2018 IL App (1st) 163230
FOURTH DIVISION
February 1, 2018
No. 1-16-3230
MIDWEST MEDICAL RECORDS ASSOCIATION, ) Appeal from the Circuit Court
INC.; RENX GROUP, LLC, f/k/a Big Blue ) of Cook County.
Capital Partners, LLC; and TOMICA )
PREMOVIC, Individually, and on Behalf of All )
Others Similarly Situated, )
) Nos. 15 CH 16986
Plaintiffs-Appellants, ) 15 CH 18832
) 16 CH 193
v. )
) The Honorable
DOROTHY BROWN, Clerk of the Circuit Court ) Sophia H. Hall,
of Cook County, Illinois; MARIA PAPPAS, Treasurer ) Judge, presiding.
of Cook County, Illinois; and COOK COUNTY, )
ILLINOIS, a Body Politic and Corporate, )
Defendants-Appellees.
JUSTICE BURKE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.
Justices McBride and Ellis concurred in the judgment and opinion.
OPINION
¶1 Plaintiffs, Midwest Medical Records Association, Inc., Renx Group, LLC, and Tomica
Premovic, appeal following the circuit court’s dismissal of their consolidated class action
complaint challenging the practice of defendant, Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of
Cook County (Clerk), charging a fee for filing a petition or motion to reconsider, vacate, or
modify interlocutory judgments or orders in the circuit court. In granting defendants’ motion to
dismiss the complaint under section 2-615 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2
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615 (West 2014)), the circuit court held that plaintiffs’ claims were barred by the voluntary
payment doctrine and that no private right of action existed under section 27.2a(g) of the Clerks
of Courts Act (or Act) (705 ILCS 105/1 et seq. (West 2014)).
¶2 I. BACKGROUND
¶3 Section 27.2a(g) of the Clerks of Courts Act imposes a fee for filing a petition to vacate
or modify “any final judgment or order of court.” 705 ILCS 105/27.2a(g) (West 2014). Under
this section, plaintiffs were each charged a $60 filing fee for filing motions to reconsider
interlocutory orders in their separate underlying cases pending in the circuit court of Cook
County. Plaintiffs paid these fees but not under protest. Plaintiffs then individually instituted
lawsuits against defendants. 1 The lawsuits were subsequently all transferred as related to the
same docket.
¶4 Plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended class action complaint against defendants on May
5, 2016, for equitable and monetary relief. Plaintiffs alleged that they brought suit on behalf of
themselves and all others similarly situated who paid a fee for filing a motion to reconsider an
interlocutory order in the circuit court of Cook County under section 27.2a(g)(1) and (2) of the
Act from November 19, 2010, to the present. Plaintiffs asserted that the filing fee was
unauthorized under section 27.2a(g), but they paid the fees involuntarily and under duress
because they would have been denied their constitutional right to challenge the interlocutory
orders and suffered detrimental consequences and adverse judgments against them if they had
not paid the fees.
1
Midwest Medical Records Ass’n, Inc. v. Brown, No. 15 CH 16986 (Cir. Ct. Cook County)
(motion to reconsider interlocutory order); Renx Group, LLC v. Brown, No. 15 CH 18832 (Cir. Ct. Cook
County) (motion to vacate default judgment); Premovic v. Brown, No. 16 CH 193 (Cir. Ct. Cook County)
(motion to vacate or modify an interlocutory order).
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¶5 In count I, plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment that the practice of collecting the
filing fee for motions or petitions to reconsider, vacate, or modify interlocutory orders was
unlawful under section 27.2a(g), and requested equitable and monetary relief and reasonable
attorney fees and expenses. Count II alleged that plaintiffs had an implied private cause of action
under the Clerks of Courts Act based on the Clerk’s violation of section 27.2a(g), and requested
equitable and monetary relief, restitution of the unlawful fees they paid, and reasonable attorney
fees and expenses. Count III alleged unjust enrichment based on the unlawful imposition of
filing fees. Count IV prayed for injunctive relief prohibiting charging or collection of the fees.
¶6 Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to sections 2-615 and 2-619 of the
Code. 735 ILCS 5/2-615, 2-619 (West 2014). Defendants argued that (1) the claim was barred by
the involuntary payment doctrine, (2) the filing fees were appropriately charged as section
27.2a(g) applies to nonfinal orders, (3) count II should be dismissed on grounds that the Clerks
of Courts Act does not provide for a private right of action, and (4) the claim was collaterally
stopped. Defendants also argued that although plaintiffs requested attorney fees in all four
counts, there was no legal basis for such relief, as a court cannot order the government to pay
plaintiffs’ attorney fees absent statutory authority or an agreement to create a common fund
where a plaintiff advances a legal theory in tort or contract.
