Mickelson v. Mickelson, No. 11 C 5061, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 100698 (N.D. Ill. Jul. 18, 2013)

Date of decision:

(plaintiff sister filed a breach of fiduciary duty action against defendant brother, individually and as trustee of several family trusts established by their deceased parents; the lawsuit alleged, inter alia, that defendant had failed to provide a proper accounting, distribute trust income, and provide for support; in granting summary judgment to defendant, the court found that plaintiff’s lawsuit was barred by a 2003 family settlement agreement authorized by 760 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/16.1(d)(4)(J); under Illinois law, “family settlements are especially favored on grounds of public policy upholding the honor and peace of families”; court also found no evidence that plaintiff entered into the family settlement agreement under duress and that even if a breach of fiduciary duty had occurred, plaintiff suffered no damage).

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