Hugh S. Balsam

Hugh Balsam drafts and edits briefs and argues appeals in all areas of the law, including commercial litigation, intellectual property law, insurance liability, bankruptcy law, employment law, constitutional law, foreclosure law, product liability, medical litigation and state and federal procedural law. Hugh’s practice is nationwide, in both state and federal courts. He has handled matters in the U.S. Supreme Court and has extensive experience in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and for the Seventh Circuit. He has argued or briefed appeals in most of the other Circuit courts as well, and has briefed or argued cases in numerous state appellate courts.

Hugh firmly believes that legal briefs should not sound like they were written by stuffy lawyers, and he has developed an ability to simplify technical subject matter so that it can be readily understood by judges who lack technical expertise.

Hugh’s recent representative experience includes:

• California Insurance Guarantee Ass’n v. Azar, 940 F.3d 1061 (9th Cir. 2019) (agreeing that guarantee association was not liable to federal government for Medicare payments)
• Department of Commerce v. New York, 588 U.S. ___ (2019) (amicus brief) (holding Department of Commerce not permitted to include citizenship question in 2020 census)
• General Re Life Corp. v. Lincoln National Life Ins. Co., 909 F.3d 544 (2d Cir. 2018) (when can an arbitration panel revise an award under the “ambiguity” exception to the functus officio doctrine)
• People ex rel. Hammer v. Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co., 2018 IL App (1st) 170996 (statutory construction — insurance company liquidation)
• UCB, Inc. v. Accord Healthcare, Inc., 890 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2018) (validity of drug-related patent)
• Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, 581 U.S. ___ (2017) (amicus brief) (under ERISA, a defined-benefit pension plan maintained by a principal-purpose organization — one controlled by or associated with a church for the administration or funding of a plan for the church's employees — qualifies as a "church plan," regardless of who established it)
• Medina v. Catholic Health Initiatives, 877 F.3d 1213 (10th Cir. 2017) (amicus brief) (whether church pension plan is exempt from ERISA)
• Van Dyke v. White, 60 N.E.3d 1009 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016) (amicus brief) (reversing determination that indexed annuities fall within the definition of "security," and holding that their sale is regulated instead as insurance products)
• Rollins v. Dignity Health, 830 F.3d 900 (9th Cir. 2016) (amicus brief) (whether religiously affiliated hospital’s pension plan qualifies as church plan exempt from ERISA)
• Apotex Inc. v. Acorda Therapeutics, Inc., 823 F.3d 51 (2d Cir. 2016) (antitrust and false-advertising claims)
• Kaplan v. St. Peter's Healthcare Sys., 810 F.3d 175 (3d Cir. 2015) (amicus brief) (whether religiously affiliated hospital’s pension plan qualifies as church plan exempt from ERISA)
• Advanced Steel Recovery, LLC v. X-Body Equip., Inc., 808 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (affirming summary judgment that client’s systems of loading shipping containers does not infringe patent claims)
• Shire LLC v. Amneal Pharm., LLC, 802 F.3d 1301 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (Hatch-Waxman lawsuit over generic lisdexamfetamine)
• James R.D. v. Maria Z., 28 N.E.3d 776 (Ill. 2015) (amicus brief) (whether doctrine of equitable adoption applies to child-custody proceedings)
• Lightspeed Media Corp. v. Smith, 761 F.3d 699 (7th Cir. 2014) (affirming client's right to receive significant sanctions from opposing counsel)
• AF Holdings, LLC v. Does 1-1058, 752 F.3d 990 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (vacating client's obligation to engage in expedited discovery due to plaintiff's insufficient showing)
• Senju Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. v. Apotex, Inc., 746 F.3d 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (establishing important principle of claim preclusion where party faces successive suits from same plaintiff asserting infringement of same patent after a reexamination)
• Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Actavis, Inc., 746 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (application of legal estoppel after settlement)