¶7 On September 15, 2016, the circuit court granted the motion to dismiss under section 2
615 but denied the motion as to section 2-619. Concerning count I, the circuit court rejected
plaintiffs’ claim that they paid the filing fees under duress because they would have lost the
opportunity to contest the rulings of the court unless they paid the fees. The circuit court
concluded that plaintiffs failed to adequately plead duress, they did not sufficiently show that
they were denied access to a service that was necessary or essential, and plaintiffs were
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represented by counsel when they paid the fees. With respect to count II, the circuit court held
that there was no implied private cause of action under section 27.2a(g) as plaintiffs were not
members of the class intended to be benefited by the statute and plaintiffs failed to show that a
private right of action was necessary to provide an adequate remedy, as plaintiffs could have
simply paid the fees under protest and then pursued their remedies. The circuit court also
dismissed counts III and IV as they depended on counts I and II. The court dismissed the
consolidated amended class action complaint without prejudice.
¶8 Plaintiffs filed a motion to reconsider, which the circuit court denied. Plaintiffs then filed
a second amended consolidated class action complaint. Defendants made an oral motion to
dismiss. The parties agreed to rely on their prior briefs submitted in defendants’ motion to
dismiss the amended consolidated class action complaint and plaintiffs’ motion to reconsider.
¶9 On November 23, 2016, the circuit court granted defendants’ motion “on grounds of
voluntary payment and other reasons set forth in” the court’s September 15, 2016, order, and it
dismissed the complaint with prejudice. Plaintiffs timely appealed the circuit court’s September
15 and November 23, 2016, orders.
¶ 10 II. ANALYSIS
¶ 11 A. Standard of Review
¶ 12 This court reviews motions to dismiss under section 2-615 of the Code de novo. Kean v.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 235 Ill. 2d 351, 361 (2009). The question presented by a section 2-615
motion is “whether the allegations of the complaint, when taken as true and viewed in a light
most favorable to the plaintiff, are sufficient to state a cause of action upon which relief can be
granted.” Turner v. Memorial Medical Center, 233 Ill. 2d 494, 499 (2009). We consider only
those facts apparent from the face of the pleadings, matters of which this court may take judicial
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notice, and judicial admissions in the record. Pooh-Bah Enterprises, Inc. v. County of Cook, 232
Ill. 2d 463, 473 (2009). Any exhibits attached to the complaint “are considered part of the
pleading for every purpose.” Dratewska-Zator v. Rutherford, 2013 IL App (1st) 122699, ¶ 14.
“Mere conclusions of law or facts unsupported by specific factual allegations in a complaint are
insufficient to withstand a section 2-615 motion to dismiss.” Ranjha v. BJBP Properties, Inc.,
2013 IL App (1st) 122155, ¶ 9.
¶ 13 Additionally, this case involves the construction of statutory language, which presents an
issue of law we review de novo. People v. Perez, 2014 IL 115927, ¶ 9. In construing statutory
language, this court’s “primary objective is to ascertain and give effect to the legislature’s intent,
keeping in mind that the best and most reliable indicator of that intent is the statutory language
itself, given its plain and ordinary meaning.” Id. We consider a statute as a whole and construe
its language in light of other statutory provisions. Id.
¶ 14 On appeal, “this court reviews the judgment, not the reasoning, of the trial court, and we
may affirm on any grounds in the record, regardless of whether the trial court relied on those
grounds or whether the trial court’s reasoning was correct.” Coghlan v. Beck, 2013 IL App (1st)
120891, ¶ 24.
¶ 15 B. Section 27.2a(g)
¶ 16 Section 27.2a(g) of the Clerks of Courts Act provides, in pertinent part:
“The fees of the clerks of the circuit court in all counties having a population
of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants in the instances described in this Section
shall be as provided in this Section. In those instances where a minimum and
maximum fee is stated, the clerk of the circuit court must charge the minimum
fee listed and may charge up to the maximum fee if the county board has by
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resolution increased the fee. The fees shall be paid in advance and shall be as
follows:
***
(g) Petition to Vacate or Modify.
(1) Petition to vacate or modify any final judgment or order of court,
except in forcible entry and detainer cases and small claims cases or a
petition to reopen an estate, to modify, terminate, or enforce a judgment or
order for child or spousal support, or to modify, suspend, or terminate an
order for withholding, if filed before 30 days after the entry of the
judgment or order, a minimum of $50 and a maximum of $60.
