Warren W. Duncan

This case involved an appeal from the dismissal of a bill seeking to set aside a deed executed by Eliza F. Sampson conveying 106 acres of real estate to Ida Pfeil shortly before Sampson's death. Appellants, who were devisees and heirs under Sampson's will, alleged the deed was made without consideration due to undue influence, mental incapacity, and a confidential relationship between grantor and grantee. The circuit court dismissed the bill for want of equity after hearing evidence. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that a fiduciary relationship existed at the time of the deed based on the confidence reposed by the enfeebled grantor in the grantee, which shifted the burden to the grantee to prove the transaction was fair and free of undue influence—a burden she failed to meet. The court remanded with directions to enter a decree setting aside the deed in accordance with the bill.

propertyfamily lawprocedure

The case involved Harlan A. Kingsbury, a bank officer and director, who was indicted and convicted by a jury in Tazewell County for willfully making a false written statement about the bank's condition to the Auditor of Public Accounts, in violation of state banking law; the alleged falsity concerned unreported liabilities on certain mortgage notes that the bank had indorsed after selling them. Kingsbury was sentenced to one to ten years in prison, while a co-defendant was acquitted, and he appealed the conviction. The court reversed the judgment, holding that the evidence did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the indorsements created an enforceable liability on the bank (as opposed to a prior repurchase obligation), and that improper prosecutorial arguments had likely inflamed the jury's passions rather than leading to a fair verdict based on the proof.

criminal lawbusiness & regulatory

The case concerns the Super-Power Company of Illinois's petition to condemn a 250-foot-wide easement strip and four tower sites on the Sommers farm for a high-voltage electric transmission line, pursuant to Illinois Commerce Commission authorization, with the landowners filing a cross-petition seeking additional damages to the remainder of their 158-acre farm operated as a unit. A jury viewed the premises and awarded $28.12 for the land taken plus $2,533.02 in damages to the easement strip, resulting in a county court judgment authorizing entry upon payment. The court reversed and remanded, holding that the jury gave no weight to the company's uncontradicted valuation evidence, that damages were not limited to proper direct elements, and that an instruction erroneously allowed the jury to disregard testimony of witnesses on one side due to perceived bias or other factors.

propertyprocedurebusiness & regulatory

This case arose during the liquidation of the Chicago Lawn State Bank in the superior court of Cook county, where the county collector filed petitions seeking a preferred claim for approximately $206,000 in undistributed 1929 tax deposits held by the bank, and the Constitution Indemnity Company, which had paid $101,240 on a surety bond for the collector, sought to be subrogated to those rights and to intervene as a party defendant. The superior court sustained demurrers by the receiver and collector to the indemnity company's intervening petition to join as a defendant and dismissed the petition. The Illinois Supreme Court determined it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal under section 118 of the Practice Act because the question presented was purely procedural—whether the company could intervene in the pending claims—rather than involving any right to preference, subrogation, revenue, or direct state interest, as no adjudication on the merits had occurred. The court therefore transferred the cause to the Appellate Court for the First District.

proceduretaxes

The case involved the State of Illinois seeking to collect unpaid property taxes from Spurgeon Mercantile Company, a corporation operating stores across multiple states, based on an assessment by the Cook County board of assessors that included the company's capital stock valued at $10,000 along with office furniture and cash. The circuit court entered judgment only for the taxes on the furniture and cash, but the Illinois Supreme Court reversed and remanded with directions to award the full amount. The court reasoned that the board of assessors had authority to assess the capital stock without prior notice, that no fraud was alleged, and that the company could not challenge the assessment's validity or method in a tax collection action after failing to file a complaint with the board of review. The opinion emphasized that any objections to overvaluation or procedural irregularities in the assessment must be raised before the review board rather than as a defense in debt proceedings for delinquent taxes.

taxesbusiness & regulatoryprocedure

In this case, Lester Robinson was convicted of larceny as bailee after receiving a $1500 check from Carl Nemeth as security deposits for his sons' employment with a company controlled by Robinson, failing to return the funds when the sons left their jobs, and the trial court sentenced him to one to ten years in prison. The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the conviction on writ of error. The court held that no bailment existed because the parties intended and understood the money to be used in the business or treated like a bank deposit that would earn interest, creating a debtor-creditor relationship rather than one of bailor and bailee. As a result, the evidence did not support a finding of guilt for larceny as bailee of the check or funds.

