A Federal court examines the pleading and proof elements of several business torts in a medical device company’s lawsuit against its former salesman and a rival firm. The plaintiff sued when it learned its former employee was selling on the side for a competitor. Granting summary judgment for most of the plaintiff’s claims, the Court …
Author Archives: PaulP
‘Original Writing’ Rule and Handwriting Evidence: Working Through the ‘Did Not!, Did So!’ Impasse
I once represented a commercial landlord in a case where the entire dispute hinged on whether a defendant signed a lease guaranty. We said it did; the tenant said the opposite. Further complicating things was the fact that the lease was more than ten years old and no one saw the tenant sign the lease. We …
Federal Court Gives Illinois Primer on Personal Property Torts
The plaintiff in Peco Pallet, Inc. v. Northwest Pallet Supply Co., 2016 WL 5405107 sued a recycling company under various theories after their once harmonious business relationship imploded. The plaintiff, a wooden pallet manufacturer, instituted a program where it offered to pay pallet recyclers like defendant a specific amount per returned pallet. When the plaintiff announced …
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