Too-small jury leads to panel tossing $15.85M verdict

By David Thomas Law Bulletin staff writer

Posted March 19, 2018 2:24 PM

A state appeals panel on Friday reversed the $15.85 million verdict a couple won in their bad-faith lawsuit against the Illinois State Medical Inter-Insurance Exchange Mutual Insurance Co. because the six-person jury was unconstitutionally composed.The Illinois Supreme Court in September 2016 found that the size of a jury is a protected element of the state constitution, thereby striking down a 2014 law that reduced the size of civil case juries from 12 to six.During that time, a six-person jury in Cook County awarded …

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