criminal law

This case involved the county collector of DeKalb county seeking court judgment to enforce a special assessment levied by Union Drainage District No. 3 against landowners' properties to cover various district debts and expenses. The county court sustained objections to portions of the assessment for items including prior ditch cleaning, thistle control, and certain professional fees, finding them unauthorized, but overruled objections to items for willow cutting/repairs and commissioners' fees, entering judgment accordingly. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the assessment was levied to pay pre-existing indebtedness without statutory authority under the Farm Drainage Act, as shown by the commissioners' resolution and supporting evidence that overcame the prima facie validity of the levy. Cross-errors challenging the upheld items were not considered due to procedural requirements under the Revenue Act for appeals from tax judgments. The judgment of the county court was affirmed.

taxespropertyprocedure

The case involved an appeal by the Moline Consumers Company challenging an order of the Illinois Commerce Commission that denied its complaint against a joint through rate of fifty cents per ton charged by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and related carriers for transporting sand and gravel from the company's plant to points in the Ottawa switching district. The company alleged the rate was unjust, excessive, unreasonable, unduly prejudicial, and unlawful under the Public Utilities Act, seeking a lower rate and reparation for overcharges, while the railroads defended the published rates. The commission found the rate reasonable after considering evidence of other switching charges, reciprocal rates, and costs, and the circuit court confirmed the order. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the commission acted within its authority, made adequate findings supported by the evidence, and that courts should not substitute their judgment for the commission's in such regulatory matters.

business & regulatory

This case involved a claim for workers' compensation by the widow and minor child of Nicholas Kosevich, who died after falling while washing windows for Acme Window Cleaning Co. The Industrial Commission and lower courts awarded compensation, finding that Kosevich was an employee of the company at the time of the accident. The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the award and set aside the compensation, holding that no employment relationship existed. The court reasoned that under the Workmen's Compensation Act, an employee must be in the service of the employer under a contract of hire, express or implied, which was absent here because after June 29, 1931, Kosevich worked with another employee against the company's explicit instructions and without its consent.

labor & employment

The case involved an appeal by the People from a county court order affirming the assessment of inheritance taxes on the estate of Douglas W. Hutchinson. The dispute centered on whether Noble E. Snyder, the widower of the testator's daughter, qualified as the "husband of the daughter" under the Inheritance Tax act to receive a lower tax rate and higher exemption. The court held that Snyder did qualify, allowing the reduced tax computation. The reasoning relied on the statute's adoption from New York law, where courts had interpreted the phrase to include surviving husbands, the consistent use of "husband" in the act to mean widower, and the rule construing tax statutes in favor of the taxpayer when doubtful.

taxesfamily law

This case concerned the constitutionality of an Illinois statute levying an occupation tax on persons selling tangible personal property at retail, including exemptions for farm products sold by their producers and for motor fuel subject to a separate tax. The majority per curiam opinion held the entire act void, concluding that two provisions in section 1 violated article 9 of the state constitution. Justice Duncan dissented, arguing that sections 1 and 2 of article 9 authorized the tax on such occupations, that the law was general and uniform as to the affected class, and that the exemptions did not breach uniformity rules or the property-tax provisions of section 3 because the levy targeted business activity rather than property itself.

taxesbusiness & regulatory

The case involved Charles Winchester, who was convicted of murder in the circuit court of St. Clair county after being identified as the shooter who killed barber Emil Kirsch during an armed robbery in a drug store on June 6, 1932; the jury fixed his punishment at death. On writ of error, the Illinois Supreme Court reviewed the trial record, which included eyewitness identifications, testimony about the defendant's flight and discarded weapons, and challenges to the admission of certain evidence and the conduct of closing arguments. The court reversed the judgment and remanded the cause, holding that prejudicial errors occurred when the trial court unduly limited cross-examination of a key prosecution witness and denied the defense request to have closing arguments recorded by the court reporter, preventing review of allegedly improper statements; these errors, combined with the imposition of the death penalty, required reversal even where proof of guilt was strong.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved a dispute among the heirs of William and Martha Taylor over ownership of coal rights beneath lands in Peoria County. The Taylors had executed a warranty deed conveying those rights to three family members but placed the deed with a third party to be delivered only after Martha's death; following both deaths, two daughters sued to set aside the deed for lack of delivery and sought partition under the residuary clauses of the wills. The court held that the deed had been validly delivered as an escrow and became operative upon Martha's death, thereby vesting fee-simple title in the named grantees. It reasoned that the grantors' actions demonstrated an intent to relinquish all control over the deed, which could not thereafter be recalled, and that listing the property in William's estate inventory was consistent with the escrow arrangement. The decree was therefore reversed with directions to dismiss the bill.