• In re Scarlett Z.D., 11 N.E.3d 360 (Ill. App. Ct. 2014) (authored amicus curiae brief, pro bono, supporting individual trying to assert claims for custody, visitation and equitable adoption)
• Citimortgage, Inc. v. Sharlow, 4 N.E.3d 580 (Ill. App. Ct. 2014) (upholding mortgagee’s right to post-judgment interest following foreclosure sale)
• Skokie Castings, Inc. v. Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund, 998 N.E.2d 69 (Ill. 2013) (construction of Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund Act)
• U.S. Nat'l Bank Ass'n v. Luckett, 987 N.E.2d 47 (Ill. App. Ct. 2013) (misnomer in complaint for forcible entry an detainer does not affect validity of judgment)
• U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Prabhakaran, 968 N.E.2d 169 (Ill. App. Ct. 2013) (holding Foreclosure Law repose section bars relief from foreclosure judgment as a matter of law once deed has been delivered)
• Murphy v. Aurora Loan Services, LLC, 699 F.3d 1027 (8th Cir. 2012) (authority required to foreclose mortgage)
• Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Brewer, 974 N.E.2d 224 (Ill. App. Ct. 2012) (requirements for service of process by publication)
• Skokie Castings v. Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund, 964 N.E.2d 1225 (Ill. App. Ct. 2012) (liability of Guaranty Fund to reimburse self-insured employer upon insolvency of excess workers compensation insurer) (obtained review in Illinois Supreme Court – decision pending)
• Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co. v. Hall-Pilate, 975 N.E.2d 924 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011) (mortgage foreclosure — waiver of right to challenge service of process)
• Keeley & Sons, Inc. v. Zurich American Ins. Co., 947 N.E.2d 876 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011) (applicability of arbitration agreement to asserted claim)
• Sanchez v. Rental Service Corp., __ N.E.2d ___ (Ill. App. Ct. 2011) (reversing trial court judgment that refused to enforce workers compensation lien in full amount)
• Fednav Int'l, Ltd. v. Continental Ins. Co., 624 F.3d 834 (7th Cir. 2010) (federal procedure — application of the “American” rule)
• All American Roofing, Inc. v. Zurich American Ins. Co., 934 N.E.2d 679 (Ill. App. Ct. 2010) (claims of fraud, unconscionability, breach of contract in connection with entry of arbitration agreement)
• Clark Investments, Inc. v. Airstream, Inc., 926 N.E.2d 408 (Ill. App. Ct. 2010) (claimed violation of Illinois Motor Vehicle Franchise Act)
• Century Indem. Co. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, 584 F.3d 513 (3d Cir. 2009) (duties under retrocession agreement)
• Provena Covenant Medical Center v. Department of Revenue, 236 Ill. 2d 368 (Ill. 2010) (Illinois property taxes — hospital's entitlement to charitable- and religious-use exemptions)
• Varnum v. Brien, 763 N.W.2d 862 (Iowa 2009) (pro bono) (authored amicus brief supporting challenge to Iowa's ban on same-sex marriage)
• State ex rel. Wagner v. United National Ins. Co., 761 N.W.2d 916 (Neb. 2009) (applicability of regulatory exclusion in D&O policy to claims brought by state insurance liquidator)
• Abbott Labs. v. Sandoz, Inc., 433 F.3d 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (preliminary-injunction standard)
• Baldwin Graphic Systems, Inc. v. Siebert, Inc., 512 F.3d 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (construction of claims for device and method for cleaning a printing press's cylinder)
• Travel 100 Group, Inc. v. Mediterranean Shipping Co., 889 N.E.2d 781 (Ill. App. Ct. 2008) (claimed violation of federal junk-fax statute)
• Fidelity Nat'l Title Ins. Co. v. Westhaven Properties Partnership, 898 N.E.2d 1051 (Ill. App. Ct. 2007) (whether written-notice provision was material to partnership agreement)
• Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. v. Transportation Ins. Co., 500 F.3d 571 (7th Cir. 2007) (duty to defend under advertising-injury insurance policy)
• Abbott Labs. v. TorPharm, Inc., 503 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (contempt under Hatch-Waxman Act for alleged violation of injunction against FDA)
• Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London v. Argonaut Ins. Co., 500 F.3d 571 (7th Cir. 2007) (timing for naming arbitrator in an international arbitration when the deadline falls on a U.S. holiday)
• Gore v. Indiana Ins. Co., 876 N.E.2d 156 (Ill. App. Ct. 2007) (propriety of inclusion of privilege tax in premium for property insurance)
