Overlawyered » Illinois http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:25:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 “Liability reform could improve access for recreation” http://overlawyered.com/2013/06/liability-reform-improve-access-recreation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=liability-reform-improve-access-recreation http://overlawyered.com/2013/06/liability-reform-improve-access-recreation/#comments Thu, 13 Jun 2013 04:15:09 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=39179 Illinois isn’t exactly a state known as hospitable to liability reform, but here’s this: “The Illinois House and Senate recently passed SB1042, a bill that protects property owners from liability if they allow the public on their land to hike, fish, watch birds or participate in other forms of outdoors recreation. The bill now goes [...]

“Liability reform could improve access for recreation” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> Illinois isn’t exactly a state known as hospitable to liability reform, but here’s this: “The Illinois House and Senate recently passed SB1042, a bill that protects property owners from liability if they allow the public on their land to hike, fish, watch birds or participate in other forms of outdoors recreation. The bill now goes to Gov. Pat Quinn for his signature.” [State Journal-Register]

More, via Free-Range Kids, a surprisingly good insurance-company ad, from Allstate:

Tags: , ,

“Liability reform could improve access for recreation” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2013/06/liability-reform-improve-access-recreation/feed/ 2 Banking and finance roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/04/banking-finance-roundup-4/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=banking-finance-roundup-4 http://overlawyered.com/2013/04/banking-finance-roundup-4/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:05:58 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=37048 After bank trespass, Occupy Philadelphia benefits from jury nullification and a cordial judge [Kevin Funnell] Cato commentaries on Cyprus crisis [Steve Hanke and more, Dan Mitchell, Richard Rahn podcast] “NY Court Reinstates Foreclosure, Chides Judge For `Robosigning’ Sanctions” [Daniel Fisher] “Impeding Foreclosure Hurts Homeowners As Well As Lenders” [Funnell] SEC charging Illinois with pension misrepresentation? [...]

Banking and finance roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]>
  • After bank trespass, Occupy Philadelphia benefits from jury nullification and a cordial judge [Kevin Funnell]
  • Cato commentaries on Cyprus crisis [Steve Hanke and more, Dan Mitchell, Richard Rahn podcast]
  • “NY Court Reinstates Foreclosure, Chides Judge For `Robosigning’ Sanctions” [Daniel Fisher] “Impeding Foreclosure Hurts Homeowners As Well As Lenders” [Funnell]
  • SEC charging Illinois with pension misrepresentation? Call it a stunt [Prof. Bainbridge]
  • “Plaintiff Lawyers Seek Their Cut On Virtually All Big Mergers, Study Shows” [Fisher] As mergers draw suits, D&O underwriting scrutiny escalates [Funnell] “Courts beginning to reject M&A strike suits” [Ted Frank]
  • Will Dodd-Frank conflict minerals rules actually help folks in places like Congo? [Marcia Narine, Regent U. L. Rev. via Bainbridge, earlier here]
  • “Securities Lawyers Gave To Detroit Mayor’s Slush Fund”; city served as plaintiff for Bernstein Litowitz [Fisher]
    • Tags: , , , , , , ,

    Banking and finance roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/04/banking-finance-roundup-4/feed/ 0     Torts roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/torts-class-action-roundup/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=torts-class-action-roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/torts-class-action-roundup/#comments Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:20:52 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=36117 Despite sparseness of evidence, lawyers hope to pin liability on hotel for double murder of guests [Tennessean] Celebrated repeat litigant Patricia Alice McColm sentenced after felony conviction for filing false documents in Trinity County, Calif. [Trinity Journal, more, Justia, earlier] Idaho woman challenges vexatious-litigant statute [KBOI] “2 Florida Moms Sentenced for Staged Accident Insurance Fraud” [...]

