Supreme Court of Texas upholds order erroneously drafted by legal counsel as final judgment
2/28/23
By: Robert Chadwick
In Texas state courts, legal counsel are generally asked to draft proposed orders and judgments for execution by district and county court judges. A February 10, 2023 per curiam opinion by the Supreme Court of Texas in …
Overview of Midwest Sanitary, Inc. v. Sandberg, Phoenix, and Von Gontard, P.C.
2/27/23
Chicago partner, Donald Patrick Eckler, was published in the Winter Edition of Association of Defense Trial Attorneys commenting on the recent decision of the Illinois Supreme Court in Midwest Sanitary, Inc. v. Sandberg, Phoenix, and Von Gontard, P.C., 2022 IL …
Kentucky Adopts New Rules of Appellate Procedure
1/25/23
Effective January 1, 2023, Kentucky has new, stand-alone appellate rules embodied in the Kentucky Rules of Appellate Procedure (“RAP”). The prior rules governing appeal, found in Rules 72 – 76 of the Kentucky Rules of Civil …
1/20/23
1/19/23
By: Jacob E. Daly
Every year since 2002, the American Tort Reform Foundation has issued its ranking of the country’s worst jurisdictions, which it colorfully names Judicial Hellholes®. According to ATRF, these are jurisdictions – whether an entire state’s civil …
Massachusetts Appeals Court Confirms Escape Route from Premature Notice of Appeal
12/28/22
By: Rick Nahigian
In Siddharth v. Chaturvedi, Slip Op. (November 21,2022), the Massachusetts Appeals Court held that a premature notice of appeal, i.e., one that is filed before the disposition of certain post-judgment motions, will bring the merits of an …
Are we about to see the rise of the right to earn a living?
11/15/22
By: Michael M. Hill
Appellate decisions sometimes lead to sweeping changes in public policy, particularly at the Supreme Court. One such potential policy change to watch for is whether the right to earn a living will be enshrined as a …
Police Training Reform Comes to Light in a California Courtroom
10/17/22
By: Mandy D. Hexom
The California Court of Appeal reversed summary judgment in favor of the City of San Diego which was sued by a family of a deceased motorcyclist and its passenger who led the police on a high-speed …
9/6/22
By: Ed Storck
In a unanimous decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court in Malisa Costanzo, Administratrix, et al v. Town of Plainfield, et al, SC 20537 (July 19, 2022), upheld the Court of Appeals’ reversal of a trial courts’ order sustaining …
Cyber insurance experiencing ‘Future Shock’
8/4/22
By: Barry M. Miller and Elisabeth Gentile
The idea of “Future Shock”—that an accelerated pace of change causes social and psychological disruptions—dates from Alvin Toffler’s 1970 book of the same name. As it copes with the mutable nature of cyber …
Massachusetts Appeals Court extends protections of the Statute of Repose
7/7/22
By: David A. Slocum
In an important recent decision, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has extended the protections of the Massachusetts Statute of Repose to a painter of parking lot markings.
In Adam C. Smith v. Andrew Divoll, the plaintiff (Smith) …
6/8/22
By: Michael Freed
The Supreme Court of Georgia granted certiorari in General Motors, LLC v. Buchanan on the question of “[w]hat factors should be considered by a trial court in ruling on a motion for a protective order under OCGA …