Tressler LLP

Tressler LLP is a national law firm headquartered in Chicago, with eight offices located in five states - California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Tressler is comprised primarily of attorneys who devote their practice to the representation of the insurance industry in coverage analysis and resolution, litigation, underwriting consultation, product development, defense, claims management and reinsurance.

Tressler attorneys also represent clients in commercial litigation, employment, corporate transactions and intellectual property law. Tressler has one of the most experienced and multi-faceted government law practices in Illinois.

Website: https://www.tresslerllp.com
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Recently, an Illinois appellate court affirmed a ruling an insurer did not owe coverage for damage to a building from a bursting frozen pipe. On appeal, the Fifth District agreed with the reasoning employed by the lower court, resting its decision on the warehouse owners’ failure to “maintain heat in the building or structure” to the best of their ability, as required by the policy. 

The pipe burst occurred in February 2011. After this event, the insurer invoked an exclusion in its policy that precluded coverage. The exclusion indicated heat in the building had to be maintained to the best…
Continue Reading A Chilling Effect: The Fifth District Upholds Insurer’s Denial of Coverage for Frozen Pipe Burst

A federal court has found that the insurer of a non-profit is not liable for a $67,097,998 judgment awarded against its insured for a fatal 2017 apartment fire in Oakland, California, due to the insured’s failure to disclose that it was the landlord of the apartment building on its insurance application, rendering the policy void ab initio. Atain Specialty Insurance Company v. Dignity Housing West, Inc., No. 19-CV-07296-LB, 2020 WL 7868127 *1 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 29, 2020). 

The insured operated the 43-unit apartment building at 2551 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, California as the “master tenant and landlord” in charge of all building maintenance. Id. However, the lawsuits…
Continue Reading California Federal Court Finds No Coverage In Fire Coverage Row Where Insured Made Material Misrepresentations on Policy Application

Classification of an employee as an independent contractor can make employers liable for employment taxes.  https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/understanding-employee-vs-contractor-designation.  Generally, an employer must withhold income taxes, withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes and pay unemployment tax on wages paid to an employee. On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule clarifying the standard for employee versus independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rule will take effect on March 8, 2021.

This guidance to determine who is an independent contractor under the FLSA makes it easier to identify employees covered by…
Continue Reading New Department Of Labor Rule Regarding Employee Versus Independent Contractor Under FLSA

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Tressler attorneys are speaking at the IAPD/IPRA Soaring to New Heights Conference. Please click here to register. We look forward to “seeing” you there!

January 28-30, 2021

Virtual Conference

Conference Website: http://www.ilparksconference.com/

Presentations:

Time’s Up – Managing a Harassment-Free Workplace

Coaches and Sexual Assault Claims: What You Need to Do to Protect Your Agency

Home Grown Privacy Threats for Municipalities

  • Date: 1/30/21
  • Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
  • Speakers: Todd Rowe and

Continue Reading IAPD/IPRA Soaring to New Heights Conference 2021

The Illinois Public Access Counselor’s (PAC) Office recently issued a binding PAC opinion finding a public body in violation of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for improperly denying a FOIA request for records concerning a juvenile victim. This PAC opinion involved a request for a police report concerning the investigation of an alleged crime committed by an adult against a minor. Generally, the Juvenile Court Act protects the confidentiality of juvenile law enforcement records and prohibits them from being disclosed to the general public. In its analysis, the PAC found that the requested police report was not a…
Continue Reading New PAC Opinion Provides Public Bodies With Clarity on the Types of Records Protected by the Juvenile Court Act

Since the notion of a vaccine began to circulate, employers have anxiously wondered whether they will be allowed to mandate their employees be vaccinated. On December 16, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released formal guidance answering this question.  Yes, employers will be allowed to mandate employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.  The EEOC guidance informs employers that while they may require vaccines, employees still maintain legal protections affiliated with religious beliefs or a disability.  Such protections may allow employees to be exempt from vaccination requirements. Employers will be expected to make exemption determinations on an individual, fact-specific basis.

The…
Continue Reading EEOC Guidance States Employers Can Mandate The COVID Vaccine

On November 6, 2018, the day of the midterm elections, the plaintiff, Trista Oettle, reported to her assigned polling place in Clinton County to cast her vote. One of the defendants, the election judge on that date, was asked by the plaintiff whether she could take a photograph with her completed ballot—commonly referred to as a “ballot selfie.” The election judge responded that the plaintiff could “absolutely not” take the picture and if the plaintiff did so, she “would go to prison.” Based on these statements, the plaintiff did not take the photograph. On November 18, 2018, the plaintiff filed…
Continue Reading Election Selfie of Completed Ballot Is Still a Felony!

