Articles From 2004

Pleading and responding to affirmative defenses in Illinois state court By Justin Heather Civil Practice and Procedure, May 2004 This article offers a primer on drafting and responding to affirmative defenses in Illinois state court.
Please don’t step on my grave By John W. Damisch Mineral Law, March 2004 Editor's note: The editor is privileged to know and count as a friend the lawyer who won the trial and appeal in this case.
Please don’t step on my grave By John W. Damisch Agricultural Law, February 2004 As a boy, when we visited our ancestor's at the cemetery we believed that it was bad luck and bad manners to walk on someone's grave.
Political trademarks: Intellectual property in politics and government By Daniel Kegan Intellectual Property, October 2004 Confusion, deception, and mistake are generally unlawful in marketing campaigns. 14 USC § 1125 (a) [Lanham Act § 43(a)].
Postmortem QDROs-May benefits be divided after death? By William L. Scogland & Mark A. Berggen Employee Benefits, June 2004 Issues regarding the qualification of postmortem domestic relations orders ("DROs") continue to exist as a unified approach among the United States Circuit Courts of Appeals has yet to be made clear to benefit law practitioners.
Practical considerations in responsing to subpoenas and search warrants By Daniel M. Purdom Corporate Law Departments, July 2004 Veteran white collar criminal defense attorneys can provide a litany of horror stories in which seemingly inconsequential underlying conduct resulted in serious charges of obstruction of justice because of a poorly organized or supervised response to a subpoena or to the execution of a search warrant.
Practitioner resources By Michael O’Brien Alternative Dispute Resolution, December 2004 In his latest book, 25-year veteran of ADR, Bernard Mayer, takes a critical look at the field of mediation as a whole and explores where conflict resolution as a field is now and where it should or possibly could be.
Premises owner’s liability for third-party criminal acts in situations involving a voluntary undertaking to protect By Samuel A. Kavathas Tort Law, March 2004 Generally, a landowner does not have a legal duty to protect others from the criminal acts of third parties on its property, unless a "special relationship" exists.
Prescription drug price relief-Now By Walter J. Zukowski & James S. Peters Elder Law, March 2004 While American seniors await the full impact implementation of the new prescription drug benefit to Medicare, many Illinois residents can already enjoy a variety of means of reducing prescription drug costs.
Preventive law (Emerging alternative concepts and approaches to dispute resolution) By Sandra Crawford Women and the Law, February 2004 For years I have preached the concept of what I call "preventive law" to my small business clients.
A primer on caregiver stress for the elder law practitioner By Charles LeFebvre Elder Law, June 2004 Most practitioners realize that the elder law practice is not so much assisting clients and their families with the legal affairs associated with aging-the typical definition.
A primer on mineral interests in Illinois real estate By Joe Kusmierczak Mineral Law, June 2004 The legal definition of "mineral" is broader than its scientific definition.
Product review: Citrix Metaframe XP By Trent L. Bush Legal Technology, Standing Committee on, September 2004 If your firm is like mine, you tend to procrastinate when it comes to making technology-related decisions.
Professionalism and the practice of law as a trial lawyer By Mart R. Vogel Bench and Bar, May 2004 Back in 1990, shortly after I had finally retired from the active practice of law, I was asked to give a lecture to the students at the University of North Dakota Law School.
Profile of Jorge Montes By Andrew Fox Racial and Ethnic Minorities and the Law, November 2004 This story is about building the future. Since law school, Jorge Montes has been attracted to the ISBA.
Proposed Agricultural Law Section Council mission statement Agricultural Law, February 2004 The Scope and Correlation Committee of the Illinois State Bar Association has asked each section to develop a mission statement to define ways to provide more relevant and useful services to section members.
Public utility condemnation review By Boyd J. Springer & Sue A. Schultz Energy, Utilities, Telecommunications, and Transportation, June 2004 Members of the Section are likely aware that the Illinois Commerce Commission ("ICC") exercises broad authority under the Illinois Public Utilities Act ("PUA") (220 ILCS 5/1-101 et. seg.) over the rates and activities of investor-owned public utilities.
