No. 2--03--1333
IN THE
APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
SECOND DISTRICT
| TIMOTHY RYAN and SHANNON | ) | Appeal from the Circuit Court |
| HOBAN-RYAN, Indiv. and as Next | ) | of Du Page County. |
| Friends of Nicholas Hoban, a Minor, | ) | |
| ) | ||
| Plaintiffs and Counterdefendants, | ) | |
| ) | ||
| ) | ||
| v. | ) | No. 01--L--830 |
| ) | ||
| ROBERT E. YARBROUGH and THE | ) | |
| CITY OF NAPERVILLE, | ) | |
| ) | ||
| Defendants and Counterplaintiffs | ) | |
| and Third-Party Plaintiffs-Appellants | ) | |
| ) | Honorable | |
| (Patricia Ryan, Third-Party Defendant- | ) | Kenneth L. Popejoy, |
| Appellee). | ) | Judge, Presiding. |
JUSTICE McLAREN delivered the opinion of the court:
The City of Naperville and its employee, Robert E. Yarbrough (collectively, the City), appealfrom the dismissal with prejudice of their third-party contribution complaint against Patricia Ryan. Patricia Ryan's grandson, Nicholas Ryan, was injured in an accident involving a City truck driven byYarbrough, and Nicholas's parents sued defendants on Nicholas's behalf. The City filed contributioncomplaints against Nicholas's parents and grandmother, Patricia, who was baby-sitting Nicholas at thetime of the accident. On appeal, the City argues that the trial court erred in dismissing the amendedcontribution complaint, because the amended complaint sufficiently alleged that Patricia negligentlysupervised Nicholas when she gave Nicholas permission to skateboard in the street, in violation ofcertain City ordinances. We agree with the City and reverse the dismissal of the amended complaint.
On August 9, 2000, Nicholas, who was then six years old, was riding a skateboard on aresidential street in Naperville when he and a Naperville truck driven by Yarbrough collided, causingNicholas injuries. Nicholas's parents, Timothy Ryan and Shannon Hoban-Ryan, sued the City onNicholas's behalf, alleging that Yarbrough was acting within the scope of his City employment at thetime of the accident and that he caused the accident by driving carelessly. The City filed a counterclaimfor contribution against Nicholas's parents, and, once they learned that Patricia was caring for Nicholasat the time of the accident, they filed a third-party complaint for contribution against her as well. Theoriginal complaint was dismissed and the City filed an amended complaint.
The City's amended complaint alleged that, just before the accident, Patricia gave Nicholaspermission to skateboard on the street. The City stated that skateboarding on the street violated twoCity ordinances and that Nicholas's specific actions while skateboarding violated several traffic laws. The City alleged that Patricia had a duty "to exercise ordinary caution and care for the safety of theminor Plaintiff, Nicholas Hoban, and to supervise him so that he did not violate any laws." Patriciamoved to dismiss the complaint under section 2--615 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2--615 (West 2000)), contending that the City failed to plead a claim for negligent supervision by failingto allege that Patricia had the requisite degree of control over Nicholas as required by section 316 ofthe Restatement (Second) of Torts. Restatement (Second) of Torts