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Appellate Law

Illinois Appellate Lawyer Blog

Covers Appellate Advocacy, Constitutional Analysis, Cross-Appeal, Federal Appellate Rules, Illinois Supreme Court Rules, Interlocutory Appeals, and Podcasts.
By Steven R. Merican

Post Frequency: 4.1/day

Last Entry: March 27, 2011 at 19:59:51

Dismissal Of Original Complaint A Final Judgment That Must Be Appealed Upon Voluntary Dismissal of Amended Complaint

Posted on September 22, 2009
This case is more about res judicata appellate jurisdiction, but it teaches an important lesson about final and appealable orders. Jane Doe had a successful in vitro fertilization at a fertility clinic, the Center for Human Reproduction. Two things caused Jane and John (husband) to sue...

Trial Court Retains Jurisdiction After Appellate Remand To Firemen?s Board

Posted on September 11, 2009
Patricia Jelinek and Jamie O?Callaghan, both widowed spouses of firemen, disputed whether the Firemen?s Retirement Board awarded them the proper benefit. Their husbands died while they were receiving duty-related benefits for injuries they suffered as firemen...

Forum Non Conveniens Dismissal Not A Final Order; Appealable By Petition, Not Notice Of Appeal

Posted on September 07, 2009
Dennis and Kimberly Quaids? newborn twins were hospitalized at Cedars-Sanai Hospital in Los Angeles, California for a staph infection. The babies were given Heparin instead of Hep-Lock, as was prescribed by the physician. The Quaids settled a claim against the hospital before a lawsuit was filed...

Involuntary Commitment To Mental Health Center Moot; Illinois Supreme Court Reviews Mootness Exceptions

Posted on September 05, 2009
A trial court committed Alfred H.H. to the McFarland Mental Health Center in Illinois. Alfred appealed the commitment order. But he was discharged from McFarland while the appeal was pending, so the Illinois Appellate Court dismissed the appeal because it was moot...

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First District Illinois Appellate Court States Levels Of Appellate Review Of Punitive Damages Verdict

Posted on August 23, 2009
A group of townhome owners sued Carriageway Builders, the company that built the townhouse, and Carriageway?s owner, Wayne Johnson. Unfortunately, the foundation of the townhouse settled up to 10 inches, causing all sorts of damage to the building. A jury awarded the owners more than $1...

Pending Review Of Mother?s Finances Deprives Appellate Court Of Jurisdiction In Divorce Battle

Posted on August 18, 2009
Rosemary Mackin was unhappy with the trial court?s division of property and the denial of maintenance in her divorce case, so she appealed. The last order by the trial court disallowed child support, but set it ?for review after the expiration of 180 days for examination of the financial circumstances of [mother] and a determination by the Court at that time as to an appropriate amount of child support to be paid from that date forward by [mother] to [father] for the support of the parties' two minor children...

Pending Motion To Disqualify Attorney Deprives Appellate Court Of Jurisdiction To Consider Custody Order

Posted on August 16, 2009
Neringa Valkiunas and Jeffrey Olsen were in a protracted custody battle. Neringa first appealed from a custody modification order that made Jeffrey residential custodian. That first appeal was dismissed by the Second District Illinois Appellate Court because, when the appeal was filed, two civil contempt petitions were pending in the trial court...

Insurer?s Failure To Supplement Deficient Damages Evidence Not Invited Error

Posted on August 15, 2009
Michael Carey and James Fann owned a mixed-use building (residential and dental office) in Chicago, Illinois. The building was substantially damaged in a fire. Carey and Fann made a claim to their insurer, American Family Insurance, but the company denied coverage...

Summary Judgment On One Of Two Counts Final And Appealable As To Entire Complaint

Posted on August 13, 2009
When George Smith was a police officer in Chicago, he contributed to the Police Pension Fund. When Smith resigned from the police force, the Police Pension Fund refunded his $18,000 contribution. A few years later, Smith became a state court judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois...

