First District Illinois Appellate Decides No Waiver For Insurer That Did Not Raise Issue On First Remand

In a procedurally complicated case running its way through the appellate court a second time, the Illinois First District Court of Appeals ruled that an insurer did not waive an argument that the first appellate ruling was palpably erroneous. After the first appeal and remand, the insurer did not argue to the trial court that the appellate ruling was erroneous. In the second appeal, plaintiff argued that the insurer’s silence was grounds for waiver.

The appellate court rejected that argument and ruled there was no waiver. The trial court was bound to follow the appellate court’s instructions on remand. An argument in the trial court that the appellate court’s ruling was erroneous would have been “futile.” See the whole opinion, which also is chock full of discussion about law of the case, Norris v. National Union Fire Insurance Co., No. 1-05-3132 (2006), by clicking here.

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