Confusing Jury Instructions Create Unexpected Liability for Trucking Brokers and Shippers

Plaintiffs have long sued trucking brokers and shippers in search of deep pockets and additional insurance, but their theories of liability may be evolving. Because of vague, plaintiff-friendly jury instructions, plaintiffs are increasingly suing brokers and shippers under an agency theory, and many are winning big. Traditional Theories of Liability Against Brokers and Shippers Personal […]

Plaintiffs Take a Chance: The Development of Nonpattern Jury Instructions on the Loss of Chance Doctrine

In a recent decision, the Illinois Appellate Court First District held that a trial court’s failure to issue a loss of chance jury instruction denied the plaintiff a fair trial, and in so doing, reversed longstanding precedent that the Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction on proximate cause properly states the law in loss of chance medical […]

Instructing Juries on the Elements of Employment Discrimination: The Important Distinctions Made in Schnitker v. Springfield Urban League, Inc.

While movies and television shows never include a scene about jury instructions, in which the attorneys make impassioned (but boring) arguments about comma placement and the definitions of commonly used words, trial attorneys recognize that jury instructions can make or break a case. In a recent employment discrimination trial in Springfield, Illinois, faulty jury instructions […]