Practice News

Defendants involved in the production of former Poison frontman Brett Michael's "Rock of Love Bus" series televised on MTV and VH-1 paid William and Colleen Wiley $16 million in a recent St. Clair County settlement. The case arose from a Sept. 26, 2008, accident involving a crew member of 51 Minds Entertainment LLC, a Hollywood production company, who fell asleep and crossed the southbound lanes of I-57 near West Frankfurt. The accident left the Wileys, of Tallahasse, Fla., seriously injured. The driver of the bus did not possess a valid driver's license and tested positive for marijuana use after the accident. The Wileys were represented by Kevin L. Fritz, Patrick E. Foppe and Lashly & Baer, P.C., which has offices in St. Louis and Belleville.

In his dissent in In Re Troy Anthony Davis, No.08-1443 (Aug. 17, 2009), Justice Scalia reminded us that the Supreme Court has never so held. But in Davis, the Court for the first time in nearly  50 years ordered that the petition for a writ of habeas corpus be transferred to the lower court to determine whether the defendant was in fact actually innocent. Read Sheila Murphy's ruminations on the case in the latest ISBA Human Rights newsletter. You'll find the Davis opinion here.

Chief Circuit Judge Stephen J. Culliton has announced two finalists for the Office of Associate Judge in the 18th Circuit Court. The finalists are seeking to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Associate Judge Mark W. Dwyer. The circuit judges will select one of the following appointees by secret ballot.

• Brenda M. Carroll, J.D.-Chicago Kent College of Law, 1986. Ms. Carroll currently serves of the Director of the DuPage County Bar Association Legal Aid Service.
• Robert A. Miller, J.D.-Drake University School of Law, 1987. Mr. Miller is currently the Chief Public Defender for DuPage County.

There is an effort underway during October's veto session in Springfield  to repeal part of a recently enacted budget bill (Public Act 96-45). Currently, the Federal Government and most states do not tax income of partnerships, “S” corporations, and limited liability companies (LLCs) that elect to be treated as partnerships. Instead, the income is taxed after it flows through to individual partners or shareholders. Illinois has followed this practice for regular income tax purposes but does tax these entities with the PPRT. (Personal-Property Replacement-Income Tax.) This tax was meant to be a replacement for the property tax revenue lost by municipalities when the tax on personal property was repealed in the 1980s. The municipalities receive the revenue generated by the PPRT. Illinois has allowed “S” and “C” corporations to deduct compensation paid to owners, but partnerships were not allowed to do so. To treat partnerships in the same way as S and C corporations, Illinois has allowed partnerships to deduct a portion of their distributable income that represented reasonable compensation. In calculating the tax base for the PPRT, partnerships that generate their income through the personal services of its partners and employees (like law firms) are allowed a deduction for the profits of the partnership distributed to the partners (both equity and stipend) so that their PPRT tax base is essentially zero. This deduction was meant to parallel the compensation deduction allowed to C and S corporations in arriving at the PPRT tax base. Public Act 96-45 changes this tax policy effective for tax years ending Dec. 31, 2009 for the PPRT.