Failure To Cite To Record Ruins Invited Error and Judicial Estoppel Defenses To Appeal

Posted on August 09, 2009
Gloria Sakellariadis had an automobile accident with Steven Campbell. Three months later Gloria was in another accident, that time with Bruce Walters. Gloria injured her neck, shoulders, and back in both accidents. There was one trial against both Campbell and Walters...

Order On Partial Fee Petition Not Appealable. Merits Panel Dismissal Trumps Motion Panel.

Posted on August 04, 2009
Michael Gagliardo died in a racing-car accident. Paulette (sister) and Margaret (wife) administered Michael?s estate. They hired Quinlan & Carroll to investigate whether the estate could sue for wrongful death. Paulette later hired Duane Morris, another law firm, to open an estate in court...

Trial Court Lacks Power To Allow Intervention After Appeal Is Filed

Posted on July 25, 2009
Leonard Kulisek went to Walgreen pharmacy intending to purchase allopurinol for his gout. The pharmacist gave Leonard a bottle marked ?allopurinol,? but it really contained glipizide, a diabetes medication that lowers blood sugar. Thinking he was taking allopurinol, Leonard ingested the glipizide...

Pending Appeal Deprives Trial Court Of Power To Reinstate Dismissed Case

Posted on July 22, 2009
Magdalena Wierzbicki claimed her doctors failed to make a proper diagnosis of her medical problem. So she sued Drs. Gleason and Danczkewycz for medical malpractice. The case was more than two and a half years old when she dismissed it voluntarily. A year later she re-filed it...

Illinois Supreme Court Refuses To Consider Forfeiture Argument Because Appellate Court Briefs Not In The Record

Posted on July 18, 2009
Michael Ready was killed at a work site when a wooden truss that was being rigged for scaffolding fell eight floors and struck him. Michael?s widow, Terry, as administrator of Michael?s estate, sued the contractor, BMW Constructors, and United/Goedecke Services, the scaffolding subcontractor...

No Appellate Jurisdiction In Environmental Clean-Up Case When Trial Court Still Must Decide Who Gets Insurance Proceeds

Posted on July 04, 2009
Kerr-McGee Chemical and Lefton Iron & Metal were fighting out a 15-year dispute over the cost of cleaning up an environmentally contaminated industrial site. The first time the case was in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the court ruled that Kerr-McGee was entitled to the clean-up costs from Lefton...

No Discretion For Bank?s Post-Trial Appeal Over Dishonored Cashier?s Check

Posted on June 27, 2009
MidAmerica Bank sued Charter One Bank for failing to honor a $50,000 cashier?s check purchased at Charter. The check was payable to Essential Technologies of Illinois. David Hernandez was president of Essential. Mary Christelle, David?s mother, purchased the cashier?s check with money from her account at Charter...

Chiropractor Waives Unjust Enrichment Claim For Failure To File Cross-Appeal

Posted on June 21, 2009
Richard Martis, a chiropractor, treated Water Management Corp.?s employee for an on-the-job injury. Water Management?s worker compensation insurer was Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company. Martis was not in Grinnell?s preferred provider network. He submitted his bill to Grinnell for the treating the employee...

Public Defender Cannot Appeal Partial Dismissal But Wins Certified Interlocutory Appeal

Posted on June 21, 2009
Edwin Burnette, the Public Defender of Cook County, sued Todd Stroger, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Burnette was angry because Stroger selected personnel in the Public Defender?s Office to be laid off and imposed unpaid furlough days on other employees in the office...

American Access Casualty Appeal Waived By Invited Error

Posted on June 15, 2009
Christine Siwek had an accident when she was driving Jerrold Erickson?s car. Christine told the Illinois Department of Transportation about the accident, and identified American Access Casualty Company as her insurer. American told the Department that Christine?s policy had been canceled...

