Chances are you first become aware that your company is a target or subject of a criminal antitrust investigation when you receive a grand jury subpoena, or worse, when federal agents show up with a search warrant asking questions. This is serious business, given the consequences. Among the many questions experienced antitrust counsel will ask you early on is whether you have an antitrust compliance program, and if so, how it is set up and operates. In recent years, the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) assigned no weight to the existence of a ...
On July 10, 2019, Missouri Governor Michael Parson signed significant pieces of legislation that confirmed his emphasis on tort reform in Missouri. The Governor previously highlighted tort reform in his State of the State address in January 2019. In that address, Parson referenced the need for increased regulatory and venue reform in the Show-Me State. The legislation signed in this month’s slate achieved the goals outlined in that speech and more. The relevant bills will significantly impact litigation and trial practice in Missouri’s courts via considerations to venue ...
Be our guest, be our guest
Watch your step, may we suggest
From known dangers, we’ll protect
But we have no duty to inspect!
If Beauty and the Beast took place in modern-day Missouri instead of 18th century France, those probably would have been the words to “Be Our Guest.” That’s because property owners in Missouri do not have a duty to inspect their premises for the safety of their social guests, also known as “licensees.” On the other hand, property owners must inspect their premises for dangerous conditions in order to protect customers or clients, a.k.a. “invitees.” ...
On June 20, 2019, the Supreme Court of Illinois affirmed an appellate court’s ruling on an Illinois Pollution Control Board (“Board”) decision involving groundwater monitoring at clean construction or demolition debris fill sites, in The County of Will v. The Pollution Control Board, 2019 IL 122798, Case Nos. 122798, 122813. The case concerned the Board’s adoption of regulations governing the use of clean construction or demolition debris (“CCDD”) and uncontaminated soil (“US”) as fill material at CCDD fill operations.
CCDD is uncontaminated broken concrete ...
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Responsibility (IDFPR) is the state agency that oversees licensure and discipline of various health care practitioners, including physicians, nurses, and dentists, among others. The IDFPR is charged with overseeing enforcement of the various healthcare practice acts, and it typically investigates matters brought to its attention, primarily from patient complaints. With the advent of electronic communications, dissatisfied patients can pursue complaints with far greater ease. The simplicity of electronically ...
Nursing Home litigation has increased significantly in Illinois in recent years in large part due to the failure of Illinois to institute damages caps and eliminate attorney’s fees from their nursing home statute. Attorneys’ fees are recoverable under the Nursing Home Care Act. In fact, the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act provides for fee shifting and specifically states that “The licensee shall pay the actual damages and costs and attorney’s fees to a facility resident whose rights, as specified in Part 1 of Article II of this Act, are violated.” 210 ILCS 45/3-602. An ...
The Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) establishes safeguards and procedures relating to the retention, collection, disclosure, and destruction of biometric data. 740 ILCS 14/15. Passed in October 2008, BIPA is intended to protect a person’s unique biological traits – the data encompassed in a person’s fingerprint, voice print, retinal scan, or facial geometry. Id. But in the last few years, BIPA – with its statutory penalties of $1,000 for each negligent violation and $5,000 for each intentional or reckless violation – has quickly become the bane of corporate ...
With what many have described as a historic Illinois legislative session having recently concluded, and with the focus having been on the budget, gaming, cannabis, and infrastructure, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there weren’t many significant changes to Illinois’ environmental laws. But you would be wrong. Several environmental bills of interest to the regulated community made it to Governor JB Pritzker’s desk and have either already been signed by the Governor or will be in the next few weeks. A quick recap of that legislation follows.
Ethylene Oxide: This issue ...
The Illinois First District Court of Appeals recently decided Babich v. Copernicus Foundation, 2019 IL App (1st) 181537-U (April 26, 2019). Babich is yet another chapter in the long line of slip-and-fall cases litigated in Illinois. This particular chapter concluded in favor of the premises owner, who was found to have fulfilled the duty owed to an invitee. Although not formally reported, Babich provides guidance to premises owners that might encounter this relatively common situation.
In Babich, an event attendee slipped on spilled wine which caused him to fall and resulted in a ...
The question of what constitutes “apparent agency” in the context of alleged medical malpractice continues to be analyzed by the Illinois appellate courts. The issue was first addressed by the Illinois Supreme Court in the case of Gilbert v. Sycamore Municipal Hospital. 156 Ill.2d 511 (1993). In Gilbert, the Court set forth a multi-factor test to determine whether a hospital could be held vicariously liable for the alleged acts of its independent contractor physicians. Id. at 525. Specifically, in order to hold a hospital liable under the theory of “apparent agency,” a ...
