In Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., No. 14-3653, December 17, 2015, 7th Circuit, CVS fired a store manager and offered her a severance agreement which she signed. The agreement included a broad release of waivable claims relating to her employment, including claims under Title VII. The agreement expressly carved out the manager’s […]
Legal Updates
What Crimes Bar Inheritance?
The Appellate Court for the First District has found that conviction of perjury and obstruction of justice in a murder case are not necessarily bars to inheriting form the murder victim. Darota Chaban married William Chaban in Las Vegas on June 9, 2007. When they returned to Chicago on June 13, 2007 and informed Darota’s […]
Suicide Breaks The Chain of Causation, Barring Wrongful Death Claims
Can suicide be the basis for a wrongful death case? Rarely says the Illinois Supreme Court. It almost always will be a superseding, intervening act ending causation. Plaintiff filed a wrongful death action following her husband’s suicide. In this particular case, the plaintiffs were less than clear about the “injury” that precipitated the decedent’s death. […]
Health Care Liens Paid Prior to Deduction of Attorney Fees and Costs from Plaintiff’s Award
Who gets paid first, the health care provider or the attorneys? The Illinois Supreme Court has held that the health care providers or professionals come first. Recently, in McVey v. M.L.K. Enterprises, LLC, 2015 IL 118143, 32 N.E.3d 1112 the Illinois Supreme Court considered whether, under section 10 of the Health Care Services Lien Act […]
Service Provider Ordered to Disclose Subscriber’s Identity
You may not have the anonymity you think you have on the internet. In Illinois, the Courts are willing to require disclosure of the identity of internet subscribers. Recently, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court’s judgment that a subscriber’s internet service provider had to disclose the subscriber’s identity in a defamation suit […]
Social Media Sites Do Not Have to Produce Documents During Pretrial Criminal Discovery
What appears to be a victory for protecting social media information from being hauled into court cases from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, is not as broad as it looks. The Courts have held open the possibility of requiring Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to produce social media postings for cross examination at a criminal trial, but […]
Small Business “Hot Topics” Series
Please join us for our Small Business “Hot Topics” Series” on the following dates: September 3, 2015 7:30 AM -8:45 AM Data Security and Risks *Data Privacy-why is it important? *Cyber Insurance-Do we need it? *Does our current insurance protect us? September 10, 2015 7:30 AM -8:45 AM Employment Hot Spots *Hiring, Firing […]
EEOC Rules That Workplace Sexual Orientation Discrimination Is Sex Discrimination Under Title VII Of The Civil Rights Act
On July 16, 2015, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a decision that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation states a claim of discrimination on the basis of sex under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964(Title VII). Title VII prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. […]
Illinois Legislature Debates Stronger Data Breach Notification Law
Proposed legislation currently under consideration by the Illinois General Assembly would amend Illinois’ Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) by expanding the law’s definition of personal information and by requiring new disclosure and security requirements on data collectors. Senate Bill 1833 passed the Illinois State Senate on April 21, 2015 by a 35-13 vote. On May […]
Asbestos Legislative Alert- Illinois
This follows our bulletin of 12/5/14 advising that the Illinois General Assembly had passed legislation (Senate Bill 2221) during a lame duck session rendering the ten-year Illinois Construction Statute of Repose inapplicable to asbestos personal injury suits. As anticipated, SB 2221 was signed into law (PA 098-1131) by outgoing governor Pat Quinn last Friday, December […]