OPINION JUSTICE KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The overarching issue in this appeal is whether the circuit court of Cook County erred in dismissing plaintiffs' refiled legal malpractice action as barred by res judicata. The appellate court held that it did. 2011 IL App (1st) 102646. We allowed defendants' petition for leave to appeal. Ill. S. Ct. R. 315 (eff. Feb. 26, 2010). Because the defendants, as the parties seeking to invoke the doctrine of res...
OPINION JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This appeal arises from a class action lawsuit filed in 2000 by plaintiff Gazi Mashal against defendants, the City of Chicago and various City officials in their official capacity. The class was certified in 2002, but was decertified in 2008, when the circuit court of Cook County determined that a partial summary judgment order entered in 2005 resolved the overriding legal issue, thereby destroying the commonality...
OPINION JUSTICE GARMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Defendants appeal from a circuit court of Cook County order that granted plaintiffs' motion to compel the production of certain documents containing privileged attorney-client communications. 1 Defendants refused to comply with the court's order to compel production of documents and were found in contempt. Defendants appealed pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 304(b)(5) (eff. Feb. 26, 2010). The appellate court...
OPINION Justice FREEMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiff, Dominic Choate, brought a personal injury action in the circuit court of Cook County against defendants, Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Company (IHB), the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad Company (B & OCT), and CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSX). A jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff. The appellate court affirmed. 2011 IL App (1st) 100209, 352 Ill.Dec. 677 , 954 N.E.2d 760 . We allowed...
OPINION JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiffs Paul Carr and Ron Newell brought a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that the Illinois education funding system set forth in section 18-8.05 of the School Code (105 ILCS 5/18-8.05 (West 2010)) (hereinafter the education funding statute) violates the equal protection clause of the Illinois constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, 2). Named as defendants were Dr. Christopher Koch, State...
OPINION JUSTICE THEIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 In these consolidated appeals, we are asked to clarify the quantum and scope of evidence needed to establish probable cause in a postcommitment discharge or conditional release proceeding pursuant to the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act (725 ILCS 207/1 et seq. (West 2008)). In both cases, the trial court found a lack of probable cause and dismissed the individual petitions for discharge or conditional...
OPINION JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiff, Rush University Medical Center, filed a three-count complaint against defendants, the trustees of two trusts that were created by Robert W. Sessions. Plaintiff sought payment of $1.5 million from the trusts based on a philanthropic pledge that Sessions had made to plaintiff before he died. The third count of the complaint was based on the common law rule that a self-settled spendthrift trust is void as to...
OPINION JUSTICE THEIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This case comes before us on certification from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. See Ill. S. Ct. R. 20 (eff. August 1, 1992). That court asked us to determine "whether municipalities may require electronic intermediaries to collect and remit amusement taxes on resold tickets." Our answer is no. 2 BACKGROUND 3 In 1923, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Ticket Scalping Act, which...
OPINION Justice FREEMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The issue in this case is whether appellate jurisdiction exists to consider a challenge to an order issued during the pendency of a mortgage foreclosure action. Because appellate jurisdiction does not exist, we dismiss the appeal. 2 Background 3 In 2005, defendant Barbara Kemp mortgaged property at 1240 Hamilton Lane in Naperville to Maribella Mortgage, LLC, to secure payment of a note from Maribella....
OPINION Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The overarching issue in this appeal is whether the circuit court of Cook County erred in dismissing plaintiffs' refiled legal malpractice action as barred by res judicata. The appellate court held that it did. 2011 IL App (1st) 102646, 353 Ill.Dec. 696 , 956 N.E.2d 558 . We allowed defendants' petition for leave to appeal. Ill. S.Ct. R. 315 (eff. Feb. 26, 2010). Because the defendants, as the parties seeking...
OPINION Justice THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This appeal arises from a class action lawsuit filed in 2000 by plaintiff Gazi Mashal against defendants, the City of Chicago and various City officials in their official capacity. The class was certified in 2002, but was decertified in 2008, when the circuit court of Cook County determined that a partial summary judgment order entered in 2005 resolved the overriding legal issue, thereby destroying the commonality...
OPINION Justice BURKE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 In this case, we must determine whether a complaint for administrative review filed by a corporation's president, on behalf of the corporation, is a nullity because the president is not an attorney. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the complaints are not void. 2 BACKGROUND 3 Between December 2007 and March 2008, the City of Chicago's department of transportation issued plaintiff, Downtown Disposal...
OPINION Justice GARMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Defendants appeal from a circuit court of Cook County order that granted plaintiffs' motion to compel the production of certain documents containing privileged attorney-client communications. 1 Defendants refused to comply with the court's order to compel production of documents and were found in contempt. Defendants appealed pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 304(b)(5) (eff. Feb. 26, 2010). The appellate court...
OPINION Justice THEIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 In these consolidated appeals, we are asked to clarify the quantum and scope of evidence needed to establish probable cause in a postcommitment discharge or conditional release proceeding pursuant to the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act (725 ILCS 207/1 et seq. (West 2008)). In both cases, the trial court found a lack of probable cause and dismissed the individual petitions for discharge or conditional...
OPINION Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The issue presented in this appeal is whether a two-year contractual limitation on claim arbitration in an auto insurance policy violates Illinois public policy where an Illinois insured was involved in an accident in Wisconsin with an uninsured motorist and that state has a three-year statute of limitations on the commencement of suit for injuries resulting from the accident. In the course of a declaratory...
OPINION Justice BURKE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This appeal involves the duty owed by a defendant in a claim for negligent spoliation of evidence. At issue is whether defendant, Keeley & Sons, Inc. (Keeley), a general contractor, had a duty to preserve a concrete I-beam which was involved in an accident resulting in injuries to several employees. The circuit court of St. Clair County entered an order granting summary judgment for Keeley, finding that Keeley had no...
OPINION Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The circuit court of Cook County certified the following question for interlocutory appeal pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 308 (Ill. S.Ct. R. 308 (eff. Feb. 26, 2010)): "Does an unnatural accumulation of snow and ice constitute the `existence of a condition of any public property' as this expression is used in Section 3-106 of the Tort Immunity Act " The appellate court answered this question in the negative. 2011...
OPINION Justice GARMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 On July 6, 2009, plaintiffs Shahid R. Khan, his wife, Ann C. Khan, and various of their business entities filed a multicount complaint in the circuit court of Champaign County against defendants for losses incurred in connection with a series of investment strategies entered into in 1999 and 2000, a primary purpose of which was to create artificial tax losses for plaintiffs. Instead, the Internal Revenue Service (...
OPINION JUSTICE KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 P.B.S. One, Inc., National Material L.P. and N.M. Holding, Inc., appeal from a judgment of the appellate court which reversed an order granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiff, Dorothy Pielet, and against them on certain counts of her fifth amended complaint alleging breach of contract and successor liability, but rejected their contention that summary judgment should have been entered in their favor as to...
OPINION Justice THEIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This case comes before us on certification from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. See Ill. S.Ct. R. 20 (eff. August 1, 1992). That court asked us to determine "whether municipalities may require electronic intermediaries to collect and remit amusement taxes on resold tickets." Our answer is no. 2 BACKGROUND 3 In 1923, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Ticket Scalping Act, which...
