The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the ruling of the trial judge dismissing a breach of fiduciary duty claim regarding a troubled condominium development. The west-side Chicago development was managed by Two South Leavitt, LLC, whose duties were directed by an individual, John R. Joyce. Mr. Joyce was an attorney employed…
Earlier this year, online communities banded together to help shut down the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA), which sought to increase the government’s ability to fight online sharing of copyrighted intellectual property. Internet companies like Google, Wikipedia, and Craigslist opposed the bill on the basis that it could hold them…
In business, when we deal with a company’s employee we assume that the employee is acting on behalf of his company. This assumption underlies the basis of most business agreements. However, in the commercial lawsuit of J.F. Brewing v. PaulMark Land Acquisition, the defendant company denied that it was responsible…
In business, it is important to trust your partners and that the information that they provide is truthful. However, to ensure that trusted business associates do not withhold information and knowingly deceive people, the law imposes a fiduciary duty. This duty requires a party to act in the best interest…
There’s the old adage “you don’t get something for nothing,” a concept that holds particularly true in business dealings. Yet in the business litigation case of John A. Dore, Andrew G. Chenelle, Michael O’Rourke and Michael C. Moody v. Sweports Ltd., 07 L 12136, the defendants expected to do just…
According to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, workers’ compensation is “a no-fault system of benefits paid by employers to workers who experience job-related injuries or diseases.” The idea behind workers’ compensation is that when an employee is injured during the scope of his/her employment, that the employer will cover medical…
When completing a business contract, it is important to make sure that you satisfy all the requirements as stated. Even if someone verbally tells you to waive one of the requirements, in the end you might be the one who loses out. Take for example the case of Michael Downs,…
It is fairly common for companies to include a non-compete clause in their employee documents, which generally prohibits individuals from competing against the company during the course of their employment. However, this does not prevent some employees from violating these covenants not to compete. The recent Illinois Supreme Court case…
There is a certain level of trust that exists between an employer and employee based on the assumption that all parties will work in the company’s best interest. However, sometimes certain parties put their own interests first, even going to the extent of committing fraud against their company. The Illinois…
An Illinois Appellate Court upheld a trial court’s ruling that a hotel chain did not infringe on a design firm’s design copyright when building its hotel; Nova Design Build, Inc. v. Grace Hotels, LLC, et al., No. 10-1738. However, while the trial court came to this conclusion based on its…