Supreme Court of Illinois

In an action for legal malpractice, the compensatory damage award is upheld in part and a remittitur ordered where the award is too high because it is more than the plaintiff asked for and is unsupported by the instructions. The punitive damages award is reversed where a plaintiff in a legal malpractice action cannot recover from its attorneys those punitive damages which allegedly would have been available in the underlying action.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/22/2006
• Published 06/22/2006

Judges

• Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion:

Court

• Supreme Court of Illinois

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Thomas P. McGarry, Stephen R. Swofford and Terry Wand, of Hinshaw & Culbertson, L.L.P., Chicago, for amicus curiae The Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel., Kimball R. Anderson, David E. Koropp and Linda T. Coberly, of Winston & Strawn, L.L.P., Chicago, for amici curiae The Illinois Civil Justice League et al.


• For Appellees:
  
• Michael L. Shakman, Edward W. Feldman, Diane F. Klotnia and Thomas M. Staunton, of Miller, Shakman & Hamilton, L.L.P., Chicago, for appellant and appellee Burke, Bosselman & Weaver., Daniel A. Edelman, Cathleen M. Combs, James O. Latturner, Francis R. Greene, of Edelman, Combs, Latturner & Goodwin, L.L.C., Chicago, and Thomas W. Gooch, Wauconda, for appellee and appellant Tri-G, Inc.