4th District appeals court continues shaping open and obvious doctrine

For the Defense

By Donald P. Eckler

Donald “Pat” Eckler is a partner at Freeman, Mathis, & Gary LLP, focusing on professional liability defense, insurance coverage litigation, and general tort defense. He is the legislative chair of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel. Eckler also is the co-host of the Podium and Panel podcast with Daniel Cotter. His views are his own and not those of his firm or its clients.

Posted August 31, 2022 10:50 AM

The Illinois Appellate Court, 4th District, beginning with Hutson v. Pate, 2022 IL App (4th) 210696, discussed in this space on July 6 and July 20, has been shaping how the open and obvious doctrine is to be applied. Since the Hutson decision, the court, this past week, issued its decision in Fox v. Ameren, 2022 IL App (4th) 210633, and heard argument in Wilson v. Beazly, No. 4-21-0683. In Fox, the 4th District affirmed that the application of the doctrine applies to the four-factor duty analysis, but held that in cases in …

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