On November 17, 2020, the Governor announced a commitment to digital equity through an investment of $750,000 intended to lessen the digital divide throughout the state. This investment is part of the Governor’s $420 million Connect Illinois initiative to bring universal internet access to all Illinois households by 2024. The recent financial commitment will provide complementary grants available to various Illinois entities, including libraries. Such grants include the Illinois Connected Community Grant Program. In July, the first round of this program directed funds to 12 community-based organizations to assist with ensuring access, adoption and utilization of high-speed broadband. The second round will provide a…
Continue Reading Grant Funding Available to Libraries Pursuant to the New Digital Equity Package

The COVID-19 pandemic has created widespread budgeting woes for municipalities throughout the state, with fire protection and ambulance districts being hit particularly hard. In an effort to help ease these budgeting issues, the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) will award $3.3 million in grants to eligible fire departments and ambulance services during the application period.

The OSFM has begun accepting applications for the grants, which will award up to $26,000 for the purchase of small firefighting and ambulance equipment. The funding can be used for small tools and equipment, firefighting personal protective equipment and personal infection control…
Continue Reading $3.3 Million in Grants Available to Fire Protection and Ambulance Districts

On November 17, 2020, the Governor announced, due to the surge in COVID cases, the entire State of Illinois will undergo Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigation Measures. The Tiered Resurgence Mitigation Plan first emerged in July 2020 to slow the spread of COVID in an effort to lessen the impact of COVID cases on hospitals. In July, each portion of the State of Illinois was divided into regions that would move along the various Tiers. Pursuant to the Tiered Resurgence Mitigation Plan, the Illinois Department of Public Health tracks the positivity rates and hospital capacity metrics in the identified regions over…
Continue Reading Special Tier 3 Mitigation Measures Update for Libraries

“Municipalities” that maintain and operate a website face an upcoming January 1, 2021 deadline to update their websites. The Illinois Pension Code was amended in 2019 when Governor Pritzker signed Public Act 1010-0504. The applicable section of the Illinois Pension Code defines a “municipality” as a city, village, incorporated town, county, township, a Financial Oversight Panel established pursuant to Article 1H of the School Code and any school, park, sanitary, road forest preserve, water, fire protection, public health, river conservancy, mosquito abatement, tuberculosis sanitarium, public community college district or other local districts with general continuous power to levy taxes…
Continue Reading Upcoming Deadline for Taxing Bodies to Meet IMRF Website Posting Requirements

Illinois winters can be brutal as the conditions increase the rate of slip and fall accidents. Inadequate or improper snow removal can be one of the contributing factors. The following tips regarding snow and ice removal as well as property management when it comes to winter weather should be considered:

  • If you are a business that handles your own snow and ice removal, ensure your personnel are trained and know that they should remove the snow and ice from all sidewalks and parking lots.
  • After all removal is completed, all areas should be adequately salted.
  • Stay attuned to local weather

…
Continue Reading Small Business Survival: Winter Weather Tips

A few days before the Thanksgiving holiday, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued its seventh binding opinion (PAC Opinion No. 20-007) in 2020 regarding the conduct of remote public meetings during a public health emergency. The PAC found that a village board was in violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120/1 et seq. (the “OMA”), because it muted a discussion of public business during its remotely held public meeting on September 8, 2020.

At the September 8, 2020 meeting, the village muted the Zoom livestream for approximately sixty (60) seconds during a conversation between the village mayor…
Continue Reading PAC Issues New Binding Opinion on Muting Sidebars During Remote Public Meetings

In Policemen’s Benevolent Labor Committee v. City of Sparta, 2020 IL 125508 (November 19, 2020), the City’s “activity points system” required all full-time police officers to meet a monthly points minimum. The system was used to give an award for the most points attained but it was also used as a basis for discipline for low scoring officers. The police union filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a ruling that an activity-points policy used by the City to evaluate the performance of its police officers established an unlawful ticket quota in violation of Section 11-1-12 of Illinois Municipal Code.
Continue Reading Illinois Supreme Court Reiterates That Police Ticket Quotas Are Impermissible

While this year has been an unpredictable year for all data collectors, it has been especially harsh for public and private schools. In addition to various obligations on all data collectors, schools hold sensitive information belonging to children that require more obligations.  Schools must balance these obligations as they lead their students and employees through online learning during 2020. That is, to continue teaching children, most schools have had no choice but to rely on third-party applications that require entrusting this sensitive data to outside vendors. Further, many schools are facing new state laws requiring schools more steps be taken to protect …
Continue Reading Hackers See Opportunity In Attacking Schools As They Teach Through A Pandemic

While data collectors had no time to prepare for employees to start working from home in early 2020, there is time to prepare for the shift back to the office.
Without a doubt, many data collectors are struggling with the cybersecurity risks created by employees shifting from the office to their homes in 2020. Interestingly, despite having no time to prepare for the shift home in early 2020, we have not heard much news about breaches or other incidents.  Nevertheless, data collectors can be certain that cybersecurity issues created by employees using sensitive data while working remotely are out there. These…
Continue Reading We Are Just Beginning To Understand The Privacy Threats Created By Working From Home