2011
Reliance on Automated Database Held Sanctionable
Bankruptcy Rule 9011 is modeled after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 and is “essentially
identical” to Rule 11. In re Park Place Assocs., 118 B.R. 613, 616 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 1990). The rule
provides that by filing a document with the court a party is certifying that to the best of that person’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed
after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances, that the allegationsand other factual contentions have evidentiary support and the legal theories expounded therein have merit. Rule 9011.
Lawyers Tagged With Losses For Accepting Checks Later Shown To Be Counterfeit
Lawyers who accept checks and then promptly wire-transfer part of the funds to clients or others out of
the country are exposed to substantial losses, a series of recent federal court cases in Northern Illinois
demonstrates.
Bankruptcy Courts Prove Surprisingly Hostile to “Defense of Marriage” Act
The federal “Defense of Marriage” Act, Pub. L. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419, codified in pertinent part at 1
U.S.C. § 7 (“DOMA”), has received an unpleasant welcome from an unexpected quarter – the nation’s
bankruptcy courts.
Sharing Information in Business Transactions May Result in Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege
Persons who share privileged information with others as part of a business transaction may find that they have waived the privilege as to all communications on the subject matter of the shared information, a
panel of the Illinois Appellate Court ruled late last month.
Court Expands Tort of Retaliatory Discharge
In the 30 years since the Illinois Supreme Court first recognized an action for retaliatory discharge
(Palmateer v. Int’l Harvester Co., 85 Ill.2d 124 (1981), that tort has had a checkered past.
ABCs: Court Issues a Primer on Assignments for Benefit of Creditors
An assignee’s claim for compensation under an Assignment for Benefit of Creditors (“ABC”) trumps even a
properly-perfected security interest under the Uniform Commercial Code (810 ILCS
5), a panel of the Illinois Appellate Court ruled recently.