• Allstate Ins. Co. v. American Home Assur. Co., 837 N.Y.S.2d 138 (N.Y. App. Div. 2007) (reinsurer's obligation, under follow-the-fortunes doctrine, to accept the reinsured's post-settlement loss allocation)
• Howard Delivery Service, Inc. v. Zurich American Ins. Co., 547 U.S. 651, 126 S. Ct. 2105 (2006) (whether, under the bankruptcy laws, a creditor may seek priority status in a bankruptcy case to recover unpaid premiums owed for legally required workers' compensation insurance)
• Razor v. Hyundai Motor America, 854 N.E.2d 607 (Ill. 2006) (availability of warranty and consequential damages under Magnuson-Moss Act and Illinois Commercial Code)
• TIG Ins. Co. v. Giffin Winning Cohen & Bodewes, P.C., 444 F.3d 587 (7th Cir. 2006) (proximate causation in legal-malpractice case)
• SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. Apotex Corp., 439 F.3d 1312 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (whether a product-by-process claim is available for an old prior-art product produced by a new process)
• Mikrut v. First Bank of Oak Park, 832 N.E.2d 376 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005) (availability of Fiduciary Obligations Act to claims of conversation of checks under UCC, Article 3)
• In re J.G. Furniture Group, Inc., 405 F.3d 191 (4th Cir. 2005) (amicus brief) (whether an insurance company could obtain priority under section 507(a)(4) of Bankruptcy Code for claims for unpaid premiums and fees, pertaining to an employee benefit plan, owed by a debtor-employer)
• Combined Ins. Co. of Amer. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, 826 N.E.2d 1089 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005) (whether dismissal is required under Illinois Code of Civil Procedure when there is a parallel action pending elsewhere between the same parties)
• SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. Apotex Corp., 403 F.3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (patent invalidity under doctrine of inherent anticipation)
• In re Howard Delivery Service, Inc., 403 F.3d 228 (4th Cir. 2005) (priority under bankruptcy laws for unpaid workers compensation claims)
• Associated Underwriters of America Agency, Inc. v. McCarthy, 826 N.E.2d 1160 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005) (alleged injury from termination of brokerage agreement)
• Pembroke Country Club, Inc. v. Regency Savings Bank, F.S.B., 815 N.E.2d 241 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004) (reversing judgment on claim of tortious interference and fraud under M.G.L.A. 93A with respect to repayment of commercial note under participation agreement)
• South 51 Development Corp. v. Vega, 809 N.E.2d 122 (Ill. 2004) (challenge to validity of Illinois statutes and rules relating to short-term lending)
• Knorr-Bremse Systeme Fuer Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH v. Dana Corp., 383 F.3d 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (amicus brief) (whether adverse inference that an opinion of counsel was or would have been unfavorable flows from an alleged infringer's failure to obtain or produce an exculpatory opinion of counsel)
• Adkins Energy LLC v. Delta-T Corp., 806 N.E.2d 1273 (Ill. App. Ct. 2004) (jurisdiction for declaratory-judgment action)
• Glaxo Group Ltd. v. Apotex, Inc., 376 F.3d 1339 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (whether filing of Abbreviated New Drug Application without a Paragraph IV certification can constitute an act of willful patent infringement)
• Department of Transportation ex rel. People v. 151 Interstate Road Corp., 810 N.E.2d 1 (Ill. 2004) (appellate jurisdiction and question of good-faith negotiation under Illinois quick-take-condemnation statute)
• RGA Reinsurance Co. v. Ulico Cas. Co., 355 F.3d 1136 (8th Cir. 2004) (court's authority to modify arbitration award under guise of confirming it)
• Purepac Pharmaceutical Co. v. Thompson, 354 F.3d 877 (D.C. Cir. 2004) (right to 180 days of marketing exclusivity under Hatch-Waxman Act)
• Rosen v. SCIL, LLC, 799 N.E.2d 488 (Ill. App. Ct. 2003) (enforceability of arbitration provision in amended credit card agreement)
• Apotex, Inc. v. Thompson, 347 F.3d 1335 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (challenge to various aspects of Hatch-Waxman Act)
• Board of Trustees of University of Ill. v. Shapiro, 799 N.E.2d 383 (Ill. App. Ct. 2003) (eminent domain — valuation of comparable properties)
