Allen v. Lin

State: Illinois

Court: 1st District Appellate

Docket No: 1-04-0831 Rel

Case Date: 03/31/2005

Fourth Division
March 31, 2005

No. 1-04-0831

MARK ALLEN,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

EDWARD J.S. LIN AND JUDY J.H. LIN,

Defendants-Appellees.

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Appeal from the
Circuit Court of
Cook County.

02 M 1158413

The Honorable
John Joseph Hynes,
Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE GREIMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff appeals from the final order issued by the circuit court of Cook County following the bench trial of a landlord and tenant dispute. We reverse and remand.

On May 21, 2002, plaintiff, Mark Allen, along with three other individuals, entered into a one-year residential lease with defendants, Edward and Judy Lin, for a townhouse located at 1369 E. 55th Place in Chicago. The rent was listed at $1,600 per month and the security deposit was $2,400. Defendants owned and lived in a townhouse at located at 1365 E. 55th Place, two units away from the leased unit.

The lease expired on June 30, 2002. On August 6, 2002, defendants gave plaintiff a check for $2,200, stating that they were retaining $200 of the security deposit to make repairs to the kitchen floor. Plaintiff did not cash the check. On August 8, 2002, defendants sent plaintiff a letter notifying him not to cash the initial check because they forgot to deduct $700 which they had paid to the person allegedly subletting the townhouse from plaintiff. On August 18, 2002, defendants sent plaintiff a check for $1,500. Again, plaintiff did not cash the check.

On September 26, 2002, plaintiff filed his five-count complaint against defendants for breach of contract and various violations of the City of Chicago Residential Landlords and Tenants Ordinance (Chicago Municipal Code