2004 Articles

Allocation of fault to third parties-Does it include an employer? The legislature checks the supreme court By James T. Ferrini January 2004 In 1997 the Illinois Supreme Court held unconstitutional the vast majority of the tort reform legislation passed by the then Republican-led Illinois legislature.

De novo review of underinsurance arbitration awards By Michael J. Marovich May 2004 Victims of automobile accidents often face defendants who lack the resources or the insurance coverage to pay a fully compensatory award of damages.

Does a lending institution have a duty to a potential guarantor of a promissory note to advise him that his future business partners are financially shaky and may not repay the loan? By John B. Kincaid February 2004 In a recent case which must have sent shudders through the banking community, the First District Appellate Court held that such conduct is actionable.

E-Filing has come to DuPage County By James F. McCluskey November 2004 Effective November 15, 2004, by issuance of Order number M.R. 18368, the Illinois Supreme Court has approved the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court as a site for the initial implementation of an electronic filing pilot project.

Edited surveillance videotape of plaintiff ruled inadmissible By Michael J. Marovich October 2004 It is often a plaintiff attorney's nightmare to learn that the defendant or his insurance carrier has videotaped the plaintiff and has caught him or her doing activities that they claimed they were not capable of doing.

Electronic case filing in the Central District of Illinois By Michael P. McCuskey October 2004 The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois implemented its new automated Case Management/Electronic Case Filing system (CM/ECF) on September 1, 2004.

Illinois paves the way with new “providing alcohol or drugs to minors” legislation By Michael J. Marovich December 2004 On two separate occasions in the past nine years, the Illinois Supreme Court has been called to address the issue of social host liability for serving of alcoholic beverages to minors.

The Illinois Supreme Court should promulgate an “offer of settlement or judgment” rule By Paul E. Freehling December 2004 My premise in this article is that, for most civil litigation, settlement is preferable to a trial. Obviously, if the claims are not justiciable, the complaint should be dismissed.

More on vehicular damage as evidence of injury- Motions in limine: Are they relevant and material? By Patrick M. Kinnally January 2004 Motions in limine are a wonderful wrench in a litigator's toolbox. But they should not be permitted to deprive a fact finder from looking at a picture that is fundamental to understanding what the dispute is about. They have become overused.

Opening statement By John M. Stalmack October 2004 Illinois Supreme Court Rule 235 governs the opening statement.1 As soon as the jury is impaneled, the attorney for the plaintiff may make an opening statement.

Paramedics and the extent of statutory immunity: Through the looking glass By Ronald A. Roth March 2004 In Antonacci v. City of Chicago, 335 Ill.App.3d 22 (1st Dist. 2002), the First District discussed the extent of statutory immunity in considering whether a failure by paramedics to defibrillate a heart attack victim and the failure to perform an EKG to determine whether he needed to be defibrillated constituted a failure to properly treat a myocardial infarction, a failure to properly diagnose a myocardial infarction or a failure to properly examine a patient with a myocardial infarction.

Personal Jurisdiction.com: How much “interactivity” is enough? By Kris R. Murphy December 2004 Is a company which maintains Internet web pages which are accessible in Illinois, but has few or no other contacts with the State, "transacting business" in Illinois such that an Illinois court could properly exercise personal jurisdiction over it?

Plaintiffs are entitled to submit entire amount of billed medical expenses without any reduction for discounts their health insurance carrier received By Michael J. Marovich February 2004 Recently there has been a flurry of activity by defense attorneys to attempt to limit the damages submitted by the plaintiff to the jury regarding the amount of the plaintiff's medical bills.

Pleading and responding to affirmative defenses in Illinois state court By Justin Heather May 2004 This article offers a primer on drafting and responding to affirmative defenses in Illinois state court.

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 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.

Query: The Fiduciary Shield Doctrine. Have the exceptions swallowed the rule? By John B. Kinkaid 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.

Some deadlines really are final By Daniel T. Gillespie May 2004 As Justice Smith wrote in this unanimous In re Estate of Lucy J. Kunsch opinion, "Rule 216 is not a suggestion, but rather a rule that must be strictly obeyed and enforced." Some deadlines must be met. Some final dates really are final.

Strategic use of vehicular damage evidence in personal injury litigation: An update By Michael J. Marovich January 2004 In the November 2002 Trial Briefs publication, I wrote an article regarding the strategic use of vehicular damage evidence in personal injury litigation.

Supreme Court Rule 216 offers a potential method to recover the expense of an evidence deposition after the Vicencio decision By Michael J. Marovich November 2004 In preparing for trial, I have seen plaintiff's attorneys send to defense counsel requests to admit facts that seek admissions regarding the causal connection of medical treatment and the reasonableness of the medical bills in an effort to avoid the expense of taking evidence depositions of doctors or medical records personnel.