propertyfamily law

The case involved M. Cohen, who was indicted and convicted in Cook County for receiving stolen property belonging to the Pullman Company, specifically blankets and pillows valued at $1000, after waiving a jury trial. Cohen appealed the conviction, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to prove a key element of the indictment: that the Pullman Company was a corporation. The court reversed the judgment and remanded for a new trial, holding that every material allegation in a felony indictment, including the corporate status of the property owner, must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and no such proof was presented regarding the Pullman Company's incorporation.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved a dispute between Arthur Arentsen and the Sherman Towel Service Corporation (along with its principals) over Arentsen's claimed ownership of 25% of the corporation's stock and his employment as general manager under a 1927 written contract. Arentsen sought a court order for issuance of a stock certificate, while the corporation filed a cross-bill to enforce the contract's terms requiring Arentsen to sell his stock back to the company or the Hotel Sherman Company at book value upon termination of employment. The trial court dismissed Arentsen's bill and granted the cross-bill, but the Appellate Court reversed; the Illinois Supreme Court then reversed the Appellate Court and affirmed the trial decree. The court reasoned that the contract was made fairly and understandingly without fraud or oppression, that Arentsen had been advised by counsel, and that specific performance was appropriate for the stock transfer even though the shares had no market value and the deal later proved improvident for him.

business & regulatory

The case involved a dispute over title to two vacant lots in Cook County, Illinois, where Robertson filed a bill to quiet title relying on tax deeds and seven years of tax payments under section 7 of the Limitations Act, after obtaining a default decree by publication. Bachmann, who held an earlier warranty deed, challenged the decree via petition and later through his executors on writ of error, arguing insufficient compliance with the statutory requirements. The court denied a motion to dismiss the writ, noting that subsequent purchasers pendente lite could pursue review in the original party's name. It reversed the decree because the evidence failed to show actual and exclusive possession by Robertson and because redeeming the lots from tax forfeitures did not constitute payment of taxes within the meaning of the Act. The cause was remanded with directions to dismiss the bill as to the lots.

propertytaxesprocedure

The case involved an appeal by a county collector seeking judgment and sale of property for the third installment of a special assessment for street paving in Winchester, Illinois. The property owner objected on the ground that the board of local improvements had failed to file the certificate of cost and completion required by section 84 of the Local Improvement Act, though the work had been accepted. The county court sustained the objection and denied the application; the collector appealed. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed, holding that section 66 of the Act did not bar the objection because it concerned requirements added by a 1903 amendment to section 84 after the 1901 amendment to section 66, and the objection could not have been raised in earlier proceedings.

taxespropertyprocedure

The case involved Rosehill Cemetery Company seeking an injunction to prevent the City of Chicago and others from interfering with its use of a 25-acre tract for cemetery purposes, while intervenors sought to block burials there based on historical municipal ordinances from the former Town of Lake View. The superior court granted the company's request and dismissed the intervening petition. On appeal, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the company's 1859 charter and related legislative acts authorized the cemetery operations and that later city ordinances could not retroactively restrict the established rights or the specific tract. The court also found no error in denying a post-hearing amendment to introduce new ordinances and noted that the injunction was properly limited to pre-existing claims by the city.

propertybusiness & regulatory

The case involved a dispute between two doctors over payments due under a contract dissolving their medical partnership, where Dr. Brock stopped making monthly payments to Dr. Storer, arguing that the contract's restriction on Dr. Storer's ability to practice medicine independently in Chicago rendered it void as against public policy. The municipal court dismissed Dr. Storer's suit, but the Appellate Court reversed and entered judgment for him. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the non-compete clause was reasonable because it was partial, limited to independent practice in Chicago, supported by consideration, and not greater than necessary to protect the parties' interests.

business & regulatory

The case involved Frank Schanda's conviction for the murder of William Schmook during a robbery at a lunch stand and gas station in Will County, Illinois, where Schanda received a 99-year prison sentence. Schanda appealed, arguing errors including the separation of prospective jurors before they were sworn, jury instructions on principals and accessories, and denial of a stay of mittimus. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, finding the evidence sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, no prejudicial or reversible errors in the trial, and that the defendant received a fair trial.

criminal lawprocedure