102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB0264

 

Introduced 1/29/2021, by Rep. Thomas M. Bennett

 

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 if all defendants are nonresidents of this State. Limits venue for actions against corporations, partnerships, and insurance companies. Provides that in actions in which no party 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.


LRB102 04303 LNS 14321 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB0264LRB102 04303 LNS 14321 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
6and by 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
9this Act, 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
17the payment of child support payable to or delivered to the
18State Disbursement 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
6fine, imprisonment, 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 to this Section made by this amendatory Act of
14the 102nd General Assembly apply to actions filed on or after
15the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
16Assembly.
17(Source: P.A. 91-212, eff. 7-20-99.)
 
18    (735 ILCS 5/2-102)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-102)
19    Sec. 2-102. Residence of corporations, voluntary
20unincorporated associations and partnerships defined. For
21purposes of venue, the following definitions apply:
22    (a) Any private corporation or railroad or bridge company,
23organized under the laws of this State, and any foreign
24corporation authorized to transact business in this State is a
25resident of any county in which it has its registered office or

 

 

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1other office or, if on due inquiry no office can be found in
2this State, any county in which it is doing business. A foreign
3corporation not authorized to transact business in this State
4is a nonresident of this State.
5    (b) A partnership sued in its firm name is a resident of
6any county in which any partner resides or in which the
7partnership has an office or, if on due inquiry no office can
8be found in this State, any county in which it is doing
9business. A partnership sued in its firm name, of which all
10partners are nonresidents of this State and which does not
11have an office or do business in this State, is a nonresident
12of this State.
13    (c) A voluntary unincorporated association sued in its own
14name is a resident of any county in which the association has
15an office or, if on due inquiry no office can be found, in
16which any officer of the association resides. A voluntary
17unincorporated association sued in its own name, of which all
18its members are nonresidents of this State and which does not
19have an office or do business in this State, is a nonresident
20of this State.
21    The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of
22the 102nd General Assembly apply to actions filed on or after
23the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
24Assembly.
25(Source: P.A. 83-901.)
 

 

 

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1    (735 ILCS 5/2-103)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-103)
2    Sec. 2-103. Public corporations - Local actions - Libel
3Libel - Insurance companies.
4    (a) Actions must be brought against a public, municipal,
5governmental or quasi-municipal corporation in the county in
6which its principal office is located or in the county in which
7the transaction or some part thereof occurred out of which the
8cause of action arose. Except as otherwise provided in Section
97-102 of this Code, if the cause of action is related to an
10airport owned by a unit of local government or the property or
11aircraft operations thereof, however, including an action
12challenging the constitutionality of this amendatory Act of
13the 93rd General Assembly, the action must be brought in the
14county in which the unit of local government's principal
15office is located. Actions to recover damage to real estate
16which may be overflowed or otherwise damaged by reason of any
17act of the corporation may be brought in the county where the
18real estate or some part of it is situated, or in the county
19where the corporation is located, at the option of the party
20claiming to be injured. Except as otherwise provided in
21Section 7-102 of this Code, any cause of action that is related
22to an airport owned by a unit of local government, and that is
23pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
24of the 93rd General Assembly in a county other than the county
25in which the unit of local government's principal office is
26located, shall be transferred, upon motion of any party under

 

 

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1Section 2-106 of this Code, to the county in which the unit of
2local government's principal office is located.
3    (b) Any action to quiet title to real estate, or to
4partition or recover possession thereof or to foreclose a
5mortgage or other lien thereon, must be brought in the county
6in which the real estate or some part of it is situated.
7    (c) Any action which is made local by any statute must be
8brought in the county designated in the statute.
9    (d) Every action against any owner, publisher, editor,
10author or printer of a newspaper or magazine of general
11circulation for libel contained in that newspaper or magazine
12may be commenced only in the county in which the defendant
13resides or has his, her or its principal office or in which the
14article was composed or printed, except when the defendant
15resides or the article was printed without this State, in
16either of which cases the action may be commenced in any county
17in which the libel was circulated or published.
18    (e) (Blank). Actions against any insurance company
19incorporated under the law of this State or doing business in
20this State may also be brought in any county in which the
21plaintiff or one of the plaintiffs may reside.
22    (f) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory
23Act of the 102nd General Assembly apply to actions filed on or
24after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd
25General Assembly.
26(Source: P.A. 93-450, eff. 8-6-03.)
 

