2013 Articles

Correspondence from Our Readers

October
2013
Column
, Page 494
More on recorders and red-flagging; Bankruptcy and divorce.

Correspondence from Our Readers

September
2013
Column
, Page 442
Recorders and red-flagging.

Correspondence from Our Readers

August
2013
Column
, Page 382
Facebook and divorce; appellate tips.

Correspondence from Our Readers

June
2013
Column
, Page 274
Mobile technology - bringing the courts on board.

Correspondence from Our Readers

May
2013
Column
, Page 218
Law school debt report underscores what "attorneys experience every day"; Small-estate affidavits and the SOS.

Correspondence from Our Readers

April
2013
Column
, Page 116
Riding the DIY wave.

County recorders can investigate fraud, bill provides

By Adam W. Lasker
July
2013
LawPulse
, Page 330
The controversial bill would empower recorders to red-flag deeds and other documents that appear fraudulent. Wary real estate practitioners have a wait-and-see attitude.

Court applies traveling employee exception to workers’ compensation claim

February
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 72
On December 6, 2012, the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, held that a contractor could reasonably foresee that an employee would stay at a motel close to a job site when their home was 200 miles away, and thus the employee's injury while traveling from the motel to the worksite arose in the course of his employment for workers' comp purposes.

Court clarifies pleading requirements under Consumer Fraud Act

February
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 72
On November 20, 2012, the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, determined that a defendant's intent to induce reliance by a consumer is a necessary element to proving a section 2 claim under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act ("Consumer Fraud Act"), regardless of whether the defendant's action was a misrepresentation or omission of material fact.

Court clarifies standards for confirmation of levy sales

April
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 176
On January 22, 2013, the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, held that a levy sale of an undivided half-interest in a single-family home for $120,000 less than its appraised value was not unconscionable or unjust.

Court rejects assignment of claim against insolvent insurer

July
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 336
On April 16, 2013, the first district appellate court held that the insured of an insolvent insurer could not recover any proceeds from its insurance policies above the amount paid to an injured party in a settlement agreement.

Courthouse couture: Jefferson County’s dress code

By Adam W. Lasker
October
2013
LawPulse
, Page 498
Have business at the Jefferson County courthouse? Don't show up wearing your muscle shirt or see-through top.
2 comments (Most recent October 1, 2013)

Credit-card privacy case leads to the High Court

By Adam W. Lasker
January
2013
LawPulse
, Page 10
A team of Chicago lawyers lost part of their high-profile federal case. But they had a Supremely memorable experience nonetheless.

Current version of family law overhaul bill gets mixed reviews

By Adam W. Lasker
September
2013
LawPulse
, Page 446
A proposed major rewrite of Illinois' 35-year-old Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act has some ISBA matrimonial lawyers feeling encouraged and others concerned.
1 comment (Most recent August 28, 2013)

Custodial parent entitled to percentage of lump-sum workers’ compensation settlement as child support

August
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 392
Howard Mayfield ("Mayfield") and Shannon Dykes ("Dykes") divorced in 2003. Dykes received primary custody of their two children, and Mayfield was ordered to pay $158.50 per week in child support.

DCFS cannot define “neglect” with language removed by the legislature

June
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 284
On March 21, 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court and held that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services ("DCFS") did not have authority to charge someone with an offense that defined "neglect" using language that had previously been deleted by the legislature in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act ("ANCPA").

Debtor’s life insurance policy is exempt personal property if its proceeds are directed to a trust for the benefit of a husband, wife, or dependent. PA 097-1030

January
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by extending a debtor's exempt personal property to include some life insurance policies, endowment policies, and annuities if the proceeds are directed into a particular kind of trust. 735 ILCS 5/12-1001.

Decisions, Decisions: Helping Clients Choose the Right Business Entity

By Sherwin D. Abrams
October
2013
Article
, Page 530
Should your client organize as a corporation? An LLP? An LLLP? An L3C? This back-to-basics article identifies the entities and the factors to consider when choosing among them.

Defense attorneys challenge gun-possession convictions after high court ruling

By Adam W. Lasker
November
2013
LawPulse
, Page 554
In Aguilar, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned a law prohibiting gun possession outside the home. Criminal-defense attorneys are seeking to undo convictions based on the statute.

Definitely Maybe: Understanding Expert Testimony on Causation

By Eugene G. Doherty
October
2013
Article
, Page 518
An expert can testify with "reasonable certainty" that the defendant's negligence "might" have caused the plaintiff's injury. Lawyers should understand the difference between these concepts.

Department of Aging to participate in electronic data-sharing agreements among public service departments. PA 098-0008

August
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 392
The Department of Aging will now have the power to share and request information about income, identification, and other applicable program and service eligibility information electronically through the use of data-sharing agreements with the Social Security Administration, the Department of Employment Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, and "any other governmental entity." 20 ILCS 105/4.01.

Department of Natural Resources may ban individuals from its land. PA 097-1011

February
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 72
The Department of Natural Resources (Conservation) Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois now provides for the removal and/or ban of individuals from Department-owned or dedicated lands. 20 ILCS 805/805-518 new.

Despite 7CA ruling, Illinois judges not dismissing concealed-carry cases

By Adam W. Lasker
March
2013
LawPulse
, Page 118
According to a lawyer monitoring such cases, local judges are unlikely to stop enforcing the ban until this summer, the state's deadline for enacting a law that passes Second Amendment muster.
1 comment (Most recent March 3, 2013)

Developments in the Duty to Preserve Evidence

By Professor Jeffrey A. Parness
March
2013
Column
, Page 152
Two recent cases shed light on spoliation claims in Illinois.

Dinosaurs and Jury Trials: Adaptation or Extinction?

By Hon. Ron Spears
May
2013
Column
, Page 264
Trial by jury remains a key underpinning of our justice system.

Discretionary bonus accrued during marriage but issued after dissolution of marriage is not marital property

November
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 560
On August 16, 2013, the First District Appellate Court held that a nonvested discretionary bonus accrued during a marriage, but received after entry of a judgment of dissolution of the marriage, was not marital property.

Divorce Without Discovery: A New Landmine in Marital Litigation

By Reuben A. Bernick
May
2013
Article
, Page 238
A recent case holds that if you don't conduct formal discovery in your divorce case, you may lose the right to reopen the judgment after it's entered, even to seek assets that weren't disclosed.

Divorcing spouses must share the cost of attorney fees - even fees already paid

By Adam W. Lasker
November
2013
LawPulse
, Page 554
The Illinois Supreme Court holds that a financially strapped divorcing wife can require her husband's lawyer to turn over already-paid fees to help finance her own legal expenses.
3 comments (Most recent October 31, 2013)

E-Filing Gets the Green Light

By Maria Kantzavelos
January
2013
Cover Story
, Page 20
Are you ready for service by e-mail? Filing at 11:59 p.m.? The electronic record as official court record? Effective January 1, the Illinois Supreme Court has taken a big, 21st-Century step toward making e-filing the norm and not the exception.
1 comment (Most recent January 2, 2013)

Early voting at public universities

October
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 504
Election authorities must now conduct early public voting on campuses of public universities in "high traffic" locations in addition to conducting early voting at other locations required by law. 10 ILCS 5/1-12.