99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB4222

 

Introduced , by Rep. Jim Durkin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
735 ILCS 5/2-101  from Ch. 110, par. 2-101
735 ILCS 5/2-102  from Ch. 110, par. 2-102
735 ILCS 5/2-103  from Ch. 110, par. 2-103
735 ILCS 5/2-110 new
735 ILCS 5/2-1107.1  from Ch. 110, par. 2-1107.1
735 ILCS 5/2-1117  from Ch. 110, par. 2-1117
735 ILCS 5/2-1205.2 new

    Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Deletes a provision authorizing an action to be commenced in any county when all defendants are nonresidents of this State. Limits venue for actions against corporations, partnerships, and insurance companies. Provides that in actions in which none of the parties is a resident of this State and over which another forum has jurisdiction, the court shall, upon motion, dismiss the action subject to specified conditions. Provides that joint and several liability attaches when a defendant is found to be 50%, rather than 25%, at fault. Limits amounts recovered for medical care, treatment, or services and caretaking expenses to the amounts actually paid for those expenses regardless of the amounts initially billed. Effective immediately.


LRB099 12542 JLS 36010 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4222LRB099 12542 JLS 36010 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
5changing Sections 2-101, 2-102, 2-103, 2-1107.1, and 2-1117 and
6by adding Sections 2-110 and 2-1205.2 as follows:
 
7    (735 ILCS 5/2-101)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-101)
8    Sec. 2-101. Generally. Except as otherwise provided in this
9Act, every action must be commenced (1) in the county of
10residence of any defendant who is joined in good faith and with
11probable cause for the purpose of obtaining a judgment against
12him or her and not solely for the purpose of fixing venue in
13that county, or (2) in the county in which the transaction or
14some part thereof occurred out of which the cause of action
15arose.
16    If a check, draft, money order, or other instrument for the
17payment of child support payable to or delivered to the State
18Disbursement Unit established under Section 10-26 of the
19Illinois Public Aid Code is returned by the bank or depository
20for any reason, venue for the enforcement of any criminal
21proceedings or civil cause of action for recovery and attorney
22fees shall be in the county where the principal office of the
23State Disbursement Unit is located.

 

 

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1    If all defendants are nonresidents of the State, an action
2may be commenced in any county.
3    If the corporate limits of a city, village or town extend
4into more than one county, then the venue of an action or
5proceeding instituted by that municipality to enforce any fine,
6imprisonment, penalty or forfeiture for violation of any
7ordinance of that municipality, regardless of the county in
8which the violation was committed or occurred, may be in the
9appropriate court (i) in the county wherein the office of the
10clerk of the municipality is located or (ii) in any county in
11which at least 35% of the territory within the municipality's
12corporate limits is located.
13    The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 99th General
14Assembly apply to actions filed on or after its effective date.
15(Source: P.A. 91-212, eff. 7-20-99.)
 
16    (735 ILCS 5/2-102)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-102)
17    Sec. 2-102. Residence of corporations, voluntary
18unincorporated associations and partnerships defined. For
19purposes of venue, the following definitions apply:
20    (a) Any private corporation or railroad or bridge company,
21organized under the laws of this State, and any foreign
22corporation authorized to transact business in this State is a
23resident of any county in which it has its registered office or
24other office or, if on due inquiry no office can be found in
25this State, any county in which it is doing business. A foreign

 

 

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1corporation not authorized to transact business in this State
2is a nonresident of this State.
3    (b) A partnership sued in its firm name is a resident of
4any county in which any partner resides or in which the
5partnership has an office or, if on due inquiry no office can
6be found in this State, any county in which it is doing
7business. A partnership sued in its firm name, of which all
8partners are nonresidents of this State and which does not have
9an office or do business in this State, is a nonresident of
10this State.
11    (c) A voluntary unincorporated association sued in its own
12name is a resident of any county in which the association has
13an office or, if on due inquiry no office can be found, in
14which any officer of the association resides. A voluntary
15unincorporated association sued in its own name, of which all
16its members are nonresidents of this State and which does not
17have an office or do business in this State, is a nonresident
18of this State.
19    The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 99th General
20Assembly apply to actions filed on or after its effective date.
21(Source: P.A. 83-901.)
 
22    (735 ILCS 5/2-103)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-103)
23    Sec. 2-103. Public corporations - Local actions - Libel
24Libel - Insurance companies.
25    (a) Actions must be brought against a public, municipal,

 

 

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1governmental or quasi-municipal corporation in the county in
2which its principal office is located or in the county in which
3the transaction or some part thereof occurred out of which the
4cause of action arose. Except as otherwise provided in Section
57-102 of this Code, if the cause of action is related to an
6airport owned by a unit of local government or the property or
7aircraft operations thereof, however, including an action
8challenging the constitutionality of this amendatory Act of the
993rd General Assembly, the action must be brought in the county
10in which the unit of local government's principal office is
11located. Actions to recover damage to real estate which may be
12overflowed or otherwise damaged by reason of any act of the
13corporation may be brought in the county where the real estate
14or some part of it is situated, or in the county where the
15corporation is located, at the option of the party claiming to
16be injured. Except as otherwise provided in Section 7-102 of
17this Code, any cause of action that is related to an airport
18owned by a unit of local government, and that is pending on or
19after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
20General Assembly in a county other than the county in which the
21unit of local government's principal office is located, shall
22be transferred, upon motion of any party under Section 2-106 of
23this Code, to the county in which the unit of local
24government's principal office is located.
25    (b) Any action to quiet title to real estate, or to
26partition or recover possession thereof or to foreclose a