    Torts roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>
  • Despite sparseness of evidence, lawyers hope to pin liability on hotel for double murder of guests [Tennessean]
  • Celebrated repeat litigant Patricia Alice McColm sentenced after felony conviction for filing false documents in Trinity County, Calif. [Trinity Journal, more, Justia, earlier] Idaho woman challenges vexatious-litigant statute [KBOI]
  • “2 Florida Moms Sentenced for Staged Accident Insurance Fraud” [Insurance Journal, earlier]
  • With Arkansas high court intent on striking down liability changes, advocates consider going the constitutional amendment route [TortsProf] Fifth Circuit upholds Mississippi damages caps [PoL]
  • What states have been doing lately on litigation reform [Andrew Cook, Fed Soc] Illinois lawmakers’ proposals [Madison-St. Clair Record] Head of Florida Chamber argues for state legal changes [Tampa Tribune]
  • Crowd of defendants: “Ky. couple names 124 defendants in asbestos suit” [WV Record]
  • A bad habit of Louisiana courts: “permitting huge recoveries without proof of injury” [Eric Alexander, Drug and Device Law]
    • Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

    Torts roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/torts-class-action-roundup/feed/ 0     Politics roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/politics-roundup-6/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=politics-roundup-6 http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/politics-roundup-6/#comments Fri, 15 Feb 2013 04:04:56 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=35722 Cuomo appointee Jenny Rivera, lawprof on “social justice” beat, likely to pull NY’s highest court leftward [Reuters; Kerr, with additional comments-section background on chief judge Jonathan Lippman] Notable plaintiff’s litigator Brad Seligman (Wal-Mart v. Dukes, etc.) elevated to bench by Gov. Jerry Brown [San Leandro Patch] With Jeffrey Toobin assuring us that voter fraud is [...]

    Politics roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>
  • Cuomo appointee Jenny Rivera, lawprof on “social justice” beat, likely to pull NY’s highest court leftward [Reuters; Kerr, with additional comments-section background on chief judge Jonathan Lippman] Notable plaintiff’s litigator Brad Seligman (Wal-Mart v. Dukes, etc.) elevated to bench by Gov. Jerry Brown [San Leandro Patch]
  • With Jeffrey Toobin assuring us that voter fraud is “essentially nonexistent,” tales like this from Cincinnati must not be real [John Fund, NRO]
  • Time for Republicans to get serious about an urban-policy pitch [Ed Glaeser, City Journal] “As the GOP looks for issues it can win on, how about lowering the drinking age?” [Instapundit]
  • Boldly smiting straw man, NYT says young people see government as possible “constructive force” [Ira Stoll, SmarterTimes]
  • Politics by other means: “From Statehouse to courtroom: Many Illinois issues being decided by judges” [Kurt Erickson, Bloomington Pantagraph]
  • Florida attorney John Morgan, of personal injury fame, became an inauguration bigwig the old-fashioned way [Orlando Sentinel, earlier here, here, here, here, etc., etc.]
  • Granholm at front of “not so bad when our guy Obama does it” parade [Damon Root]
    • Tags: , , , ,

    Politics roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/politics-roundup-6/feed/ 0     Torts roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/torts-roundup-8/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=torts-roundup-8 http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/torts-roundup-8/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 04:06:18 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=35580 Officials: “36% of car-insure claims bogus” in NYC [NY Post] Unseen but looks promising: “Cultures of Tort Law in Europe” [Journal of European Tort Law via TortsProf] “The Limits of Texting Accident Lawsuits” [Ronald Miller] Lawmakers wonder whether there’s some way around Missouri Supreme Court’s “no med-mal reform on our watch” attitude [Kansas City Star] [...]