(2) Petition to vacate or modify any final judgment or order of court,
except a petition to modify, terminate, or enforce a judgment or order for
child or spousal support or to modify, suspend, or terminate an order for
withholding, if filed later than 30 days after the entry of the judgment or
order, a minimum of $75 and a maximum of $90.” 705 ILCS 105/27.2a(g)
(West 2014).
¶ 17 On appeal, plaintiffs dispute defendants’ contention in the circuit court that section
27.2a(g) authorized the Clerk to charge a fee for filing a motion contesting an interlocutory
order. Plaintiffs note that this court recently interpreted this section in accord with plaintiffs’
argument in Gassman v. Clerk of the Circuit Court, 2017 IL App (1st) 151738. In Gassman, this
court held that the word “final” in section 27.2a(g) modifies both of the terms “judgment” and
“order” in the statute. Id. ¶ 18. Thus, the court held that this court fee statute does not authorize
the Clerk to charge a fee to file a petition to vacate a nonfinal order. Id.
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¶ 18 Defendants concede on appeal that Gassman controls here. Defendants do not dispute
that the fees paid by plaintiffs to file their motions to reconsider interlocutory orders in the
underlying lawsuits were unlawful. As such, we find that the fees for the motions to reconsider
interlocutory orders that were charged in the underlying cases here were not authorized under
section 27.2a(g).
¶ 19 C. Collateral Estoppel
¶ 20 We note that plaintiffs also contend on appeal that the circuit court properly rejected
defendants’ collateral estoppel argument below. They assert that the circuit court correctly held
that the present case is distinguishable from the case relied on below by defendants (Illinois
Department of Healthcare & Family Services v. Ikechukwu, 2011 IL App (1st) 102650-U (where
the defendant challenged amount of fee imposed when he filed a motion to vacate all prior orders
in paternity case, court upheld the amount of the fee as some orders were entered in excess of 30
days before motion to vacate was filed and thus the higher fee amount was authorized)).
Plaintiffs also contend that this court’s decision in Gassman would operate against defendants as
it addressed the same issue presented here against the same defendants. Defendants concede that
their collateral estoppel argument is now of no moment on appeal in light of this court’s recent
decision in Gassman, and they do not advance this argument on appeal. See Gassman, 2017 IL
App (1st) 151738, ¶¶ 29, 35 (rejecting the Clerk’s argument that the plaintiff’s suit was barred by
res judicata because the plaintiff’s counsel previously brought two unsuccessful lawsuits
challenging the same fee on behalf of different parties, where the court found there was no
privity between the plaintiffs). We therefore do not address this issue.
¶ 21 D. Involuntary Payment Doctrine
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¶ 22 Defendants contend that the only issues which remain on appeal are (1) whether the
plaintiffs adequately pleaded involuntary payment, i.e., whether the voluntary payment doctrine
bars plaintiffs’ claims, and (2) whether an implied private right of action exists under section
27.2a(g) of the Clerks of Courts Act. We first address the voluntary payment issue.
¶ 23 Our supreme court long ago recognized that “money voluntarily paid under a claim of
right to the payment and with knowledge of the facts by the person making the payment cannot
be recovered back on the ground that the claim was illegal. It has been deemed necessary not
only to show that the claim asserted was unlawful, but also that the payment was not voluntary;
that there was some necessity which amounted to compulsion, and payment was made under the
influence of such compulsion.” Illinois Glass Co. v. Chicago Telephone Co., 234 Ill. 535, 541
(1908) (affirming dismissal of complaint to recover amounts paid for telephone service in excess
of legal rates because the amounts were voluntarily paid without fraud or mistake of fact).
¶ 24 Notably, “[t]he kind of duress necessary to establish payment under compulsion has been
expanded over the years.” Smith v. Prime Cable of Chicago, 276 Ill. App. 3d 843, 848 (1995).
“ ‘The doctrine [has] gradually extended *** to recognize duress of property’ ” and “ ‘extended
so as to admit of compulsion of business and circumstances.’ ” Id. (quoting Illinois Merchants
Trust Co. v. Harvey, 335 Ill. 284, 289 (1929), overruled in part by Kanter & Eisenberg v.
Madison Associates, 116 Ill. 2d 506 (1987)); see Getto v. City of Chicago, 86 Ill. 2d 39, 48-51
(1981) (although the plaintiffs failed to pay under protest an illegal tax on their telephone bills,
the threat of telephone service shut off for nonpayment “amounted to compulsion that would
forbid application of the voluntary-payment doctrine”).
