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Excluding Evidence of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Filed against Experts Testifying in Medical Malpractice Cases

May 17, 2018

Are you considering retaining an expert, in a medical malpractice case, who has a history of medical malpractice suits being filed against him or her? Have you just deposed an expert in a medical malpractice case and learned that they have been previously sued for medical malpractice? In either situation, you will likely have to […]

This entry was posted in Illinois Law, Medical Malpractice and tagged on by .

Julieta Kosiba
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Expand the List of Hospital Apparent Agents? The Illinois Supreme Court Says Not So Fast

May 2, 2018

Illinois hospitals and the lawyers that represent them breathed a collective sigh of relief recently after the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the First District’s decision in Yarbrough v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital. 2017 IL 121367. Under traditional laws of agency, a principal can be held liable for the negligent acts of its agent under the doctrine […]

This entry was posted in Illinois Supreme Court, Medical Malpractice and tagged on by .

Dede Zupanci
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U.S. District Court Bars Expert Testimony from Staggs, Henry Anderson, and Kenneth Garza

April 25, 2018

Recently, after extensive oral arguments, HeplerBroom Partner Josh Schumacher convinced the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin to bar several Plaintiffs’ experts from offering specific causation or industrial hygiene opinions pursuant to Daubert v. Merrel. Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993) and its progeny. The Daubert hearing was conducted by United […]

This entry was posted in Toxic Tort and tagged , on by .

Joshua Schumacher
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Illinois Supreme Court has Opportunity to Clarify Fiduciary Duties Owed by Insurance Producers to Clients

April 18, 2018

It used to be in Illinois that an insurance broker could be sued for breach of fiduciary duty for just about any policy-related misdeed. See, e.g., Faulkner v. Gilmore, 251 Ill.App.3d 34 (3d Dist. 1993) (alleging breach of fiduciary duty for a broker’s failure to advise insureds to terminate their master surety agreement.) The fiduciary-duty […]

This entry was posted in Illinois Insurance Law, Illinois Supreme Court and tagged , on by .

Robert Elworth
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Distributor of Electrical Conduit Owes a Duty to Wife of Consumer

April 11, 2018

The Madison County Circuit Court recently held that a distributor has a duty of care/duty to warn a secondary exposure plaintiff in the matter of Iben v. A.W. Chesterton Company, et al.   In reaching this conclusion, the Court denied defendant Graybar Electric Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Iben is a wrongful-death claim arising from allegations […]

This entry was posted in Civil Litigation and tagged on by .

Kelly Libbra
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Illinois Appellate Court Permits Insured to Prove Terms of Missing Policies with Specimen Coverage Forms for the Missing Policy Periods

March 28, 2018

Environmental contamination lawsuits frequently involve polluting activities which took place decades ago – long before the advent of computers and before it was possible for businesses to store information in an electronic format. When these lawsuits arise and a claim is tendered to an insurance carrier for defense and indemnity, the parties often struggle to […]

This entry was posted in Environmental Law, Illinois Law, Insurance, Insurance Law and tagged , on by .

Bradley Zaffiri
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Updated HSR Merger Notification Thresholds: Threshold Tests for Federal Antitrust Review Kicked in 2.28.18

March 21, 2018

On January 29, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published increased reporting thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (HSR Act). The new thresholds increase last year’s thresholds by approximately 4%. The revised thresholds are effective for all transactions closing on or after February 28, 2018. The revised thresholds will remain in […]

This entry was posted in Antitrust, FTC and tagged , , on by .

Glenn Davis
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Self-Serving Pleadings for Additional Insureds

March 14, 2018

In a recent decision, the Illinois Appellate Court, Third District, considered what should and should not be considered by a trial court when making a determination on a motion to stay a declaratory judgment action on insurance coverage pending resolution of the underlying litigation. Pekin Insurance Company v. Johnson-Downs Construction, Inc., 2017 IL App (3d) […]

This entry was posted in Commercial Litigation, Illinois Law, Insurance Law and tagged , on by .

Zoe Gross
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Three Things Are Certain: Death, Taxes, and Tax Fraud. Be Prepared for Tax Scammers and Fraudulent Returns

March 8, 2018

Every year, as tax season arrives, new and increasingly diabolic scams to pilfer and misuse taxpayer information surface. In prior years, cyber fraudsters targeted unsuspecting individual taxpayers to trick them into revealing their personal information through direct telephone or email scams.  Major data breaches, such as Equifax, which is now known to have included millions […]

This entry was posted in Cybersecurity and tagged , , , , , on by .

Glenn Davis
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Punitive Damages Demand Alone Likely Insufficient to Trigger Independent Counsel

March 6, 2018

Illinois courts have long made clear that when a conflict of interest exists between an insured and its insurer, the insured is entitled to independent counsel of the insured’s own choosing and at the insurer’s reasonable expense. See Maryland Cas. Co. v. Peppers, 64 Ill.2d 187, 193 (1976). What is less clear, however, is when […]

This entry was posted in Civil Litigation, Illinois Law, Insurance, Insurance Law and tagged , on by .

Katie Jacobi
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