    Torts roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>
  • Officials: “36% of car-insure claims bogus” in NYC [NY Post]
  • Unseen but looks promising: “Cultures of Tort Law in Europe” [Journal of European Tort Law via TortsProf]
  • “The Limits of Texting Accident Lawsuits” [Ronald Miller]
  • Lawmakers wonder whether there’s some way around Missouri Supreme Court’s “no med-mal reform on our watch” attitude [Kansas City Star]
  • Trial lawyers unhappy as Michigan high court toughens standards on slip-fall suits [AP/Detroit News]
  • Fast track: Illinois legislature moves to increase fees lawyers can recover in med-mal cases [Madison-St. Clair Record]
  • New Jersey municipalities have stake in litigation reform [NJLRA]
    • Tags: , , , , , ,

    Torts roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/torts-roundup-8/feed/ 0     Chicago law firm benefits from tax whistleblowing http://overlawyered.com/2012/12/chicago-law-firm-benefits-tax-whistleblowing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicago-law-firm-benefits-tax-whistleblowing http://overlawyered.com/2012/12/chicago-law-firm-benefits-tax-whistleblowing/#comments Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:32:41 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=34626 According to the retailers group [Illinois Retail Merchants Association], Mr. [Stephen] Diamond’s Chicago law firm, Schad Diamond & Shedden P.C., has filed no fewer than 238 lawsuits in recent years against retailers small and large, which in its view failed to collect said shipping-and-handling sales taxes. Since the suits have been filed under a “whistle-blower” [...]

    Chicago law firm benefits from tax whistleblowing is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>

    According to the retailers group [Illinois Retail Merchants Association], Mr. [Stephen] Diamond’s Chicago law firm, Schad Diamond & Shedden P.C., has filed no fewer than 238 lawsuits in recent years against retailers small and large, which in its view failed to collect said shipping-and-handling sales taxes. Since the suits have been filed under a “whistle-blower” section of law, the firm is entitled to as much as 30 percent of any recovered taxes as well as attorneys’ fees for its trouble. And because it’s often easier and cheaper for defendants to settle rather than continue to fight, Schad Diamond reportedly has pocketed millions of dollars.

    The office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says the whistleblower provisions were intended for use by insiders disclosing misconduct rather than by outsiders, while “Illinois Revenue Director Brian Hamer says [the wave of suits] ‘has given Illinois a black eye’ and victimizes those who have made only an ‘inadvertent’ mistake.” [Greg Hinz, Crain's Chicago Business]

    Tags: , , ,

    Chicago law firm benefits from tax whistleblowing is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/12/chicago-law-firm-benefits-tax-whistleblowing/feed/ 1     Law schools roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/11/law-schools-roundup-18/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=law-schools-roundup-18 http://overlawyered.com/2012/11/law-schools-roundup-18/#comments Wed, 28 Nov 2012 04:06:08 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=34171 Conservative-turned-away case: “Jurors say they saw hiring bias at U. of Iowa” [Des Moines Register, Caron, Adler/Volokh] Wagner will seek retrial [Daily Iowan] David Lat on the GMU Law conference on law school and lawyer markets [Above the Law, earlier] ABA accreditors defend, but tinker with, standards for minimum law school libraries [Caron] “Comparative notes [...]

    Law schools roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>
  • Conservative-turned-away case: “Jurors say they saw hiring bias at U. of Iowa” [Des Moines Register, Caron, Adler/Volokh] Wagner will seek retrial [Daily Iowan]
  • David Lat on the GMU Law conference on law school and lawyer markets [Above the Law, earlier]
  • ABA accreditors defend, but tinker with, standards for minimum law school libraries [Caron]
  • “Comparative notes on German legal education” [Darryl Brown, Prawfs]
  • Spinoff of Miller-Jenkins case: Janet Jenkins sues Liberty U. School of Law charging assistance to custody-nappers, dean calls suit frivolous [ABA Journal]
  • “Law Schools Now 5-0 in Placement Data Fraud Lawsuits by Alums” [Caron] Charles E. Rounds, Jr. reviews Brian Tamanaha book [Pope Center]
  • Does Peoria, Ill. need a new law school? Surely you jest [Campos]
    • Tags: , , ,

    Law schools roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/11/law-schools-roundup-18/feed/ 1     Public employment roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/11/public-employment-roundup/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=public-employment-roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/11/public-employment-roundup/#comments Mon, 05 Nov 2012 04:05:14 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=33026 More intimidation of city councilors by Southern California police unions [Reason, earlier] Illinois Gov. Quinn calls for federal bailout of state pension plans [Ted Biondo, Rockford Register-Star, Ivan Osorio/CEI] Illinois Policy Institute launches campaign against idea [Frank Keegan, State Budget Solutions, IllinoisWatchdog.org] Former TSA Agent Says Stealing from Passengers’ Bags Is Common [Daniel Politi, Slate] [...]

