Action Plumbing Company, Inc. v. Bendowski

SUPREME COURT CASES

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State: Illinois

Court: 2nd District Appellate

Docket No: 2-09-0631, 2-09-0632, 2-09-0634, 2-09

Case Date: 06/22/2010

Preview:Nos. 2-09-0631, 2-09-0632, 2-09-0634, 2-09-0635, 2-09-0636, 2-09-0637, 2-09-0638, 2-09-0639, 2-09-0640, 2-09-0641, 2-09-0642, 2-09-0643, 2-09-0644, 2-09-0645, 2-09-0646, 2-09-0704 cons. Filed: 6-22-10 ______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS SECOND DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--284 ) CHARLES and PEGGY BENDOWSKI, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--285 ) ANTHONY KROLAK and JENNIFER ) SCHMIDT, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ) ) ) ) ) ) Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kane County.

No. 07--CH--286

No. 2--09--0631 & cons. cases JAMES PIENIAZEK and PATRICIA PIENIAZEK, ) ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--287 ) NORMAN and KAREN COOPER, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--288 ) JEREMY and STACY HICKS, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. U.S. BANK, Defendants-Appellants ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) -2Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kane County.

No. 07--CH--289

Honorable John W. Countryman,

No. 2--09--0631 & cons. cases (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--290 ) ZACHARY and JENNIFER SUNLEAF, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--291 ) DANIELE and DONNA PEPPONI, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--292 ) CHRISTOPHER and ASHLEY MORGAN, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) ) -3Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kane County.

No. 2--09--0631 & cons. cases ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--293 ) DAMIEN and SARAH EFTEKHAR, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--294 ) MICHAEL BLANKENSHIP, JACQUELIN ) BLANKENSHIP, and MORTGAGE ) ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--295 ) VASILES and EVELYN PANAGUOLEAS, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ) ) ) ) ) -4Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee,

No. 07--CH--296

No. 2--09--0631 & cons. cases ) HARVEY and LUATH LAUER, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--298 ) WILLIE and SUSANNA DOOLITTLE, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kane County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 07--CH--300 ) PHILLIP and MARY AGRELLA, ) ) Defendants-Appellants ) Honorable ) John W. Countryman, (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ ACTION PLUMBING COMPANY, INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CAROLE A. McLAUGHLIN, Defendants-Appellants ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) -5Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kane County.

No. 07--CH--299

Honorable John W. Countryman,

No. 2--09--0631 & cons. cases (Neumann Homes, Inc., Defendant). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE SCHOSTOK delivered the opinion of the court: This is a consolidated appeal from orders entered on June 9, 2009, following a bench trial, to foreclose mechanic's liens in 16 separate lawsuits filed by the plaintiff, Action Plumbing Company (Action). Action filed the suits to recover amounts owed to it for residential plumbing work from an allegedly bankrupt developer, Neumann Homes (Neumann). Before Action filed these suits, Neumann sold the subject properties to the defendant homeowners (collectively the Subsequent Purchasers). Each June 9, 2009, foreclosure decree included an amount for the attorney fees Action incurred in filing the liens and prosecuting these suits. On appeal, the Subsequent Purchasers argue that the trial court erred in including Action's attorney fees in the foreclosure decrees, on the ground that it violates section 17(b) of the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act (Lien Act) (770 ILCS 60/17(b) (West 2006)). We reverse and remand for additional proceedings. Neumann was a residential home builder that developed the subject properties. Each property was in either the Walnut Woods or the Chatham Grove subdivision in Kane County. For each property, Neumann entered into a contract with Action to perform residential plumbing work. Neumann was the owner of the properties when it entered into the contracts with Action. The Subsequent Purchasers took title to their properties after Neumann had entered into the contracts with Action and, in most cases, before the liens were filed. Action completed the plumbing work on each property. When Neumann failed to pay Action, Action recorded claims for liens in the office of the Kane County recorder of deeds in June, July, and October 2006, pursuant to the Lien Act (770 ILCS 60/0.01 et seq. (West 2006)). On February 7, 2007, Action filed 16 separate verified complaints to foreclose on its mechanic's liens -6-

No. 2--09--0631 & cons. cases on the properties and sought attorney fees pursuant to section 17(b) of the Lien Act (770 ILCS 60/17(b) (West 2006)). The complaints named Neumann and the respective Subsequent Purchasers as defendants. On September 27, 2007, Neumann and the Subsequent Purchasers (collectively the defendants) moved to dismiss Action's complaints pursuant to section 2--619(a)(9) of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2--619(a)(9) (West 2006)) because the claims for liens did not strictly comply with the requirements of the Lien Act. Specifically, the defendants alleged that neither the lien claims nor the complaints to foreclose included a brief statement of the contracts at issue as required by sections 7 and 11 of the Lien Act (770 ILCS 60/7, 11(a)(i) (West 2006)). Thereafter, on November 1, 2007, Neumann filed a petition for relief under the United States Bankruptcy Code and the cases were automatically stayed. See 11 U.S.C.

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