¶ 25 Accordingly, a payment is considered involuntary where “(1) the payor lacked
knowledge of the facts upon which to protest the payment at the time of payment, or (2) the
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payor paid under duress.” Dreyfus v. Ameritech Mobile Communications, Inc., 298 Ill. App. 3d
933, 938 (1998) (citing Getto, 86 Ill. 2d at 48-49). Duress is generally an issue of fact, but may
be decided on a motion to dismiss where the facts are not in dispute. Smith, 276 Ill. App. 3d at
850.
¶ 26 Here, as stated, there is no dispute that payment of the fees was unlawful under Gassman.
In addition, plaintiffs do not dispute that they failed to note any protest on the written
instruments with which they paid the fees. 2 Plaintiffs also do not allege that they lacked
knowledge of the facts upon which to protest payment of the fees. Instead, they contend that their
payment of the filing fees was involuntary and under duress as failure to pay would have denied
them access to the courts and the right to a hearing, subjecting them to adverse judgments and
their lawyers to legal malpractice claims. To that end, plaintiffs assert that the circuit court erred
in concluding that nonpayment would not have resulted in loss of access to necessary goods or
services. Plaintiffs urge that the modern trend is against harsh application of the voluntary
payment doctrine and a plaintiff need not show that the product or service is a “necessity” in
order to establish duress.
¶ 27 Defendants contend that plaintiffs’ concept of duress is overbroad and argue that duress
requires a showing of fraud or coercion, and the threat of being denied access to the courts is
insufficient.
¶ 28 In determining whether payment is made under duress, the main consideration is whether
the party had a choice or option, i.e., whether there was “some actual or threatened power
wielded over the payor from which he has no immediate relief and from which no adequate
2
We note that defendants argue on appeal that plaintiffs failed to pay under protest. However,
plaintiffs conceded this point and instead argue that while protest is evidence of compulsion, “compulsion
may appear from the circumstances without a protest against payment” (Smith, 276 Ill. App. 3d at 849),
and that they paid under duress.
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opportunity is afforded the payor to effectively resist the demand for payment.” Id. at 849.
Duress may be implied. Wexler v. Wirtz Corp., 211 Ill. 2d 18, 24 (2004); Ramirez v. Smart
Corp., 371 Ill. App. 3d 797, 802 (2007).
¶ 29 Plaintiffs cite Keating v. City of Chicago, 2013 IL App (1st) 112559-U, in support of
their assertion that they paid the filing fees under duress. Defendants criticize plaintiffs’ reliance
on an unpublished order of this court. “[O]ur supreme court restricts parties from citing
unpublished orders of Illinois appellate courts” as binding authority, although parties may use
“the reasoning and logic that an Illinois appellate court used in its unpublished decision.” Osman
v. Ford Motor Co., 359 Ill. App. 3d 367, 374 (2005). While plaintiffs acknowledge that Keating
is nonprecedential, they assert that Keating merely followed existing law and relied on
published, binding cases. Indeed, the Keating court relied on several supreme court and appellate
court cases, namely, Illinois Glass, Getto, Smith, Norton v. City of Chicago, 293 Ill. App. 3d 620
(1997), and Raintree Homes, Inc. v. Village of Long Grove, 389 Ill. App. 3d 836 (2009). 3 Of
these, plaintiffs rely particularly on Norton and Raintree, which we discuss in turn.
¶ 30 In Norton, the plaintiffs challenged a $3 penalty fee they paid on parking fines. Norton,
293 Ill. App. 3d at 623. This court found the voluntary payment doctrine did not bar their claims,
despite failure to pay under protest, because the demand notices sent by the defendant city were
coercive in that they threatened further legal action, entry of a default judgment plus court costs,
3
In Keating, the plaintiffs received red light violation citations from the City of Chicago and paid
their fines. Keating, 2013 IL App (1st) 112559-U, ¶ 4. The plaintiffs asserted that the circuit court erred in
dismissing their subsequent lawsuit challenging the fines based on the voluntary payment doctrine where
the notices of citation from the City of Chicago stated that they could pay or contest the fine, but city
ordinances provided that, unless a stay was obtained in court, the fine would become a judgment even if
they exhausted their administrative remedies and the city could impose a lien, collection actions would be
taken, they would be liable for attorney fees and costs, and could have their vehicles immobilized. Id.
¶¶ 69, 71. The court held that the ordinances created “both a threat to the plaintiffs’ property (in the form
of a judgment lien) and a threat of penalties.” Id. ¶ 75. The Keating court likened the ordinances to the
notices at issue in Norton, 293 Ill. App. 3d 620, in finding they had a coercive effect.
