It is not at all uncommon for a company to require individuals to agree to its Terms of Use when they sign up for an online service or when creating an account on a website or mobile app. It is also not uncommon for that service, website, or app to…
Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
Governor Pritzker Signs New Law Changing the Game on Non-Compete Agreements
As we previously wrote about, this May the Illinois legislature passed a major bill that significantly alters how and when employers can use restrictive covenants, such as non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, with Illinois employees. As expected, Governor JB Pritzker signed the bill into law. It will go into effect January…
Class-Action Lawsuit Alleges that Amazon’s Alexa Violates the Illinois BIPA
Amazon is facing a class-action lawsuit filed in the Madison County Circuit Court alleging that Amazon’s Alexa violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). In setting out its case against Amazon, the Complaint quotes an interview with former Amazon senior editor James Marcus in which he said that “It…
Defamation Lawsuit Against Trump Jr. Allowed to Proceed
When you’re a politician, your career is made or broken on your reputation. Donald Trump has been sued for defamation several times, with varying rates of success. Now his son, Donald Trump, Jr., is also being sued for defamation over allegations he made concerning another Republican candidate. Don Blankenship was…
Apple Sues Former MacBook Designer for Alleged Trade Secrets Theft
No company should ever overlook the value of trade secrets. Those that do rarely achieve or maintain market dominance. One company that has undoubtedly achieved market dominance is Apple, which in late 2020 achieved a market capitalization that eclipsed $2 trillion. One reason for Apple’s dominance is its legendary protection…
“No Concrete Harm, No Standing” – United States Supreme Court Tightens Standing Requirements in Class Action Lawsuits
In one of its final decisions of the term, the United States Supreme Court issued one of the most significant class-action decisions in recent years. The decision tightened the requirements for showing standing in class action lawsuits and has the potential to significantly affect class action litigation. Building on its…
Illinois Supreme Court Puts the Kibosh on Energy Company’s Stolen Corporate Opportunity Claims against Two Former Employees
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled recently that an energy company could not sustain a claim for stolen corporate opportunities against two of its former business developers. In doing so the Court overturned a ruling by the appellate court which had revived the stolen corporate opportunity claim. The ruling, which many…
Should the Supreme Court Reconsider the Standards for Libel?
In 1964 the case of New York Times v. Sullivan reached the Supreme Court, which interpreted the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to mean public figures have a higher bar to clear when suing for libel. The intention of the First Amendment is to give citizens the freedom to…
Court Revives Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Shareholder Oppression Claims against Lumber Executive Accused of Diverting Profits to Son’s Company
An Illinois Appellate Court recently revived a breach of fiduciary duty and shareholder oppression lawsuit filed by minority shareholders against the president, director, and majority shareholder of a lumber company. The suit accused the majority shareholder of diverting nearly a million dollars from the lumber company to a separate company…
Selling Top Fashion at Low Prices Comes with Its Own Price to Pay … in the Courts
You may or may not have heard of Shein, the fast-fashion company out of China providing its customers with the highest fashions for the lowest prices, but if you haven’t heard of it yet, chances are good you’ll be hearing about it very soon. While Shein might not exactly be…