The Marketplace Fairness Act would require remote sellers, including online businesses, with gross receipts over $1 million, to collect sales tax in qualifying states — even in states where a business has no physical presence. This case, Performance Marketing, Inc. v Brian Hamer (IL 114496), was brought to the Illinois Supreme Court prior to Congressional […]

We so often hear people talk about an attractive nuisance when referring to items in yards such as a swimming pool, but what does that mean? The doctrine of attractive nuisance refers to unenclosed pools, machinery or stacks of building materials that are simultaneously both a lure and a hidden danger to children. Natural conditions, […]

The Internet offers a wealth of opportunities to learn, shop, and locate friends while simultaneously posing an alarming array of potential threats and scams for the unwary. In May of this year, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on the case of Paula Bonhomme v. Janna St. James, 2012 IL 112393, deciding that the defendant’s misrepresentation […]

Starting July 1st 2012 Illinois jurors will be allowed to submit written questions for witnesses on the stand in civil trials. More than half the states, and all federal circuit courts, allow this practice; this rule, recently approved by the Illinois Supreme Court, offers another opportunity for jurors to actively participate in the trial. One […]

Up until very recently, Illinois was 1 of 14 states refusing to allow the use of cameras in courtroom for the purpose of recording court proceedings. But its hold out status changed last week after an announcement from the Illinois Supreme Court. The Court explained that it would test the waters and permit the use […]

Last year, Illinois lawmakers passed a comprehensive medical care reform bill that imposed a cap in medical malpractice cases. As explained at the PopTort, when that law was overturned as unconstitutional, a number of other beneficial medical malpractice regulatory laws that were included as part of the reform were scrapped as well due to a […]

The Illinois Supreme Court addressed an interesting issue earlier this month: whether the Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions on the standard of care for professional negligence correctly stated the law in Illinois. This issue was considered in Studt v. Sherman Health Systems, 2011 WL 2409897. In Studt, the plaintiff filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the […]

In May, the Illinois Supreme Court handed down its decision in Bell v. Hutsell, Docket No. 110724. In this case, at issue was whether the defendants were liable for the death of Daniel Bell, a young 18 year old man who had imbibed alcohol at the defendants’ house while attending a party held by the […]

In February 2010, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride voted, along with 3 other justices, to overturn an Illinois law that placed monetary caps on damages awarded in Illinois medical malpractice cases. Medical malpractice caps had been struck down in two prior Illinois Supreme Court decisions, as well. Justice Kilbride is up for reelection this […]

In Krywin v. Chicago Transit Authority, No. 108888, the Supreme Court of Illinois considered the issue of whether the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) was liable for a passenger’s injuries that occurred when she exited the train and slipped on snow and water that had accumulated on the train platform. The injured plaintiff alleged, in part, […]