CM Report of Recent Decisions – 2015 Volume 2

Articles in this report

!*SIDEBAR: Illinois Supreme Court Holds That Wrongful Death Via Suicide Is Not A Cognizable Action In Illinois
On May 21, 2015, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its opinion in Turcios v. The DeBruller Co., 215 IL 117962 (2015). In that case, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to rule on whether an action for wrongful death predicated on a suicide could go forward.

“Suit” Standard In Dana Applied By Northern District Of Indiana To CERCLA Requests
In June of 2015, the Northern District of Indiana held under Indiana law that any proceeding with an “entry-level cognizable degree of coerciveness or adversariness” constitutes a “suit,” thus implicating the insurer’s duty to defend.

Pro Rata Allocation Ruling Certified As Final By Indiana Supreme Court
In a 3-2 decision, the Indiana Supreme Court denied transfer of the appeal in Thomson Inc. v. Insurance Co. of North America, certifying as final the appellate court ruling which rejected all sums allocation and held that, under the policy language at issue, pro rata allocation was appropriate.

Clausen Miller Data Breach Case Cited Prominently In Congressional Investigative Report
A case successfully defended by CM partner Tom Ryerson and our Data Breach Defense team has been cited in a Staff Report of the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Clausen Miller defended a health care clinic that was sued because of the allegedly unauthorized disclosure of personally protected information including the HIV positive status of hundreds of patients.

Lurking Within: The Problem Of Hindsight Bias
We’re all guilty of vigorously exercising our “hindsight bias.” The term describes the phenomenon by which people exaggerate through hindsight what could have been reasonably anticipated in foresight. In hindsight, people see as inevitable what was really not inevitable at all.

Misrepresentation Gives Insurer Right To Rescission, Even As To Innocent Insured
In Illinois State Bar Association Mutual Insurance Co. v. Law Office of Tuzzolino and Terpinas, 2015 IL 117096 (2015), the Illinois Supreme Court found that an insurer was entitled to rescind a legal malpractice policy under Section 154, notwithstanding the fact that the rescission would impact the rights of an “innocent” insured.

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