 

 

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1mortgage or other lien thereon, must be brought in the county
2in which the real estate or some part of it is situated.
3    (c) Any action which is made local by any statute must be
4brought in the county designated in the statute.
5    (d) Every action against any owner, publisher, editor,
6author or printer of a newspaper or magazine of general
7circulation for libel contained in that newspaper or magazine
8may be commenced only in the county in which the defendant
9resides or has his, her or its principal office or in which the
10article was composed or printed, except when the defendant
11resides or the article was printed without this State, in
12either of which cases the action may be commenced in any county
13in which the libel was circulated or published.
14    (e) (Blank). Actions against any insurance company
15incorporated under the law of this State or doing business in
16this State may also be brought in any county in which the
17plaintiff or one of the plaintiffs may reside.
18    (f) The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 99th
19General Assembly apply to actions filed on or after its
20effective date.
21(Source: P.A. 93-450, eff. 8-6-03.)
 
22    (735 ILCS 5/2-110 new)
23    Sec. 2-110. Motion to dismiss for inconvenient venue.
24    (a) In any action in which none of the parties is a
25resident of this State and over which another forum has

 

 

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1jurisdiction, the court shall on motion dismiss the action on
2the conditions set forth in subsection (b) unless the cause of
3action primarily arose in this State or the interests of
4justice require that the action proceed in this State. The
5court in its discretion may award costs and reasonable
6attorney's fees in connection with the dismissal.
7    (b) Dismissal of the action shall be on condition that: (i)
8if the plaintiff elects to file the action in another forum
9within 6 months after the dismissal order, the defendant shall
10accept service of process from that court; and (ii) if the
11statute of limitations has run in the other forum, the
12defendant shall waive that defense. If the defendant refuses to
13abide by these conditions, the action shall be reinstated for
14further proceedings in the court in which the dismissal was
15granted. If the court in the other forum refuses to accept
16jurisdiction, the plaintiff may, within 30 days after the final
17order refusing jurisdiction, reinstate the action in the court
18in which the dismissal was granted.
19    (c) The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 99th
20General Assembly apply to actions filed on or after its
21effective date.
 
22    (735 ILCS 5/2-1107.1)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1107.1)
 
23    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-7,
24which has been held unconstitutional)

 

 

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1    Sec. 2-1107.1. Jury instruction in tort actions. In all
2actions on account of bodily injury or death or physical damage
3to property based on negligence, or product liability based on
4strict tort liability, the court shall instruct the jury in
5writing that (a) the defendant shall be found not liable if the
6jury finds that the contributory fault of the plaintiff is more
7than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury or damage for
8which recovery is sought and (b) if the defendant is found
9liable, (i) the defendant is jointly and severally liable for
10the plaintiff's past and future medical and medically related
11expenses regardless of the fault attributed to the defendant
12and (ii) the defendant is jointly and severally liable for the
13plaintiff's other damages if the jury finds that the fault of
14the defendant is 50% or more of the proximate cause.
15    The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of
16the 99th General Assembly apply to causes of action filed on or
17after its effective date.
18(Source: P.A. 84-1431.)
 
19    (735 ILCS 5/2-1117)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1117)
20    Sec. 2-1117. Joint liability. Except as provided in Section
212-1118, in actions on account of bodily injury or death or
22physical damage to property, based on negligence, or product
23liability based on strict tort liability, all defendants found
24liable are jointly and severally liable for plaintiff's past
25and future medical and medically related expenses. Any

 

 

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1defendant whose fault, as determined by the trier of fact, is
2less than 50% 25% of the total fault of all tortfeasors,
3including but not limited to the plaintiff's employer,
4nonparties, entities that have settled, or any other person
5that the trier of fact finds was at fault and a proximate cause
6of the injury or damage for which recovery is sought by
7attributable to the plaintiff, the defendants sued by the
8plaintiff, and any third party defendant except the plaintiff's
9employer, shall be severally liable for all other damages. Any
10defendant whose fault, as determined by the trier of fact, is
1150% 25% or greater of the total fault of all tortfeasors,
12including but not limited to plaintiff's employer, nonparties,
13entities that have settled, or any other person that the trier
14of fact finds was at fault and a proximate cause of the injury
15or damage for which recovery is sought by the plaintiff
16attributable to the plaintiff, the defendants sued by the
17plaintiff, and any third party defendants except the
18plaintiff's employer, shall be jointly and severally liable for
19all other damages.
20    The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of
21the 99th General Assembly apply to causes of action filed on or
22after its effective date.
23(Source: P.A. 93-10, eff. 6-4-03; 93-12, eff. 6-4-03.)
 
24    (735 ILCS 5/2-1205.2 new)
25    Sec. 2-1205.2. Actions on account of bodily injury or death

 

 

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1in which recovery is sought for the reasonable expense of
2necessary medical care, treatment, or services. In actions on
3account of bodily injury or death in which recovery is sought
4for the reasonable expense of necessary medical care,
5treatment, or services, including but not limited to medical,
6hospital, nursing, or caretaking expenses, the amount
7recovered shall be not more than the amount actually paid or
8the amount expected to be actually paid for such expenses,
9regardless of the amount initially billed for such expenses.
10The court may hear evidence of the amount actually paid or the
11amount expected to be paid for such services.
 
12    Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes
13changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text
14that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section
15represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does
16not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes
17made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other
18Public Act.
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20becoming law.