• Save the Prairie Soc. v. Greene Development Group, Inc., 789 N.E.2d 389 (Ill. App. Ct. 2003) (necessity of bond to support preliminary injunction)
• Warner-Lambert Co. v. Apotex Corp., 316 F.3d 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (whether it is an act of infringement to submit an ANDA when both the patent on the drug and the patent on the approved use have expired, but there is an active patent covering a non-approved use of the drug)
• South 51 Development Corp. v. Vega, 781 N.E.2d 528 (Ill. App. Ct. 2002) (challenge to statutes and rules relating to short-term lending)
• Thane Int'l, Inc. v. Trek Bicycle Corp., 305 F.3d 894 (9th Cir. 2002) (trademark infringement)
  Mocegui v. Public Service Mut. Ins. Co., 821 So. 2d 1189 (Fla. App. Ct. 2004) (insurer's notice of underlying action against its insured; calculation of damages)
• Lake County Riverboat LP v. Illinois Gaming Board, 773 N.E.2d 159 (Ill. App. Ct. 2002) (entitlement to riverboat gambling license)
• Department of Transportation ex rel. People v. 151 Interstate Road Corp., 777 N.E.2d 369 (Ill. App. Ct. 2002) (appellate jurisdiction and question of good-faith negotiation under Illinois quick-take-condemnation statute)
• Deerfield Ins. Co. v. Warren County Fiscal Court, 88 S.W.3d 867 (Ky. App. Ct. 2002) (insurer's duty to defend and indemnify County Planning Commission)
• Abbott Labs. v. TorPharm, Inc., 300 F.3d 1367 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (patent validity and infringement)
• Schawk v. Zehnder, 761 N.E.2d 192 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001) (printing company's entitlement, under Illinois Tax Code, to tax credit available to "manufacturers")
• Edwards v. Paddock Publications, Inc., 763 N.E.2d 328 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001) (defamation due to mistaken identity)
• Maremont Corp. v. Continental Casualty Co., 760 N.E.2d 550 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001) (how insured must exhaust primary coverage for multi-year occurrence before excess coverage can be triggered)
• Burger v. Lutheran General Hosp., 759 N.E.2d 533 (Ill. 2001) (constitutionality of "tort reform" provisions)
• Knorst v. State Universities Civil Service Syst., 757 N.E.2d 939 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001) (timeliness of request for administrative review)
• Save the Prairie Society v. Greene Development Group, Inc., 752 N.E.2d 523 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001) (propriety of preliminary injunction pending suit to enforce restrictive covenant in deed)
• Clark v. Galen Hosp. Illinois, Inc., 748 N.E.2d 1238 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001) (application of discovery rule to statute of limitations for medical-malpractice action)
• Alvarez v. American Isuzu Motors, 749 N.E.2d 16 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001) (proof of existence of defect when product left defendant manufacturer's control)
• Ratcliffe v. Apantaku, 742 N.E.2d 843 (Ill. App. Ct. 2000) (establishing that claims for wrongful death and survival may not be brought by pro se litigant)
• Mijes v. Primerica Life Ins. Co., 740 N.E.2d 1160 (Ill. App. Ct. 2000) (whether submission to medical tests was condition precedent to coverage under life insurance policy)
• Evans v. General Motors Corp., 732 N.E.2d 79 (Ill. App. Ct. 2000) (statute of limitations under section 2-725 of the Uniform Commercial Code)
• Legion Ins. Co. v. VCW, Inc., 198 F.3d 718 (8th Cir. 1999) (agreeing that district court erred in vacating only part of arbitration award)
• National Elec. Mfrs. Ass'n v. Gulf Underwriters Ins. Co., 162 F.3d 821 (4th Cir. 1998) (reversing district court and holding that pollution exclusion applies to claims arising from inhalation of manganese fumes)
• Ristow v. Threadneedle Ins. Co., 583 N.W.2d 452 (Wis. Ct. App. 1998) (determination of last significant event constituting breach of contract for purposes of ascertaining statute of limitations under Wisconsin's "borrowing" statute)
• Prisco Serena Sturm Architects, Ltd. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 126 F.3d 886 (7th Cir. 1997) (duty to defend under commercial general liability policy)
• Neuberg v. Michael Reese Hosp. Foundation, 123 F.3d 951 (7th Cir. 1997) (standards for opening judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60)