Inmate?s Motion Attacking Void Judgment Tolls Time To Appeal

Posted on June 14, 2009
An inmate in a supermax prison sued prison officials in a mandamus action. The inmate sought an order preventing controlled feeding and requiring a nurse to attend to the inmate?s self-inflicted wounds outside of his cell. The prison officials asked for, and in July 2006 received, a dismissal of the complaint...

Paschen and Chicago Water Reclamation District Get Deferential Standard Of Review In Walsh?s Try To Prevent Bid Award

Posted on June 08, 2009
Walsh Construction Company and II In One Contractors formed a joint venture to bid on a contract being offered by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The Walsh joint venture bid on the contract, but did not sign the required D-3 sheet...

Plain Error Doctrine Prevents Waiver Of Appellate Argument Against Involuntary Administration Of Psychotropic Drugs

Posted on June 06, 2009
James S. appealed from a trial court order that allowed psychotropic drugs to be administered to James against his wishes. A basis of James?s appeal was that the order should be reversed because the circuit court did not state findings of fact to support emergency administration of psychotropic drugs, and therefore did not comply with the statutory requirement...

De Novo Standard Of Review For Judgment Based On Contract Construction

Posted on May 21, 2009
Jeffrey Covinsky was CEO of Hannah Marine Corporation. He sued the company after it refused to pay him pursuant to a ?golden parachute? clause in his employment contract. In turn, Hannah counterclaimed against Covinsky for breach of fiduciary duty. The trial court gave Covinsky summary judgment on his claim...

Re-Opening Estate Decided Under Manifest Weight Standard

Posted on May 15, 2009
Kathleen Savio?s death in 2003 first was ruled by the coroner to be an accident. But after her body was exhumed and additional autopsies conducted in 2007, the coroner ruled that Kathleen?s death likely was a homicide. Kathleen?s father and siblings then asked the court to reopen Kathleen?s estate, to have the executor removed, and to name the father and one of the siblings as new executors...

Attorney Sanctions In Seventh Circuit Compared

Posted on May 06, 2009
For a statistical comparison among the federal appellate courts of sanctions orders against attorneys, take a peek at the Fall 2008 edition of the Seventh Circuit Review. The analysis concludes: ?The Seventh Circuit issued the fourth-most sanctions overall and issued the most serious sanctions...

Rules After Remand; Jurisdiction Over Fee Petition After Appeal Notice Is Filed

Posted on May 05, 2009
Two important rulings arise from this landlord-tenant dispute. After remand from the appellate court ? which did not include instructions for how to proceed ? the tenant asked the trial court for leave to amend its complaint to add a new item of damages...

Appeal Of Post-Judgment Motion Not Saved By Rule 303

Posted on May 02, 2009
Bridgette Glickman, owner of a condominium unit, fell on ice in a stairway at the condo building. She sustained multiple fractures to her ankle. Among others, she sued the condominium association for negligent maintenance of the stairway. The trial court dismissed Glickman?s complaint against the association because the accident happened before the association elected its first board of managers...

Illinois Supreme Court: Clear Error Standard For Election Board?s Justifiable Grounds Decision

Posted on April 26, 2009
We pick up today with the second part of the Illinois Supreme Court?s opinion in Republican Party v. Illinois State Board of Elections. (The entry directly below explains the important facts and the court?s ruling that it has power to review tie votes rendered by the Board...

Illinois Election Board Tie Vote Dismissal Of Republican Party Complaints Reviewable By Appellate Court

Posted on April 22, 2009
The Cook County (Illinois) Republican Party filed eight complaints against various Democratic Party organizations and individuals asserting violations of the Illinois Election Code. The complaints were filed with the Illinois Board of Elections, which has eight members...

No Appellate Standing For Knox County Employees Being Investigated; Appellate Court Lacks Supervisory Authority To Order A Special Prosecutor On Remand

Posted on April 17, 2009
This lawsuit grows from a political fight in Knox County, Illinois. After he took office as Knox County State?s Attorney, John Pepmeyer began an investigation into ?improprieties? by current and former county employees of the county state?s attorney?s and sheriff?s offices...

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