Press Release, 04/26/2007
Robert A. Clifford, partner at Clifford Law Offices, will be speaking at the Australian Bar Association’s (ABA) Annual Conference in Chicago June 26-29.
Clifford will address the group on "Working with the Media in High Profile Cases" at 9:00am, Thursday, June 28th. The 2007 ABA Conference is looking into litigation in the United States and factors which provide insight into the practice of law in Australia. Major themes to be explored are the U.S. Constitution and terrorism, litigation in the United States from depositions to witnesses and the appointment of judges: tenure, confirmation and discipline.
Other speakers at the conference include Chief Judge James Holderman of the U.S. District Court of Illinois; Federal District Court Judges Richard Posner and Suzanne B. Conlon, Northern District of Illinois; Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Judge Abner Mikva, visiting professor at the University of Chicago; Victor Henderson, President-Elect, Chicago Bar Association; Joseph Bisceglia, President-Elect, Illinois State Bar Association; Lee Epstein, professor, Northwestern University; Tina Tchen, partner, Skadden Arps and Stephen Schwab, partner, DLA Piper.
The three-day conference will be held at the Drake Hotel. For more information, visit www.austbar.asn.au and to download a registration form click on www.qldbar.asn.au/REGO_FORM.pdf
The National Law Journal, 02/26/2007
Please click on the following link to view the article CliffordLargestVerdict-2006
Press Release, 02/20/2007
Robert A. Clifford will speak on an all-star panel on "When to Take the Case, When to Settle" on April 11 in a seminar sponsored by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company.
Clifford, partner at Clifford Law Offices, will be speaking with C. Barry Montgomery of Williams Montgomery & John, Tom Demetrio of Corboy & Demetrio, and John Kirkton of the Jury Verdict Reporter. The panel will speak on strategies in initially valuing a case and positioning a client’s case for settlement as well as a tutorial on researching and compiling previous verdicts and settlements in support of a client’s position.
The breakfast and networking will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the Chicago Athletic Association, 12 S. Michigan Av., Chicago. The program, which offers two hours of continuing legal education credit, will be held from 8-10:30 a.m.
To register, call 312-644-2804 or go online at LawBulletin.com/legal/law-bulletin-seminars/case-evaluation.
Press Release, 02/19/2007
Kevin P. Durkin, partner at Clifford Law Offices, will be bestowed the "Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession Award" by the International Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity (PAD).
Durkin, current President of the Chicago Bar Association, will be recognized for his working tirelessly to promote the legal profession in Chicago and in recognition for his public service to the people of Illinois. He will receive the award at a luncheon at the Union League Club on Monday, March 12.
Based in Baltimore, Maryland, PAD is the world’s largest law fraternity with 265,000 members worldwide. Having been founded more than 100 years ago, its purpose is to form a strong bond uniting students and teachers of the law with members of the bench and bar to advance the ideals of liberty and equal justice and stimulate excellence in scholarship as well as inspire compassion and courage.
Press Release, 02/19/2007
Robert A. Clifford is part of an all-star panel discussing litigation and the media Tuesday, Feb. 20, at the Public Relations Society of America.
Mr. Clifford, partner at Clifford Law Offices and lawyer for many high-profile clients, will be speaking on media coverage of litigation over the years and the rules governing such communications.
Jayne Thompson, President of a public relations firm, lawyer and former First Lady of Illinois; Larry Yellen, investigative reporter for Fox News in Chicago; and Sheldon Zenner, national head of the White Collar Litigation group at Katten Muchin Rosenman in Chicago also will be on the panel. Harlan Loeb, U.S. Director of Litigation Communications of Financial Dynamics, will serve as moderator.
The Public Relations Society, headquartered in New York, is the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals with more than 31,000 members.
Web Release, 09/22/2009
Robert A. Clifford, an outspoken person for the rights of personal injury victims, speaks on America's Nightly Scoreboard on Fox Business Network at 6 p.m. CST on September 22, 2009. He will appear on David Asman's show with Dr. Marc Siegal, Assistant Professor of New York University, discussing health care reform and how it needs to focus on preventative health care and insurance regulations, not taking away the rights of personal injury victims.
Click here to view a video of the discussion.
Press Release, 10/05/2009
Kim Halvorsen, associate at Clifford Law Offices, has been named one of the Chicago Bar Foundation’s (CBF) pro bono “stars” in 2009.
To commemorate Pro Bono Week, Oct. 25-30, the CBF in conjunction with the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), has named 12 attorneys and judges in the Chicago area who have incorporated pro bono into their successful, busy careers. Halvorsen has been named one of these lawyers, given her commitment to pro bono work in the Chicago community.
Halvorsen is an active volunteer helping with probate work for those in need through the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation (CVLS) which has been providing free legal services to the needy and the disabled for 45 years. She also recently was named to the CVLS first-ever Junior Board. She will be participating in the activities during Pro Bono Week to help raise awareness among the legal community as well as the Chicago area of the free legal services that are available to those in need.