The Public Works Contract Change Order Act: The creation of the re-bid requirement By Michael T. Jurusik Local Government Law, June 2004 To address the problem of bidders who submit unreasonably low bids to secure public works contracts and then seek large change orders that are more reflective of the actual cost of the project, on January 22, 2004, Governor Rod Blagojevich signed House Bill 940 into law as Public Act 93-0656, which is known as the "Public Works Contract Change Order Act." 50 ILCS 525/1 et seq. ("the Act").
Punitive damages: The current unsettled state of constitutional limitations on the permissible ratio of punitive damages to actual damages By Joseph G. Bisceglia & David W. Austin Civil Practice and Procedure, March 2004 In the past decade, the United States Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized the existence of constitutional limitations on the amount of punitive damages awards that may be exacted from unsuccessful defendants.
QDRO processing costs can be allocated to individual accounts By Michael Todd Scott Employee Benefits, June 2004 On May 19, 2003, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2003-3 to address the allocation of certain defined contribution plan expenses among participant accounts.
QDRO processing costs can be allocated to individual accounts By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, January 2004 On May 19, 2003, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2003-3 to address the allocation of certain defined contribution plan expenses among participant accounts.
Query: The Fiduciary Shield Doctrine. Have the exceptions swallowed the rule? By John B. Kinkaid Civil Practice and Procedure, November 2004 This sometimes obscure but very important rule implemented to protect employees of foreign corporations doing business in Illinois from the improper exercise of our court's jurisdiction has been with us since 1959.
Real estate transactions and bulk sales requirements By Ted M. Niemann & Melinda S. Madison Real Estate Law, September 2004 Bulk sales laws are designed to eliminate fraud in certain credit transactions.
Real property tax advantages of a Class L (Landmark) designation By Karen Dimond State and Local Taxation, June 2004 Under the Cook County Real Assessment Classification Ordinance, non-residential property that has been designated a landmark building or a contributing building in a historic or landmark district may be eligible for a "Class L" designation.
Recap of 2004 guidance on Health Savings Accounts By Jennifer Walton Employee Benefits, December 2004 Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created in the Medicare bill signed on December 8, 2002 by President Bush and outlined in his State of the Union speech.
Recent antitrust decisions January 2004 United States v. Visa U.S.A., Inc., 344 F.3d 229 (2d Cir. 2003): Defendants Visa, U.S.A., Inc., VISA International Corp. and MasterCard International Inc., appealed the District Court's finding that their "exclusivity plans" violated section 1 of the Sherman Act. Visa, U.S.A. and MasterCard, each a joint venture of numerous banks, had membership rules that allowed their members to offer both Visa and MasterCards, but prohibited the members from offering any other competing charge or credit card.
Recent cases Workers’ Compensation Law, September 2004 Litchfield Healthcare Center v. The Industrial Commission, 349 Ill.App.3d 486, 812 N.E.2d 401, 285 Ill.Dec. 581, involved an employee who was a certified nursing assis Litchfield tant.
Recent cases By Thomas M. Moran & James J. Ahern Traffic Laws and Courts, April 2004 A police officer has authority to stop a vehicle when the driver remains at a standstill for 20 seconds after the traffic control signal turns green. In People v. Kelly, No. #2-02-0274, ___ Ill.App.3d ___, 802 N.E.2d 850, 280 Ill.Dec. 599 (2d Dist. 2003), after the officer observed the defendant's vehicle remain stopped at an intersection for approximately 20 seconds after the light turned green.
Recent cases relating to upcharges of fees for mortgage loans as violative of RESPA By Michael S. Seneca Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, February 2004 In pertinent part, section 8 of Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), 12 U.S.C. §12-2607, provides:
Recent decision By Terry Shafer Administrative Law, March 2004 Address for service of summons to Defendant's designated agent in administrative proceeding may be sufficient in a subsequent appeal to the court where timely filed, Defendant had actual notice, no prejudice was suffered and good faith was found.