney Robert M. "Mick" Travers is a new associate judge in the 11th Circuit. He fills the vacancy of Randolph Spires, who died in February. A 1977 graduate of the Valparaiso University Law School, he has practiced with the Fellheimer Law Firm since then.
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Adrienne D. Mebane has been appointed chief of staff to Cook County State's Attorney Richard A. Devine. A lawyer since 1984 and former deputy general counsel for the Chicago Transit Authority, Mebane had 13 previous years of experience as a prosecutor.
She succeeds Anita Alvarez, who recently was appointed chief deputy state's attorney.
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Judge Lloyd A. Cueto of the 3rd Circuit has been appointed to the Illinois Courts Commission, effective July 2. Now an alternate commission member, he will replace retiring 8th Circuit Judge Robert L. Welch.
Cueto's position as an alternate will be filled by 11th Circuit Judge David L. Coogan.
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Associate Judge James W. Jerz of the 18th Circuit will retire when his term expires June 30. He has served since 1981.
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Woodford County assistant state's attorney Robert Smith has announced his plans to leave the office at the end of June after two and a half years of service. He is a former assistant Sangamon County state's attorney.
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Judges and lawyers in the 12th Circuit were sorry to learn of the death on May 20 of Jeff Beasley, a former carpenter who had been an investigator for the Will County public defender's office since 1974. He suffered a heart attack at age 54.
Cook County happenings
Changes in the assignments of 12 judges in Cook County took place June 3. Five of them have been transferred to the Law Division.
They are Ralph Reyna, from the Criminal Division; Jeffrey Lawrence and Brigid Mary McGrath, from Domestic Relations, and James P. McCarthy and John B. Grogan, from the 1st Municipal District Civil Trial Section.
Raul Vega and Samuel J. Betar III moved from the 1st Municipal District to Domestic Relations. Joining the Juvenile Justice Division are Arthur F. Hill Jr., from Traffic Court, and Anthony A. Iosco, from Domestic Violence.
Thaddeus S. Machnik went from Domestic Relations to 2nd Municipal, David Roti from 1st Municipal to 3rd Municipal, and Noreen Valeria Love from Traffic Court to 4th Municipal.
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Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans recently announced that official court reporters will be assigned only to courtrooms where verbatim transcripts are mandated by statute or court rule.
The change was required by the Supreme Court and Administrative office of the Illinois Courts because of the early retirement of court reporters.
Q: Is it proper to address Attorney General John Ashcroft as "General Ashcroft"?