    Public employment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>
  • More intimidation of city councilors by Southern California police unions [Reason, earlier]
  • Illinois Gov. Quinn calls for federal bailout of state pension plans [Ted Biondo, Rockford Register-Star, Ivan Osorio/CEI] Illinois Policy Institute launches campaign against idea [Frank Keegan, State Budget Solutions, IllinoisWatchdog.org]
  • Former TSA Agent Says Stealing from Passengers’ Bags Is Common [Daniel Politi, Slate]
  • “Chicago Teacher’s Strike Illustrates the Need for Choice” [Steve Chapman]
  • California’s Potemkin public pension reform [Greenhut, City Journal] Report on political clout of California public service unions [Daniel DiSalvo, MI]
  • College example shows how rules that lock in job security for some often leave others insecure [Virginia Postrel]
  • Connecticut sweetheart labor deal: “Now, the governor doesn’t exactly report it that way in the press” [Zachary Janowski, City Journal]
    • Tags: , , , , , , , ,

    Public employment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/11/public-employment-roundup/feed/ 0     Illinois Supreme Court: moving train presents obvious danger http://overlawyered.com/2012/10/illinois-supreme-court-moving-train-presents-obvious-danger/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=illinois-supreme-court-moving-train-presents-obvious-danger http://overlawyered.com/2012/10/illinois-supreme-court-moving-train-presents-obvious-danger/#comments Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:21:09 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=33193 “Saying that a moving train presents an obvious danger, the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a $3.9 million jury award against a trio of railroad companies.” A 12-year-old had “tried to impress his friends by jumping onto a moving train in Chicago Ridge” and was badly injured. [Madison County Record] Tweet Tags: Illinois, personal [...]

    Illinois Supreme Court: moving train presents obvious danger is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     “Saying that a moving train presents an obvious danger, the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a $3.9 million jury award against a trio of railroad companies.” A 12-year-old had “tried to impress his friends by jumping onto a moving train in Chicago Ridge” and was badly injured. [Madison County Record]

    Tags: ,

    Illinois Supreme Court: moving train presents obvious danger is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/10/illinois-supreme-court-moving-train-presents-obvious-danger/feed/ 1     Feet hurt from “repetitive walking?” Claim compensation http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/feet-hurt-from-repetitive-walking-claim-compensation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feet-hurt-from-repetitive-walking-claim-compensation http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/feet-hurt-from-repetitive-walking-claim-compensation/#comments Thu, 31 May 2012 04:26:43 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=30147 Illinois: “If you are a state employee and your feet hurt, you could be in line to receive medical care, including surgery, paid time off plus a tax-free disability settlement that might exceed your annual salary — all paid for by taxpayers. You also would keep your job.” Arbitration awards for trauma inflicted by “repetitive [...]

    Feet hurt from “repetitive walking?” Claim compensation is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     Illinois: “If you are a state employee and your feet hurt, you could be in line to receive medical care, including surgery, paid time off plus a tax-free disability settlement that might exceed your annual salary — all paid for by taxpayers. You also would keep your job.” Arbitration awards for trauma inflicted by “repetitive walking” and other seemingly common workplace stresses have caused enough concern that state attorney general Lisa Madigan has called for tightening up causation standards. [Belleville News-Democrat]

    Tags: , ,

    Feet hurt from “repetitive walking?” Claim compensation is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/feet-hurt-from-repetitive-walking-claim-compensation/feed/ 2