OPINION JUSTICE STEIGMANN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 John O. Schumann (Pete) died in July 2013. In March 2014, Mary Ann Herren (otherwise known as Mary Ann Yoswig)—Pete's caretaker and holder of his power of attorney during the later years of his life—petitioned to probate a will Pete executed in October 2007, which appointed Herren as executrix and devised Pete's entire estate to be administered pursuant to a trust agreement. Hanna and Nathan Struever—the...
OPINION Justice HUDSON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Respondent, Springfield Coal Company, LLC, appeals from the judgment of the circuit court of Sangamon County, which confirmed in part and set aside in part the decision of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (Commission) awarding benefits to claimant, Thomas Hoff, pursuant to the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act (Act) (820 ILCS 310/1 et seq. (West 2008)). We find that the circuit court did not...
OPINION JUSTICE ZENOFF delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiffs, ManorCare Health Services, LLC, HCR Healthcare, LLC, and HCR ManorCare, Inc. (collectively referred to as ManorCare), filed an application with defendant, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board (the Board), for a certificate of need to construct a new nursing home facility in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Three local nursing homes opposed the application: defendants The Springs at...
OPINION JUSTICE HOLDER WHITE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 In April 2014, contemnors, Susan Turner and Karen L. Hudson, attended a jury trial involving concentrated animal feeding operations, an operation they opposed. During a lunch recess, an attorney for one of the parties informed the trial court that he learned contemnors were distributing material espousing the detriments of concentrated animal feeding operations to members of the gallery. The court did not...
OPINION Justice HOLDER WHITE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 In April 2014, contemnors, Susan Turner and Karen L. Hudson, attended a jury trial involving concentrated animal feeding operations, an operation they opposed. During a lunch recess, an attorney for one of the parties informed the trial court that he learned contemnors were distributing material espousing the detriments of concentrated animal feeding operations to members of the gallery. The court did not...
OPINION JUSTICE LAVIN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiffs Maria Morales and Maricela Sanchez were employees of Express Employment Professionals (Express), a temporary employment agency. On April 21, 2010, Express sent plaintiffs to work at Radio Flyer, Inc. (Radio), located at 6515 West Grand Avenue in Chicago. While Alberto Herrera, a supervisor at Radio, was driving plaintiffs from Radio's Chicago facility to its Elwood facility, a collision occurred....
OPINION Presiding Justice FITZGERALD SMITH delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This cause of action arises from a fire that occurred during an extensive renovation project, at Empress Casino Joliet (hereinafter the casino) on March 20, 2009. As a result of the fire, the casino, which is owned by the insured plaintiff, Empress Casino Joliet Corporation (hereinafter Empress), sustained extensive damages. Empress received $81,150,000 in insurance payments from three...
OPINION JUSTICE McDADE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Defendants, Michael and Jean Cielak (the Cielaks), appeal from a judgment of foreclosure. The Cielaks argue that the trial court erred in finding the mortgage valid, considering plaintiff OneWest Bank FSB's (OneWest) renewed motion to strike, and finding OneWest had standing to bring the foreclosure action. We affirm. 2 FACTS 3 On April 3, 2006, the Cielaks purchased a home in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The...
OPINION JUSTICE STEIGMANN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 John O. Schumann (Pete) died in July 2013. In March 2014, Mary Ann Herren (otherwise known as Mary Ann Yoswig)—Pete's caretaker and holder of his power of attorney during the later years of his life—petitioned to probate a will Pete executed in October 2007, which appointed Herren as executrix and devised Pete's entire estate to be administered pursuant to a trust agreement. Hanna and Nathan Struever—the...
OPINION Justice HUDSON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Respondent, Springfield Coal Company, LLC, appeals from the judgment of the circuit court of Sangamon County, which confirmed in part and set aside in part the decision of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (Commission) awarding benefits to claimant, Thomas Hoff, pursuant to the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act (Act) (820 ILCS 310/1 et seq. (West 2008)). We find that the circuit court did not...
