Dueling Dismissals: Voluntary Dismissal vs. Motion to Dismiss

In years past, plaintiffs have strategically used voluntary dismissals to avoid dispositive motions, gain time to amend pleadings, or even circumvent statutes of limitations. It was not uncommon for plaintiffs to respond to a motion to dismiss by voluntarily dismissing the defendant until they built a better case. In response to these practices, the Illinois…

Illinois Supreme Court Holds that Plaintiff is not so Easily Distracted in New Open and Obvious Case

A common fact scenario in a premises liability case is the plaintiff who is injured tripping over a large box, pallet, basket, display, etc. while shopping at the defendant’s retail store. When a defense attorney gets a case like this, the first thing that should come to mind is: this is “open and obvious.” The…

Illinois Employers Now Prohibited from Inquiring into the Criminal History of an Applicant Until After They Are Deemed Qualified and Selected for an Interview

The New Year in Illinois will bring several changes to Illinois law, including some significant changes with respect to the pre-employment criminal background screening of applicants by prospective employers. As we covered in a previous blog post, an employer is already prohibited from inquiring into or considering the fact that an applicant was arrested or…

Judge Returns Verdict in Favor of Grocery Store in Single-Car Parking Lot Accident Case

Kyle Lewis successfully tried and defended an area grocery store sued by a plaintiff who damaged his car when he drove it off the end of the store’s parking lot.  The Plaintiff drove over a curb and his car became wedged between the Defendant’s parking lot and an adjacent lot that was two feet lower in…

Plaintiff’s Appeal of Summary Judgment For Grocery Store on Mixed Products Liability and Premises Liability Action Dismissed Pursuant to Technical Defect

John Langhenry and Chris Dunsing successfully obtained summary judgment for their grocery store client on a questionable premises liability action and products liability action based on an assumption of risk argument.  When the plaintiff appealed the ruling to the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois, John and Chris quickly identified a technical defect in the…

Characteristic signs of plaintiff-insured collusion, which may work to extinguish an insurer’s obligation to indemnify the insured

When an insurer denies policy coverage for a suit or even issues a reservation of rights and files a declaratory judgment action, the insured occasionally settles directly with the third-party claimant or plaintiff for a specified amount that may only be collected from the insurance proceeds if coverage is found.  Two recent Illinois appellate court…