Press Release, 10/05/2009
Kim Halvorsen, associate at Clifford Law Offices, has been named one of the Chicago Bar Foundation’s (CBF) pro bono “stars” in 2009.
To commemorate Pro Bono Week, Oct. 25-30, the CBF in conjunction with the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), has named 12 attorneys and judges in the Chicago area who have incorporated pro bono into their successful, busy careers. Halvorsen has been named one of these lawyers, given her commitment to pro bono work in the Chicago community.
Halvorsen is an active volunteer helping with probate work for those in need through the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation (CVLS) which has been providing free legal services to the needy and the disabled for 45 years. She also recently was named to the CVLS first-ever Junior Board. She will be participating in the activities during Pro Bono Week to help raise awareness among the legal community as well as the Chicago area of the free legal services that are available to those in need.
Press Release, 10/26/2009
Brian S. Shallcross, associate at Clifford Law Offices, was selected as one of the Chicago Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s Top 40 Under 40 Attorneys to Watch in 2009.
Shallcross, a 2004 graduate of DePaul University College of Law, obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree from DePaul University College as a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society. He handles many complex cases at Clifford Law Offices including a nearly $6 million verdict in DuPage County, the third largest in a medical malpractice case in the history of that county according to the Jury Verdict Reporter. He also was part of the legal team that secured a $77 million global settlement of the scaffolding collapse at the John Hancock Center.
Most recently, Shallcross second-chaired a medical malpractice trial in the Cook County Circuit Court where he received a $5 million verdict for a woman who underwent an unnecessary hsyterectomy. He is active in many bar associations as well as the DePaul University Alumni Association.
Shallcross resides with his wife and children in Lisle.
Press Release, 10/27/2009
Keith A. Hebeisen, partner at Clifford Law Offices, was invited to speak at the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) annual Medical Malpractice Seminar on Dec. 5, 2009.
He will address the topic of res ipsa loquitur, a Latin phrase used in the law for “the thing speaks for itself.” It is a rule of evidence whereby the negligence of the alleged wrongdoer may be inferred from the mere fact that the incident occurred and the circumstances surrounding it lead one to reasonably believe that it would not have occurred without such negligence. He will sort through how this concept works in med mal cases, a rule which he has used himself successfully in many cases.
Hebeisen, former President of ITLA, also serves as Editor of its Medical Malpractice Trial Notebook, a highly regarded reference tool for trial lawyers that includes research and case law on topics for lawyers who practice medical malpractice law in Illinois.
The all-day seminar, which has been approved for continuing legal education credit in the state, will be held at the Westin Michigan Avenue hotel.
To attend, lawyers are encouraged to call ITLA at 800-252-8501 or register at ILTLA@aol.com.
Press Release, 11/16/2009
Robert A. Clifford, nationally renown personal injury attorney in Chicago, has been named Chicago Best Lawyers Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year for 2010.
Best Lawyers, the oldest and one of the most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession for the last quarter century, is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialities in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each area is being honored as “Lawyer of the Year.”
Clifford, who has been on its list for more than two decades, was given the highest honor for 2010 after being designated the 2009 Chicago Personal Injury Litigator of the Year by the organization.
Best Lawyers’ compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current edition is based on more than 2.8 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.
As this year’s honoree, Clifford received particularly high ratings in its surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for his ability, professionalism and integrity.
Steven Naifeh, Managing Editor of Best Lawyers, said, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for more than 25 years – that recognition of one’s peers is the most meaningful form of praise in the legal profession. We would like to congratulate Robert A. Clifford on being selected as the ‘Chicago Best Lawyers Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year’ for 2010.”
Legal Advice
1. The shop is relying on an exemption clause. Customer A is likely to have a remedy against the shop under schedule 3 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (1999) which disallows a business to exclude a consumer’s legal rights. In this instance, customer A may seek provision under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 s 14 (2) (goods must be of satisfactory quality) as amended by the Sale of Goods Act 1994 if the shop does not assist her.
2. Customer B may be able to rely on undue influence, the main case being National Westminster Bank v Morgan where it was held the claimant must not suffer from manifest disadvantage. Undue influence simply means unfair pressure on a party when forming a contract. The shop may argue there was no special relationship between the parties, in which case it is for customer B to prove this (Williams v Bayley). Following the decision in Lloyds Bank v Bundy, the question may be whether there was ‘inequality of bargaining strength’ the shop acted as an agency for the HP financers. In this case, the creditor (financers) may be unable to enforce the contract against customer B (Kingsnorth Trust v Bell) if customer B can successfully plea undue influence then the contract may be rendered voidable (set aside).
3. In relation to customer C, she may be able to rely on the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994, which states under s.13, that the goods must be as described (see: Beale v Taylor). There must be a reliance on the description of goods as decided in: Grant v Australian Knitting Mills Ltd, but in this instance the customer is entitled to a remedy against the shop.
