2013
Collective Liability Complaint Strikes Out
A complaint which alleges wrongs against multiple defendants collectively, without details about who did what, fails the requirement of plausibility which Supreme Court cases have imported into Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.
Read MoreCitation Respondent May Rely on Face of Un-Freeze Order
A respondent that has frozen an account in response to a citation to discover assets is entitled to unfreeze that account upon receipt of an order “the most reasonable reading of which” unfreezes the account, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.
Read MoreOrganization’s Financial Difficulty Doesn’t Insulate Officers
Just because an organizational employer is in financial trouble does not absolve its managers of potential personal liability under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, 820 ILCS 115 (“IWPCA”), if they “have discretion to pay plaintiff but cho[o]se to allocate resources elsewhere,” according to a recent decision of the Appellate Court’s Second District.
Read MoreDivorce Retainers May Be Diverted To Opponent
The Illinois Supreme Court has affirmed that in a dissolution-of-marriage action, a trial court may order that advance payment retainer funds held by one party’s attorney be turned over to opposing counsel as interim attorney fees.
Read MoreBankruptcy Intake Form Held Not Privileged
Look for increased attempts to discover those intake forms used by bankruptcy practitioners – and also fee information for all lawyers – as a result of a recent decision by the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Read MoreBankruptcy Discharge May Justify HAMP Re-review, Sale Suspension
A mortgagee’s violation of 735 ILCS 5/15-1508(d-5) and of the Housing Affordable Mortgage Program
(“HAMP”) rules may require denial of confirmation of a foreclosure sale held in violation of those rules, a
panel in the Appellate Court’s Second District has held.
Warranty Deed in Mortgage Rescue Scam May Have Been An Equitable Mortgage, Court Says
A “mortgage rescue” victim’s argument that an apparent warranty deed should be construed as an equitable mortgage should have gone forward to a full trial, a panel of the Appellate Court’s First District has held.
Read MoreISBA Suggests Duty to Make “Noisy Withdrawal
Mere withdrawal when a client persists in utilizing false material evidence, without disclosure thereof to the tribunal in a civil matter, ordinarily is improper even if the lawyer had no role in creating or presenting the false evidence, an Illinois State Bar Association committee has opined.
Read MoreSuit Against Insurer Tossed After Joint Payee Forges Check
A mortgagee who was entitled to a property insurance payment may not sue the insurer on the policy after the insurer’s payment check is fraudulently endorsed by a co-payee, a panel in the Appellate Court’s First District has held.
Read MoreJudicial Estoppel Doctrine Is Flexible, 7th Circuit Emphasizes
Because judicial estoppel is concerned with protecting the integrity of the courts from the appearance and reality of manipulative litigation conduct, courts considering that doctrine have the “freedom to consider the equities of an entire case” and can even impose the estoppel where the party estopped and the party which committed the underlying conduct are not perfectly identical, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held
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