Reichert v. Court of Claims

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State: Illinois

Court: 4th District Appellate

Docket No: 4-08-0523 Rel

Case Date: 05/07/2009

Preview:Filed 5/7/09

NO. 4-08-0523 IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FOURTH DISTRICT

LARRY REICHERT, Petitioner-Appellant, v. THE COURT OF CLAIMS OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS and THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, Respondents-Appellees.

) Appeal from ) Circuit Court of ) Sangamon County ) No. 07MR613 ) ) Honorable ) Robert J. Eggers, ) Judge Presiding. ________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE TURNER delivered the opinion of the court: In May 1998, petitioner, Larry Reichert, filed an action in the Court of Claims of the State of Illinois (Court of Claims) against respondent, the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (University), for personal injuries suffered in a farming accident. In May 2007, the Court of Claims found the

University was negligent and Reichert was guilty of contributory negligence. as damages. Reichert was awarded the statutory $100,000 maximum In December 2007, Reichert filed a second-amended

petition for writ of certiorari, naming the University and the Court of Claims as respondents. Thereafter, respondents filed

motions to dismiss the petition, which the circuit court granted. On appeal, Reichert argues the circuit court erred in granting respondents' motions to dismiss. I. BACKGROUND On October 8, 1996, Reichert, a farmer, went to the We affirm.

Dixon Springs Agricultural Center to deliver a load of corn.

The

University's agent directed Reichert to a grain bin to unload his truck. The grain bin contained a hopper in front of an auger and During the

a power take-off powered by a University tractor.

process of unloading the corn, Reichert's left arm came into contact with the power take-off on the auger. His flannel shirt

and an undershirt were torn off and his left arm was broken. In May 1998, Reichert filed a claim in the Court of Claims for his personal injuries, claiming the University was negligent because the tractor contained an unguarded power drive that resulted in his clothing becoming entangled. Reichert

claimed damages against the University in excess of the statutory limitation of $100,000 based on his contention that his injuries were the direct and proximate result of the University's operation of a "vehicle" under the provisions of section 8(d) of the Court of Claims Act (Act) (705 ILCS 505/8(d) (West 1998)). The University filed a motion to strike Reichert's claim for damages in excess of $100,000 because it contended the tractor-auger combination that injured Reichert was not a "vehicle" under the Act. the motion. In August 1999, the Court of Claims granted

Petitioner filed a motion to reconsider, which the

Court of Claims denied. In April 2000, Reichert filed a petition for certiorari in the circuit court of Pope County, challenging the Court of - 2 -

Claims' August 1999 order.

The University and the Court of

Claims challenged the issue of venue, but the circuit court denied the University's request to transfer venue to Sangamon County. The Fifth District Appellate Court reversed and transReichert v. Court of Claims, Thereaf-

ferred venue to Sangamon County.

327 Ill. App. 3d 390, 398, 763 N.E.2d 402, 409 (2002).

ter, the Illinois Supreme Court found the circuit court lacked jurisdiction because a certiorari action may be filed only after a final decision has been issued by the challenged tribunal unless that tribunal lacks jurisdiction. Reichert v. Court of The

Claims, 203 Ill. 2d 257, 263, 786 N.E.2d 174, 178-79 (2003).

supreme court vacated the Fifth District's judgment and remanded to the circuit court with directions to dismiss Reichert's petition for writ of certiorari. 64, 786 N.E.2d at 179. In May 2007, the Court of Claims issued an opinion finding the University was negligent but also finding Reichert was guilty of contributory negligence. The Court of Claims Reichert, 203 Ill. 2d at 263-

attributed 51% of the fault to the University and 49% to Reichert. Based on Reichert's pain and suffering and disfigure-

ment, the Court of Claims found his damages to total at least $250,000, although he failed to prove the amount of his medical bills. Because his damages exceeded the statutory cap on dam-

ages, the Court of Claims found Reichert was entitled to only - 3 -

$100,000 on his claim. In June 2007, Reichert filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the circuit court of Pope County naming the Court of Claims as respondent. Reichert argued the Court of Claims'

decision was against the manifest weight of the evidence. Reichert claimed the Court of Claims erred in limiting his damages to $100,000 and denying his medical expenses. 2007, the circuit court denied the petition. motion to reconsider. In July

Reichert filed a

In August 2007, the court granted the

motion to reconsider and directed the circuit court clerk to issue summons against the Court of Claims to bring the record of its proceedings before the court. In September 2007, the Court of Claims filed a motion to transfer venue to Sangamon County. In October 2007, Reichert In December 2007,

consented to the motion to transfer venue.

Reichert filed a second-amended petition for writ of certiorari in the circuit court of Sangamon County naming the Court of Claims and the University as respondents. In February 2008, the University filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to section 2-619(a)(9) of the Code of Civil Procedure (Procedure Code) (735 ILCS 5/2-619(a)(9) (West 2006)). In March 2008, Reichert filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings. In May 2008, the Court of Claims filed a motion to

dismiss pursuant to section 2-619.1 of the Procedure Code (735 ILCS 5/2-619.1 (West 2006)). - 4 -

In June 2008, the circuit court granted respondents' motions to dismiss based on the rulings in Rossetti Contracting Co. v. Court of Claims, 109 Ill. 2d 72, 485 N.E.2d 332 (1985), and Reyes v. Court of Claims, 299 Ill. App. 3d 1097, 702 N.E.2d 224 (1998). The court stated the cases held a common-law writ of

certiorari is unavailable to review the merits of a decision by the Court of Claims. This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS Reichert argues the scope of review for common-law certiorari is whether the Court of Claims in this case proceeded in accordance with the applicable law and whether its decision was against the manifest weight of the evidence. Respondents

contend the circuit court correctly dismissed the petition because the merits of a Court of Claims decision are not subject to review in an action for a writ of certiorari. A. Standard of Review In the case sub judice, the University filed a motion to dismiss under section 2-619(a)(9) of the Procedure Code while the Court of Claims filed a combined motion to dismiss under section 2-619.1. We review a circuit court's dismissal under Aurelius v. State Farm Fire & Casualty

section 2-619 de novo.

Co., 384 Ill. App. 3d 969, 973, 894 N.E.2d 765, 769 (2008). B. Writ of Certiorari - 5 -

Article XIII, section 4, of the Illinois Constitution provides that "[e]xcept as the General Assembly may provide by law, sovereign immunity in this State is abolished." 1970, art. XIII,

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