

Contractual Disclaimers in Illinois: Social Relationships and Uneven Bargaining Positions
Spears v. Ass’n of Illinois Electric Cooperatives, 2013 IL App (4th) 120289 summarizes the general rules and exceptions that govern...


Lindsay Lohan’s Privacy Suit Versus Rapper ‘Pitbull’ Sunk By First Amendment (2013 – NY)
Lindsay Lohan is in the legal news again, giving us an excellent opportunity to illustrate some legal principles about the unauthorized...


Getting Default Money Judgments In Copyright Lawsuits – A Case Note
Malibu Media, LLC v. Funderburg, 2015 WL 1887754 (N.D.Ill. 2015) discusses the governing standards for obtaining a default judgment in...


Liquidated Damages In Illinois Contracts: Some Quick Hits
Liquidated damages clauses appear frequently in a variety of commercial contracts and similar agreements. Several Illinois cases – some...


Landlord’s Five-Day Notice That Ends On a Sunday Dooms Eviction Suit (Illinois 1st Dist.)
Holsten Management Corp. v. Diaz, 2014 IL App (1st) 131261-U vividly illustrates the dire results that can flow from a landlord’s failure...


The Illinois Commercial Real Estate Broker’s Lien Statute: A Top 10 List
The Illinois Commercial Real Estate Broker’s Lien Act, 770 ILCS 15/1 (the “Act”), provides a broker whose owed commission money with a...


Corporate Successor Liability In Illinois: The General Rule and Exceptions
Corporate successor liability’s focal point is whether a purchasing corporation (Company 2) is responsible for the purchased...


Constructive Fraud in Illinois Mechanics’ Lien Cases: A Case Study
Here’s one from the vault. While dated, the case is ironically timely because of its cogent discussion of important and recurring...


BMW Dealership Defeats Fraud Suit On Statute of Limitations Grounds
Occasionally, I’ll have a case that appears to be governed by two or more conflicting statutes of limitations. For example, one statute...


Land Trust Beneficial Interest is Personal Property: Corporate-Owned Real Estate Can’t Be Liened by
It’s easy to robotically parrot the “beneficial interest in a land trust is personal property” rule but First Clover Leaf Bank v. Bank of...