Nelson v. Chicago Park District

State: Illinois

Court: 1st District Appellate

Docket No: 1-09-0238, 1-10-0505 Cons. NRel

Case Date: 03/15/2011

Preview:SECOND DIVISION MARCH 15, 2011

1-09-0238) 1-10-0505) Cons. CHRIS NELSON, MIKE LUCKENBACH, and TONI S. DUNCAN, Plaintiffs-Appellants, ) ) ) ) v. ) ) THE CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT, an Illinois Unit of Local ) Government; TIMOTHY J. MITCHELL, General Superintendent ) & Chief Executive Officer; DARLENE LESNIAK, Secretary; ) CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS, President: ) GERY J. CHICO; Vice-President: BOB PICKENS; ) Commissioner: MARGARET T. BURROUGHS; Commissioner ) MARTIN LAIRD KOLDYKE; Commissioner DANIEL ) MATOS-REAL; Commissioner ROUHY J. SHALABI; THE ) LATIN SCHOOL OF CHICAGO, an Illinois Not-For-Profit ) Corporation; DONALD W. FIRKE, Head of School; SHELLEY ) GREENWOOD, Vice President, ) Defendants-Appellees. ) Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County

No. 08 CH 35079

Honorable Nancy J. Arnold, Judge Presiding.

PRESIDING JUSTICE CUNNINGHAM delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Karnezis and Connors concurred in the judgment and opinion. This consolidated appeal arises from the January 22, 2009 order entered by the circuit court of Cook County dismissing with prejudice the instant taxpayers' lawsuit filed by the plaintiffs, Chris Nelson, Mike Luckenbach and Toni Duncan, and from the subsequent order of the circuit court, which imposed a $49,447.50 sanction, pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 137 (eff. Feb. 1, 1994), against the instant plaintiffs' attorneys. On appeal, the plaintiffs argue that: (1) res judicata did not bar their claims in the instant lawsuit; (2) the circuit court wrongly held that the terms of a settlement agreement in a separate, prior lawsuit, in which the plaintiffs were not involved, barred the instant lawsuit; and (3) the circuit court abused its discretion in imposing Rule 137 sanctions against

1-09-0238) 1-10-0505) Cons. the plaintiffs' attorneys, and erred in denying the plaintiffs' motion to strike the sanctions; and the amount awarded was excessive. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court of Cook County. BACKGROUND This case involves a complex procedural history and only the facts pertinent to our resolution of this matter are set forth below. For purposes of clarity, we characterize the litigation that underpins the issues before us as Latin I and Latin II. On April 16, 2008, Protect Our Parks, Inc. (POP), a community organization, along with three individual Chicago taxpayers, filed a lawsuit against the Latin School of Chicago (Latin School), the Chicago Park District (CPD), the City of Chicago, and various individuals affiliated with CPD and the City of Chicago. See Protect Our Parks, Inc. v. Latin School of Chicago, No. 08

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