Illinois Lawyer Blog

The First District Appellate Court recently handed down an opinion precluding lawyers from signing Requests to Admit responses for their clients, even if the client can’t be found. In Brookbank v. Olson, counsel for the plaintiff, Lauren Brookbank, served Requests to Admit regarding the reasonableness of Ms. Brookbank’s medical bills on the defenda… Read More

According to a April 8, 2009 item in the Chicago Tribune, about 25,000 playpens made in China and imported by Simplicity Inc. and SFCA Inc. have been recalled. The playpen in question is known as the “Travel Tender Play Yard”[shown below]. The playpens are portable and feature a bassinet, along with a changing table. The specific defect involves a… Read More

Recently saw an interesting article about a multi-million dollar settlement resulting from devastating injuries suffered by a little boy at a Burger King restuarant in Southern California. Back in August of 2005, Jacob Buckett,[pictured below, before the incident] then only 8, accompanied his dad and younger sister to lunch at a Burger King in Temecula, Califo… Read More

Interesting decision, Johhnson v. Bishop, just came out of the Third Appellate District Court speaking to the issue of the duty owed by vehicle owners when ne’er-do-wells steal their cars. First, a brief rundown of the players. Robert Sonnemaker and David McLeod were roommates. Sonnemaker owned a Ford Taurus. Although not entirely clear, it appears that… Read More

A Chicago man will receive a $2.7 million settlement from the City of Chicago after being wrongfullly imprisoned for 27 years. In 1977, Paul Terry and Michael Evans[then both only 17] were prosecuted for the abduction, rape and murder of 9 year old child. They were both released in 2003 after DNA testing showed that the rape had been committed by someone else.… Read More

Wow, late winter cold kicked my ass. But thankfully on the mend… The current American Bar Association Journal has a great article entitled “Lions of the Trial Bar” which features interviews with some of the elder statesmen of the American Courtroom. One of the lawyers featured, Richard Racehorse Haynes, is legendary for persuading Texas jurie… Read More

On Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court upheld a multi-million dollar Vermont verdict, and in doing so preserved an important right for consumers – the right to sue drug manufacturers for injuries caused by defective drugs. The case that started it all began in Vermont in the year 2000, when Diana Levine[shown below] went to a clinic near her home… Read More

Settled a case the other day where my client was injured after falling on what appeared to be ice and snow near the entrance to a restuarant. If the injury had solely been caused by the presence of ice and snow, the client may have been out of luck. The fact that the owner had admitted allowed water and ice to accumulate near the only entrance door allowed me… Read More