Page 43 - Sharp-Hundley 2012

New Developments Update

Sharp Thinking

No. 77 Perspectives on Developments in the Law from The Sharp Law Firm, P.C. November 2012

Failure to File Sworn Response in 28 Days Yields Binding Admission

Another panel of the Illinois Appellate Court
has come down on the side of putting teeth into Special Update Issue
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 216 on requests to From its inception Sharp Thinking has aimed to report
admit (see Sharp Thinking No. 39, Nov. 2010). on developments in the law. As that goal recognizes, the law

In In re Application of the County Treasurer, is not static – and no matter how thorough and perceptive an
2012 IL App (1st) 112897, the respondent to the analysis may be, it cannot stop further development.
requests to admit filed a timely answer thereto Accordingly, from time to time Sharp Thinking publishes
but no supporting verification by the client. special update issues discussing new developments in areas
“[F]ailure to provide the sworn statement of a already covered – developments which individually do not
party within the required 28 days was fatal,” the justify another issue on the topic, but of which we want to
panel ruled. “The requirements of Rule 216, make you aware. This issue provides such updates on
several topics.
particularly providing a timely sworn response,
If a topic is of interest and you do not have the original
must be strictly complied with, and the failure to issue to consult for reference, please check it out on our
comply will result in a judicial admission that is website, www.thesharpfirm.com, or request it by e-mailing
considered incontrovertible, withdrawing that fact Brenda@lotsharp.com.
from contention.”

The court noted that a party may receive an extension of Rule 216’s 28-day deadline pursuant to
Supreme Court Rule 183, if it can show “good cause” for the delay. However, the party in Application of
the County Treasurer had not attempted to invoke Rule 183, and simply filed a verification out-of-time.
The Appellate Court reversed a judgment for the respondent to the requests, and ordered the trial court to
deem the requests admitted. It rejected an argument that the trial court’s refusal to enforce the rule was
within its discretion as a discovery matter.

Officer Held Personally Liable for Violation of Citation

A court’s contempt power may be used to impose personal liability upon a corporate officer who
causes the corporation to disobey a citation to discover assets served upon it, a federal magistrate judge
in Chicago has held.

Shales v. T. Manning Concrete, Inc., 847 F.Supp.2d 1102 (N.D. Ill. 2012), is another example of
courts dealing sternly with violations of such citations, a trend about which we reported in Sharp Thinking
No. 68 (July 2012). In Shales, the corporate president opened a new bank account into which he placed
corporate funds and from which he dispensed them to pay corporate expenses. Ruling that it did not have
to find the president’s actions willful, the court said civil contempt could be based on a finding that one
“has not been reasonably diligent and energetic in attempting to accomplish what was ordered.”

7th Circuit Weighs in Again on Preliminary Contractual Writings

The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has weighed in again on preliminary contractual writings

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Sharp Thinking is an occasional newsletter of The Sharp Law Firm, P.C. addressing developments in the law which may be of interest. Nothing contained in Sharp
Thinking shall be construed to create an attorney-client relation where none previously has existed, nor with respect to any particular matter. The perspectives herein
constitute educational material on general legal topics and are not legal advice applicable to any particular situation. To establish an attorney-client relation or to obtain legal
advice on your particular situation, contact a Sharp lawyer at the phone number or one of the addresses provided on page 2 of this newsletter.