Horace L. Calvo

Dianna Boner filed a wrongful death action in St. Clair County against Peabody Coal Company and a lessee after her son died diving into a water-filled abandoned strip mine located in Gallatin County. The defendants moved to transfer venue to Gallatin County on forum non conveniens grounds, arguing greater convenience and local interest there, but the circuit court denied the motions. On appeal, the Illinois Supreme Court addressed whether the denial was an abuse of discretion by weighing private factors such as witness access, evidence location, and trial expense against public factors including court congestion and the interest in deciding localized disputes locally. The court noted that a plaintiff's forum choice receives less deference when the plaintiff is not a resident of the chosen forum but must still be respected unless the balance strongly favors transfer.

proceduretorts & liability

The case concerned three petitions filed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services seeking adjudication of wardship for minors alleged to be abused under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The circuit court dismissed the petitions without prejudice on separation-of-powers grounds, holding it lacked authority to require the State's Attorney to prosecute. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court's reversal, ruling that the juvenile court must hold a hearing on the merits of the State's motion to dismiss and may deny the motion if dismissal would not serve the minors' best interests. The court reasoned that, unlike criminal prosecutions, Juvenile Court Act proceedings impose on both the State and the court an obligation to protect the minors, so judicial review of dismissal does not improperly intrude on executive discretion. The court also rejected the argument that civil-practice rules granting plaintiffs an absolute right to voluntary dismissal apply here.

family lawcriminal law

This case involves Johnny Neal, Jr.'s appeal from the denial of his post-conviction petition challenging his convictions and death sentence for the murder and armed robbery of Lillian Waid. Neal claimed ineffective assistance of trial counsel for failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence about his mental condition and background at the sentencing hearing, and for not objecting to the prosecutor's improper closing argument. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's dismissal without an evidentiary hearing, holding that Neal could not demonstrate prejudice under the Strickland standard because the aggravating evidence of the brutal crime and his prior violent acts was overwhelming. The court also rejected the claim regarding appointment of a psychological expert, noting that counsel had acquiesced in proceeding without a ruling on the motion.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved James Mitchell, a security guard fired by Jewel Food Stores for submitting an incorrect timecard that overstated his start time by about 25-30 minutes. Mitchell sued for breach of contract, asserting that the company's employee handbook created an enforceable agreement allowing discharge only for just cause. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the lower courts' grant of summary judgment to the employer, reasoning that the handbook explicitly required accurate time records under section E, permitted discharge for such violations, and that Mitchell's admissions of the inaccuracy eliminated any factual dispute over whether just cause existed.

labor & employment

The case was a strict products liability suit brought by plaintiff Paul Doser against hydraulic press manufacturer Savage Manufacturing after Doser suffered a finger amputation while assisting a coworker on the press at Chrysler. The jury found for Doser and awarded damages reduced by his 20% comparative fault, but the appellate court reversed the verdict. The court decided that Savage was not liable because the press was a general-purpose multifunctional machine sold without knowledge of Chrysler's specific later use, and Doser presented no evidence that the manufacturer could have foreseen that use or equipped the press with suitable additional point-of-operation guards. The core reasoning was that the multifunctional nature of the product limited the manufacturer's duty to provide safety devices tailored to unknown functions, and the plaintiff failed to prove the accident use was foreseeable.

torts & liabilityprocedure

In Curran v. Bosze, the father of 3½-year-old twins sought a court order requiring the children, who lived with their mother under a parentage order granting her sole custody, to undergo blood testing and potentially donate bone marrow to their half-brother suffering from leukemia; the mother refused consent after consulting medical professionals. The circuit court denied the emergency petition, finding it lacked authority to compel the procedure, and the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed that ruling. The court held that ordering the twins to participate would not be in their best interests, given their young age, the absence of any close relationship with the recipient, the invasive nature of the harvesting procedure, and the mother's role as their sole and primary caretaker who objected to the donation. It further noted that the HLA blood test need not be ordered separately when the underlying donation was deemed inappropriate. The decision emphasized that sympathy for the dying child could not override the legal standards protecting the minors' welfare.

family lawhealthcare