 

 

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1    (735 ILCS 5/2-110 new)
2    Sec. 2-110. Motion to dismiss for inconvenient venue.
3    (a) In any action in which none of the parties is a
4resident of this State and over which another forum has
5jurisdiction, the court shall on motion dismiss the action on
6the conditions set forth in subsection (b) unless the cause of
7action primarily arose in this State or the interests of
8justice require that the action proceed in this State. The
9court in its discretion may award costs and reasonable
10attorney's fees in connection with the dismissal.
11    (b) Dismissal of the action shall be on condition that:
12(i) if the plaintiff elects to file the action in another forum
13within 6 months after the dismissal order, the defendant shall
14accept service of process from that court; and (ii) if the
15statute of limitations has run in the other forum, the
16defendant shall waive that defense. If the defendant refuses
17to abide by these conditions, the action shall be reinstated
18for further proceedings in the court in which the dismissal
19was granted. If the court in the other forum refuses to accept
20jurisdiction, the plaintiff may, within 30 days after the
21final order refusing jurisdiction, reinstate the action in the
22court in which the dismissal was granted.
23    (c) This Section applies to actions filed on or after the
24effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
25Assembly. Motions authorized by this Section are in addition

 

 

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1to, and not in place of, a motion otherwise available to a
2party or the court or under any other statute or rule or the
3common law.
 
4    (735 ILCS 5/2-1107.1)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1107.1)
5    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-7,
6which has been held unconstitutional)
7    Sec. 2-1107.1. Jury instruction in tort actions. In all
8actions on account of bodily injury or death or physical
9damage to property based on negligence, or product liability
10based on strict tort liability, the court shall instruct the
11jury in writing that: (a) the defendant shall be found not
12liable if the jury finds that the contributory fault of the
13plaintiff is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury
14or damage for which recovery is sought; and (b) if the
15defendant is found liable, (i) the defendant is jointly and
16severally liable for the plaintiff's past and future medical
17and medically related expenses regardless of the fault
18attributed to the defendant and (ii) the defendant is jointly
19and severally liable for the plaintiff's other damages if the
20jury finds that the fault of the defendant is 50% or more of
21the proximate cause.
22    The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of
23the 102nd General Assembly apply to actions filed on or after
24the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
25Assembly.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 84-1431.)
 
2    (735 ILCS 5/2-1117)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1117)
3    Sec. 2-1117. Joint liability. Except as provided in
4Section 2-1118, in actions on account of bodily injury or
5death or physical damage to property, based on negligence, or
6product liability based on strict tort liability, all
7defendants found liable are jointly and severally liable for
8plaintiff's past and future medical and medically related
9expenses. Any defendant whose fault, as determined by the
10trier of fact, is less than 50% 25% of the total fault of all
11tortfeasors, including but not limited to the plaintiff's
12employer, nonparties, entities that have settled, or any other
13person that the trier of fact finds was at fault and a
14proximate cause of the injury or damage for which recovery is
15sought by attributable to the plaintiff, the defendants sued
16by the plaintiff, and any third party defendant except the
17plaintiff's employer, shall be severally liable for all other
18damages. Any defendant whose fault, as determined by the trier
19of fact, is 50% 25% or greater of the total fault of all
20tortfeasors, including but not limited to plaintiff's
21employer, nonparties, entities that have settled, or any other
22person that the trier of fact finds was at fault and a
23proximate cause of the injury or damage for which recovery is
24sought by the plaintiff attributable to the plaintiff, the
25defendants sued by the plaintiff, and any third party

 

 

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1defendants except the plaintiff's employer, shall be jointly
2and severally liable for all other damages.
3    The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of
4the 102nd General Assembly apply to actions filed on or after
5the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
6Assembly.
7(Source: P.A. 93-10, eff. 6-4-03; 93-12, eff. 6-4-03.)
 
8    (735 ILCS 5/2-1205.2 new)
9    Sec. 2-1205.2. Recovery of medical expenses. In actions on
10account of bodily injury or death in which recovery is sought
11for the reasonable expense of necessary medical care,
12treatment, or services, including but not limited to medical,
13hospital, nursing, or caretaking expenses, the amount
14recovered shall be not more than the amount actually paid or
15the amount expected to be actually paid for such expenses,
16regardless of the amount initially billed for such expenses.
17The court may hear evidence of the amount actually paid or the
18amount expected to be paid for such services. This Section
19applies to actions filed on or after the effective date of this
20amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.