Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil cases 1010 Lake Shore Association v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and DG Enterprises v. Cornelius. and the criminal cases People v. Carter, People v. Schweihs, People v. Thompson and People v. Espinoza.

CIVIL

1010 Lake Shore Association v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company

By Karen Kies DeGrand, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC

A condominium association won summary judgment in a lawsuit it brought against a bank in a fight over whether the bank had extinguished the association’s lien rights following purchase of the unit at a judicial foreclosure sale. Interpreting two statutes, section 9(g)(3) of the Condominium Property Act and section 15-1509(c) of the Mortgage Foreclosure Law, the Illinois Supreme Court determined that a lien for unpaid assessments by a previous owner is not fully extinguished at a judicial foreclosure and sale unless the new owner “confirms the extinguishment” of the lien by paying assessments incurred after the sale. The lien is statutorily created upon a unit owner’s failure to pay common expenses when due. Even assuming that the condominium association was included as a party to the prior foreclosure action, the bank still was required to take the additional step to confirm the extinguishment by paying post sale assessments.  

The Illinois Supreme Court has adopted a new rule to protect against identity theft and the disclosure of personal information in cases before the state's reviewing courts.

During its November Term, the Supreme Court approved Rule 364. It will take effect July 1, 2016, and affect all documents and exhibits filed by paper or electronically in criminal and civil cases before the Illinois Appellate and Supreme courts.

Looking for a short term opportunity to give back to the legal profession?
Or looking for help launching your legal career?

Enroll in ISBA’s 2016 Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program by December 18!

Hear what some of our 2015 participants have to say about the program:

Daniel Saeedi, Taft Stettinius and Hollister LLP, was admitted to the Illinois bar in 2008 and served as a mentor this year for Madeleine R.L. Goldfarb, a newly admitted attorney working at CinnamonMueller in Chicago. Daniel says the best thing he experienced being a mentor is satisfaction in helping new attorneys make contacts, identify marketing opportunities, find short cuts and time savers to practice more efficiently, and deal with whatever challenge they are facing at the time. He likes the one year length of the program because the new attorney will encounter a variety of issues over the course of the year and he is there to be a resource as those new issues arise.

Child custody cases often involve the use of a guardian ad litem (GAL), a child representative, an attorney for the child, or some combination of the three. However, the way these important participants are used varies dramatically from circuit court to circuit court.

The ISBA's Family Law Section Council's Committee on Representing Children wants to start a statewide dialogue on how attorneys are used to represent children. Marilyn Longwell and Treva O'Neill describe this effort in the September 2015 ISBA Family Law newsletter ("We need a statewide dialogue on the use of attorneys appointed to represent children," at http://bit.ly/1MKN7Pl).

Longwell and O'Neill recognize that economic and other factors may prevent creating a uniform system across the circuits. The committee hopes to "form a consensus as to what are the best practices in using attorneys to represent children" and to "accommodate for economic and other factors which impinge on those practices." Find out more in the December Illinois Bar Journal.

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Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am the owner of a solo practice family law firm in Jackson, Mississippi. I have been in practice four years. I have been approached by a senior solo attorney that has a well established family law practice that generates $800,000 annually and is looking to sell his practice. We envision a merger where I would make an initial payment upon merging my firm with his and then buyout his interest over a five-year period. We have agreed on a fixed price for his ownership interest. However, we are not sure how to handle compensation. He wants to continue to work for another five to seven years. We would appreciate your thoughts.

Attorney Morris Lane Harvey discusses temporary relief in family law cases.

Chief Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit Kenneth Deihl is pleased to announce that Springfield attorney Jennifer M. Ascher has been appointed as Associate Judge and will be assigned to Sangamon County. Ms. Ascher was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the impending retirement of Associate Judge Steven H. Nardulli. Ms. Ascher will take her oath of office and start on January 11, 2016.

Commenting on the selection, Chief Judge Kenneth Deihl states, “Ms. Ascher is a talented and respected family attorney. Her extensive trial practice and professional demeanor makes her well suited for judicial office. We look forward to her service in our justice system.”

Ms. Jennifer Ascher received her undergraduate degree in 1999 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Juris Doctor in 2003 from Saint Louis University School of Law. She is currently a partner at Sorling Northrup, where she has practiced family law nearly exclusively for the past twelve years. During her tenure, she represented clients in Sangamon County and surrounding counties. She is a Springfield native where she resides with her family.

Ms. Ascher previously served as president of the Central Illinois Women’s Bar Association and the Sangamon County Bar Association.

Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am the managing partner of a 27 lawyer insurance defense firm in Orlando, Florida. In the last seven years we have grown from 10 lawyers to 27. Our firm is very dependent upon a handful of insurance companies and we are looking at ways to diversify our practice. Our rapid growth has caused us to outgrow our management structure. A few years ago we hired our first firm administrator to manage the business operations of the firm. We are now considering establishing a business development/marketing position to help focus our business development efforts. I would appreciate your thoughts.