Practice News

A boy was injured in November 2008 after joy riding on top of an apartment elevator in Chicago. His mother sued for negligence on his behalf and also sought to recover medical expenses resulting from the injury. In September’s Illinois Bar Journal, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Janet Adams Brosnahan examines the case, which made it all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court, and explores the recovery of a minor’s injuries and the Illinois Health Care Services Lien Act. For example, does a health care services lien attach to a minor’s recovery in a personal injury action? Before the Illinois Supreme Court issued its opinion in the elevator case, the direction from the lower courts was anything but straightforward. 

Globalization, ease of travel, emerging markets, and greater mobility make it easier for people to work, live, marry, and establish homes in different parts of the world. When a marriage dissolves between spouses from different countries or when a couple resides in a foreign country, competing foreign jurisdictions can add complexity to an already messy situation, especially in child custody matters. The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction, a multilateral treaty currently ratified by 93 countries as of March 2016, provides an expeditious protocol for the return of a child unilaterally removed by a parent from one member country to another. 

There are few things litigators and judges dread more than a protracted discovery dispute. Given the angst discovery misconduct provokes, siccing the Illinois Supreme Court Rules on a culprit is understandable. But a measured response may be more prudent. Penalizing bad behavior with a default judgment is rarely necessary, even as a response to perjury or defiance of court orders. 

In September’s Illinois Bar Journal, appellate litigator Christopher Keleher examines discovery sanctions available for plaintiffs and defendants under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 219(c). There are good reasons the courts use default judgments against defendants and dismissals with prejudice against plaintiffs sparingly.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) Division of Real Estate (DRE) recently published the “Rights and Responsibilities of Association Board Members” to explain the legal responsibilities of condominium and common interest community property boards. 

The publication includes general information regarding governance documents, board structure, elections, general powers, meetings, surplus and deficit, special assessments, financial disclosures, insurance, records, and disclosure.