Legal Memorandum: Severe improprieties may lead a court to strike a party’s brief

Issue: Under Illinois law, when is a court permitted to strike a party’s brief?

A court may strike a brief in whole or in part if it contains improprieties that are so severe as to hinder its review. See, e.g., Hall v. Naper Gold Hospitality LLC, 2012 IL App. (2d) 111151, ¶ 9 (the appellant’s brief violated numerous court rules and contained a statement of facts describing a case other than the one being appealed). When a brief contains improper argumentation that does not interfere with the court’s review, a proper remedy may be to disregard the offending statements. See Cottrill v. Russell, 253 Ill. App. 3d 934, 938 (1993).