Subject Index Law Pulse

Appellate court OKs race-based custody decision

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
October
2006
LawPulse
, Page 518
Trial courts may use the race of parent and child as a factor in determining custody, the second district rules. 

Can you probate a copy of a lost original will?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
October
2006
LawPulse
, Page 518
Yes, a seasoned practitioner says. Here's how. 

Does attorney-client privilege shield a witness’ contemporaneous personal notes?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
October
2006
LawPulse
, Page 518
Probably not, according to the second district's reasoning in a recent case. 

Strict compliance versus “substantial justice”

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
October
2006
LawPulse
, Page 518
In deciding whether to give a party extra time to respond to a request to admit, can a court consider the other party's failure to comply with another rule? The first district says "yes." 

Employer sues ex-employee under computer fraud law for deleting data - and wins

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
September
2006
LawPulse
, Page 458
A company used civil provisions of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act against a departing employee who irrevocably deleted business information from his laptop.

Illinois supremes: legal malpractice plaintiffs can’t recover lost punitives

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
September
2006
LawPulse
, Page 458
Successful legal malpractice plaintiffs may not recover punitive damages they would have once but for the defendant lawyers' malpractice, the high court ruled earlier this summer.

Legislature overturns one-year limit on family-law fee suits

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
September
2006
LawPulse
, Page 458
    Family law practitioners now have 10 years to sue clients in an independent action for unpaid fees. 

POA amendments help protect incapacitated principals

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
September
2006
LawPulse
, Page 458
The new law empowers the Department of Aging and its provider agencies to go to court to require agents to produce their records, which will help authorities identify and stop abuse.

Supreme court to streetside restaurants: keep patrons out of harm’s way

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
September
2006
LawPulse
, Page 458
In Marshall v Burger King, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that public businesses abutting the street have a duty to protect invitees from dangerous drivers.

Bill would amend Open Meetings Act to address attendance by “electronic means”

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
August
2006
LawPulse
, Page 398
Proposed legislation would allow public officials to attend meetings electronically under specified circumstances. 

POA perils

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
August
2006
LawPulse
, Page 398
The supreme court's opinion in In re Winthrop is valuable reading for attorneys who sometimes find themselves preparing a power of attorney for Party A at the behest of Party B. 

State can’t dun surviving spouse’s estate for nursing home bill

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
August
2006
LawPulse
, Page 398
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the state can't seek reimbursement for long-term care from a surviving spouse's estate, making the revocable living trust an even more attractive estate-planning tool. 

Supreme court to rule on putative father registry

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
August
2006
LawPulse
, Page 398
Some say the registry protects adoptive parents and children from belated, unwelcome interest by a biological dad. Others say it unfairly cuts a birth father out of his child's life. 
   

When the doctor is the patient - and a med-mal defendant

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
August
2006
LawPulse
, Page 398
Should a defendant-doctor's medical records be available to a plaintiff who alleges that the doctor's poor health caused him to deliver substandard care?

Appellate malpractice plaintiffs must prove they would have won the appeal

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
July
2006
LawPulse
, Page 338
In a suit alleging an attorney's failure to perfect an appeal, the client must prove that he or she would have won the appeal had it been properly perfected. 

Attorney title agents must disclose agency

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
July
2006
LawPulse
, Page 338
In real estate transactions, be sure to apprise clients when you also serve as an agent to the title company. In fact, you might want to do so in writing at the outset. 

Employers’ liability for employees’ loose tongues

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
July
2006
LawPulse
, Page 338
The Illinois Supreme Court will review an appellate court's ruling that a hospital employee has a "continuing off-shift duty" to keep confidential information about patients confidential. 

Insureds must give reasonable notice of claims or suits to insurers

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
July
2006
LawPulse
, Page 338
The supreme court holds that insurers may refuse to indemnify insureds who don't give timely notice of a claim, even if the insurer isn't prejudiced by the delay. 

The limited lockstep doctrine

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
July
2006
LawPulse
, Page 338
In a dog-sniff case, the Illinois Supreme Court wrote that it will interpret state constitutional provisions more expansively than their federal counterparts only under limited circumstances. 

Background checks for jurors?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
June
2006
LawPulse
, Page 278
A federal judge and some state's attorneys offer their varying viewpoints about how far to go to determine whether prospective jurors are coming clean. 

The General Assembly rewrites eminent domain law

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
June
2006
LawPulse
, Page 278
The bill, now on the governor's desk, specifies that property can be condemned only for a "qualified public use." 

Separate but equal grooming standards okayed

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
June
2006
LawPulse
, Page 278
Requiring female but not male bartenders to wear makeup does not violate Title VII, the ninth circuit rules. 

Unmarried couples: custodial parent can’t remove child without petitioning court

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
June
2006
LawPulse
, Page 278
The Illinois Supreme Court says the same removal standard applies to parents who never married as to those who married and divorced. 

What’s crude talk among Friends?

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
June
2006
LawPulse
, Page 278
Sexually charged talk in the workplace doesn't always equal sexual harassment, the California Supreme Court says. 

Blogging and legal ethics

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
May
2006
LawPulse
, Page 222
Go forth and blog, experts say, but not without educating yourself about relevant ethical issues. 

Grandparents, others can petition for guardianship of minors

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
May
2006
LawPulse
, Page 222
But only if the parent is found unfit, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in In re R.L.S.

A higher bar for landlords in eviction cases

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
May
2006
LawPulse
, Page 222
A new ruling from the first district makes it harder for landlords to use constructive service as a basis for evicting nonpaying tenants. 

MCLE for judges

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
May
2006
LawPulse
, Page 222
Judges, too, are on the hook for mandatory CLE, the Illinois Supreme Court announced last month. 

Playing the Rule 68 card

By Helen W. Gunnarsson
May
2006
LawPulse
, Page 222
FRCP 68 can encourage settlement, but it also confronts counsel for plaintiffs and defendants with some high-stakes challenges. 

Section of the Illinois Election Code is unconstitutional

May
2006
Illinois Law Update
, Page 230
On March 6, 2006, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, and affirmed the decision of the Circuit Court of Cook County, holding unconstitutional section 7A-1 of the Illinois Election Code (10 ILCS 5/7A-1).

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