OPINION JUSTICE ZENOFF delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiffs, ManorCare Health Services, LLC, HCR Healthcare, LLC, and HCR ManorCare, Inc. (collectively referred to as ManorCare), filed an application with defendant, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board (the Board), for a certificate of need to construct a new nursing home facility in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Three local nursing homes opposed the application: defendants The Springs at...
OPINION JUSTICE HARRIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Claimant, Joan Anderson, filed an application for adjustment of claim pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act (Act) (820 ILCS 305/1 to 30 (West 2008)), alleging she sustained injuries to her right hand and thumb and seeking benefits from the employer, Steak 'n Shake. Following a hearing, the arbitrator found that claimant sustained accidental injuries to her right hand that were causally related to her...
OPINION Justice McLAREN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiff, Marita Williams Salvi, as successor trustee of the Albert S. Salvi Family Trust (Trust), appeals the dismissal of her claims against defendant the Village of Lake Zurich (Village). Plaintiff's amended complaint alleged that the Village's renovation of a detention pond (Pond) near an office building (Building) on property (Property) owned by plaintiff caused the Pond to overflow during a heavy rain,...
OPINION2> JUSTICE McBRIDE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiff, Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company (Philadelphia), filed a four count declaratory judgment complaint against defendant, Pace Suburban Bus Service (Pace), in the circuit court with claims of equitable subrogation, equitable contribution, unjust enrichment, and "Assignment from Countryside of all rights against Pace" relating to a $1.5 million settlement it paid on behalf of Countryside...
OPINION Justice PUCINSKI delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This matter arises from claims by the plaintiff, Board of Managers of the 1120 Club Condominium Association (Board), that a condominium building developed and sold by defendant 1120 Club, LLC (LLC) and built by defendant Trapani Construction Company, Inc. (Trapani) suffered from a number of construction defects. In addition to being a direct defendant on the claims brought by the Board, Trapani was also a...
OPINION JUSTICE CATES delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 The plaintiffs, Danny Foster and Kathleen Foster, brought a multi-count, medical negligence complaint in the circuit court of Madison County against the defendants, Hillsboro Area Hospital, Inc., Laurel Kietzman, M.D., Arthur Sippo, M.D., Arthur C. Sippo, M.D., MPH, LLC, Brandon Wynn, D.O., Clinical Radiologists, S.C., Barbara Mulch, M.D., Springfield Clinic, LLP, and Illinois Emergency Physicians, LLP. All...
OPINION JUSTICE HOLDER WHITE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 In April 2014, contemnors, Susan Turner and Karen L. Hudson, attended a jury trial involving concentrated animal feeding operations, an operation they opposed. During a lunch recess, an attorney for one of the parties informed the trial court that he learned contemnors were distributing material espousing the detriments of concentrated animal feeding operations to members of the gallery. The court did...
OPINION PRESIDING JUSTICE GORDON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 This is a case of first impression concerning the application of the Petrillo doctrine to the unique facts of this case. Petrillo v. Syntex Laboratories, Inc., 148 Ill.App.3d 581 , 588 (1986). In this interlocutory appeal, 1 plaintiff claims that the trial court violated the Petrillo doctrine when it permitted ex parte communications between plaintiff's treating podiatrist and the defense...
OPINION JUSTICE ROCHFORD delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Plaintiff, Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company (GTL), appeals an order (1) granting defendant Platinum Supplemental Insurance Inc.'s (Platinum's) motion to compel arbitration of plaintiff's complaint against Platinum for breach of contract, rescission, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty; and (2) staying plaintiff's litigation against defendant Wayne A. Briggs (Platinum's president) for fraud, breach of...
OPINION JUSTICE LAVIN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. 1 Steven Atchley, a delivery employee of Home Juice Corp. (HJC), went to the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) to deliver two pallets of beverages. After backing his delivery truck into a dock space, he discovered that the dock leveler, which would raise the dock to the height of the truck bed and create a ramp, was inoperable. Unbeknownst to Steven, the leveler had been broken and inoperable for over...
