As construction projects become more complex, new technologies and innovations more specialized, trades more regulated, and bidding more competitive, general construction contractors have become increasingly reliant on subcontractors to perform construction contracts. The result is that general contractors are less able to control, inspect, and even assess the work. Yet despite this continued shift, general contractors continue to assume almost complete contractual responsibility for job completion.
Imagine this scenario from a recent case that was tried to verdict. A ...
Missouri’s inaugural medical marijuana facility application period ended recently (on August 19, 2019). Now that the smoke begins to clear from the application process, hopeful applicants can focus their energy on fostering relationships so that their businesses can launch as soon as possible. With even the earliest anticipated harvest being at least several weeks after licenses are issued in December of this year, Missouri residents can expect this new industry to begin taking shape in the early months of 2020.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services ...
On May 1, 2019, Senate Bill 7 was passed as part of the Missouri legislature’s overarching goal to refine Missouri’s broad venue rules, which previously had allowed plaintiffs to pursue their claims in Missouri venues with no connection to their injuries or events which led to their injuries.
Particular provisions of the new venue rules apply specifically to lawsuits involving claims against insurance companies. First, Sections 375.1800 and 508.010 now provide that domestic and foreign insurance companies are deemed a resident of the county where their registered offices ...
HeplerBroom has a long history of defending insurance producers across Illinois, with a strong appellate record on the ordinary-care duty and statute of limitations issues in particular. Western Cons. Prem. Properties, Inc., v. Norman-Spencer Agency, Inc., 845 F.3d 313 (7th Cir. 2017) (duty); RVP, LLC, v. Advantage Insurance Services, Inc., 2017 IL App (3d) 160276 (statute of limitations). We’re seeing new cases in which the producer defendant is alleged to owe a duty not only to its client to procure the policy he requests, but also to an additional insured on that policy.
The ...
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 ...