4. Customer D is seeking to bring a complaint for fraudulent misrepresentation under the Misrepresentation Act 1967. Stating that the childminders were qualified is a false statement of fact (Bisset v Wilkinson). Defined in Derry v Peek, fraudulent misrepresentation is a statement where there are several factors, one of which is a ‘reckless statement made without caring whether it was true or not’. In this instance, the shop is liable for all damages, including all loss, to the customer (Smith New Court Securities v Scrimgeour Vickers).
5. Neighbours are seeking to complain over a private nuisance. It can be defined as: “continuous, unlawful and indirect interference with a person’s enjoyment of land...” Balance must be stuck between conflicting interests, namely the shop needing its deliveries and the neighbours’ peace in the morning. Has the duration being continuous? (Bolton v Stone) The shop being aware of the problem, if it fails to address the issue, then it may be liable for nuisance (Leakey v National Trust).
6. The shop has a duty of care under the Occupier’s Liability Act 1957, s 2 (1) towards visitors, in this case invitees to the shop (s. 1 (2)). The shop must take ‘reasonable steps to inform a visitor that an area is out of bounds. It did so in this case, with the notice on the door. Under s. 2 (3) (a) of the OLA 1957, the shop must be prepared for children to be less careful than an adult. However, the shop is entitled to be assured that the behaviour of a young child should be supervised by an adult (Phipps v Rochester Corporation). Therefore, this part of the claim may fail since the mother did not keep her child under supervision.
In relation to her claim for nervous shock, there is a 3 stage test as outlined in Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, namely: a). Was the mother in sufficient proximate time and space to the incident? b) There must be close ties of love and affection to the victim c) The claimant must have seen or heard the incident or its immediate aftermath. As all these answers are in the affirmative, then it is likely this part of the claim may be successful against the store.
7. The shop is liable for injury to F under the Employer’s Liability Act 1969, s1. F is no longer required to pursue the manufacturer as the shop has informed her, although she may do so if she wishes. F (employee) must show: a) That the defect in the equipment caused the accident and b) That the defect was due to a fault in the manufacture. In this part, the employer is liable directly to F.
With F’s claims for bullying, the shop is liable under vicarious liability, since this is a tort by an employee acting in the course of their employment. A noted case for this was outlined in Jones v Tower Boot Co
8. An advertisement is an invitation to treat, where the customer makes an offer to buy (Partridge v Crittenden). There may only be revocation of an offer where response is made to an invitation to treat (Payne v Cave). In this case the customer accepted the terms of the offer and is entitled to the goods as stated (Lefkowitz v Great Minneapolis Surplus Stores).
9. The shop is liable under the Consumer Protection Act 1987. The fact that H’s sister did not make the contract is irrelevant as the case of Stennett v Hancock illustrated that a duty of care is owed to a person receiving presents from the original buyer (H). Under s. 2 (1) of the CPA 1987, the supplier (shop) is liable, since the customer cannot identify or contact the manufacturer.
10. The shop owes K a duty of care as outlined in the ‘neighbour’ principle of Donoghue v Stevenson. To prove negligence, there must have been a duty, that duty was breached and causation. Therefore, the shop is negligent in this case. Also, K may have a claim under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 which places strict liability on anyone in the distribution food chain where a consumer suffers harm.
11. This contract is frustrated. In the case of Taylor v Caldwell, it was determined that where a contract depends on a given thing (in this case 100 copper saucepans), and there is impossibility of performance of the contract, then the performance should be excused. Both parties are discharged from further performance in this case as the supplier cannot supply the order requested.
12. Part payment of a debt can never be satisfaction for the whole payment as outlined in Pinnel’s Case (1602). This has since been confirmed in Foakes v Beer and Re Selectmove. Further, if the money is unable to be recovered at a later date, the doctrine of promissory estoppel applies where further rights to recover the remaining sum will be extinguished (High Trees case)
13. This is a case of pure economic loss. The negligent driver does not owe a duty of care to the shop as there was no damage to the shop’s property (Spartan Steel v Martin). Based on policy guidelines, the loss of profit to the shop is ‘non-recoverable’ to avoid the driver from a ‘crushing liability’.
14. This is a negligent statement on the part of the accountants. In Hedley Byrne v Heller, the House of Lords held that a ‘...high degree of proximity or closeness of relationship is required, and for liability to arise, a special relationship has to be shown between the maker of the statement and the person who relied on it.’ XYZ should be able to sue the accountants.
Bibliography
Charman, M, (2002), Contract Law, 2nd edn, London, Willan Publishing
Giliker, P and Beckwith, S., (2004) Tort, 2nd edn, London, Sweet and Maxwell
Martin, J and Turner, C., (2001) Contract Law, London, Hodder & Stoughton
Martin, J and Turner, C., (2001) Tort Law, London, Hodder & Stoughton
Richards, P, (2002), Law of Contract, 5th edn, London, Longman Publishing
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