Hinch Law

I've previously written about snow removal liability, and particularly the case of Murphy-Hylton v. Lieberman Management Services, Inc. , first at the appellate court and ultimately when the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the appellate ruling. That case involved ice allegedly forming from a faulty downspout install, not merely removal of naturally accumulated snow. In Hussey v. Chase Manor Condo. Assoc . , the appellate court had occasion to revisit #snowlaw , specifically the Illinois Snow and Ice Removal Act , 745 ILCS 75/2, and its immunity provision. The case involved a plaintiff who slipped and fell while walking across an area that apparently had parking spaces but also excess paved area, which condo residents would walk across to enter the building.  The trial court had granted summary judgment to the association, finding this area to be equivalent to a "sidewalk." What exactly is a "sidewalk?" It's important because the Act grants immunity t...

A few years ago I wrote this post about public insurance adjusters and the law in Illinois, and the 2011 case of Golub and Associates v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company . Thank you to all who commented on that post (and there were many!).  Based on the level of interest and the fact that the relevant statutes have been amended since the last post, I decided to write this update.   What's a public insurance adjuster?  See here for the full definition in the statute .  Basically, a public adjuster is hired to assist someone who has suffered a catastrophe or other loss or damage to property, in negotiating with the insurance company on behalf of the insured. To do so in Illinois, the public adjuster is required to hold a license.   The rules for obtaining and maintaining a license are provided in Article XLV of the Illinois Insurance Code ; this Article is also referred to as the "Public Adjusters Law," and became effective in 2011.  Since tha...

I previously wrote about the law of hold harmless or legal release contracts in Illinois, but an update of recent court cases is timely. The general rule has not changed. Illinois views such agreements as valid and legally binding, under the public policy of allowing freedom of contract.  But because Illinois also has a strong policy that a person should be liable for their own negligence, courts strictly construe such contracts against the benefitting party, and carve out some exceptions to enforceability. Generally a release is enforceable if (1) its terms are clear, explicit, and precise; (2) the release language (sometimes called the "exculpatory clause") encompasses the activity, circumstance, or situation contemplated by the parties to relieve the defendant from a duty of care; (3) it is not against settled public policy; and (4) nothing in the "social relationship of the parties militates against upholding the agreement." Regarding the final factor, co...

Get ready for changes to the Illinois LLC Act .  Last year a bill to amend the statute was signed into law, but with its effective date deferred to July 1, 2017, and is now less than a month away.  This is a significant update to the statute and may potentially affect existing LLCs; it is worth taking a look at an LLC's current Operating Agreement in light of the changes, to see if any updates are in order.  For a complete review of all the changes, see the text/markup of the statute here . There are many changes to the statute, but I'd like to focus on one, particularly significant change.  LLCs will now be able to designate certain members having authority to act for the company.  This is a very significant change; existing LLCs may wish to revisit their management structure and operating agreements to see whether they could benefit by utilizing this new process. As part of the application to file Articles of Organization, Illinois LLCs are required to de...

I'm honored to have the opportunity to write a guest blog post today for fellow construction law attorney Melissa Brumback's award-winning " Construction Law in North Carolina " blog.   The post is about selecting and using form construction contracts. Construction Law in North Carolina was recently named " 2011 Best Construction Law Blog " by Construction Marketing Ideas .  I have personally found Ms. Brumback's writing to be an excellent resource for legal issues affecting the construction industry. Nate Hinch is an attorney and partner at the law firm of  Mueller, Reece & Hinch, LLC .  He has offices at 404 N. Hershey Road, Suite C, Bloomington, IL 61704, and 809 Detweiller Drive, Peoria, IL 61615, and can be reached by phone at (309) 827-4055 and email at  nhinch@mrh-law.com .