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and action to recover further amounts or demand the maximum fine allowed by law. Id. at 627.
In addition, the notice directed, without any legal basis, that the plaintiffs were not to contact the
traffic court and misinformed them that “[n]o information will be given or payment accepted at”
the court. Id. The appellate court thus reversed the grant of summary judgment against the
plaintiffs. Id.
¶ 31 Next, in Raintree, the trial court found in favor of the plaintiff developer in its declaratory
judgment action challenging a village ordinance that required payment of impact fees as a
condition of obtaining building permits. Raintree Homes, 389 Ill. App. 3d 836. The appellate
court agreed that the developer paid the fees under duress. Id. at 866. The majority held that
necessity and protest were not the only bases for recoupment; it disagreed with the notion
advanced by the dissenting justice that “recoupment of payments made under duress has been
either limited to items or services that constitute necessities or allowed only when there has been
a protest.” Id. at 863-64. 4 The court also rejected the argument that recovery was barred because
the plaintiff paid the impact fees for years before it sued. Id. at 864 (citing Getto, 86 Ill. 2d at 51,
and Geary v. Dominick’s Finer Foods, Inc., 129 Ill. 2d 389, 407 (1989)). It found there was a
business compulsion to continue doing business in the village and pay the impact fees because
the plaintiff would have gone out of business, breached its contracts with third-party customers,
it had “substantial commitments” in land there, and without the permits it could not have legally
4
The Raintree court cited DeBruyn v. Elrod, 84 Ill. 2d 128, 136 (1981) (duress established where
plaintiffs had to pay sheriff’s fees or sheriff would refuse to effectuate requested sale), People ex rel.
Carpentier v. Treloar Trucking Co., 13 Ill. 2d 596, 600 (1958) (payment for higher classification of truck
license plates, without protest, was under duress where Secretary of State refused to file any other
classification and economic necessity demanded that trucking company pay for such license plates in
order to carry on business and avoid statutory penalties), Norton, 293 Ill. App. 3d 620, Ball v. Village of
Streamwood, 281 Ill. App. 3d 679, 688 (1996) (duress existed despite taxpayers’ failure to pay tax under
protest where their residences were subject to contracts to sell to third parties and taxpayers would be
subject to civil penalties for failure to pay the tax), and Terra-Nova Investments v. Rosewell, 235 Ill. App.
3d 330, 337 (1992) (claim not barred by voluntary payment doctrine and duress was shown where
certificate of purchase would not have been issued to plaintiff absent payment of the fee).
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built homes in the village. Id. at 864-65. That the plaintiff’s business was profitable did not
render the payment of fees voluntary. Id. at 865.
¶ 32 We find Norton and Raintree instructive in the present case. Although plaintiffs here did
not pay under protest, it is indisputable that they would have forfeited the ability to challenge the
interlocutory orders if they had not paid the filing fee as the Clerk would have refused to accept
their motions. We observe that, in attempting to distinguish Raintree, defendants rely on the
dissenting opinion in that case, which is not binding on this court. Defendants argue that Norton
is distinguishable because the Clerk here did not make any misrepresentations regarding legal
rights or threaten entry of a judgment. However, Norton did not hold that a plaintiff must show
fraud or coercive misrepresentations. Rather, the court simply followed precedent in holding that
a plaintiff could show that a payment was “made under duress or compulsion” if he
demonstrated that “the payee exert[s] some actual or threatened power over the payor from
which the payor has no immediate relief except by paying.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Norton, 293 Ill. App. 3d at 627. As such, the notices were “coercive enough to render plaintiffs’
payment involuntary” where they “discouraged use of the judicial process or coerced payment.”
Id. at 628. Similarly, here, plaintiffs could not avail themselves of the judicial process without
payment. Plaintiffs’ refusal to pay the fee would have immediately resulted in loss of access to
the courts to challenge orders entered against them. This is a more immediate threat than the
possibility of a judgment being entered against the plaintiffs in Norton.
¶ 33 On appeal, defendant relies primarily on two cases: Alvarez v. Pappas, 229 Ill. 2d 217
(2008), and Wexler, 211 Ill. 2d 18, neither of which we find persuasive. In Alvarez, the plaintiff
property owners claimed they were entitled to a refund of real estate taxes where, unbeknownst
to the property owners, the taxes were twice paid—by the property owners and their lenders. The
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issue was whether their requests for a refund were barred by the five-year statute of limitations in
the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/20-175 (West 2006)), i.e., whether they constituted “tax
payments” which were “overpaid” under the statute. Alvarez, 229 Ill. 2d at 221-22. The court
held that the payments were for taxes and constituted overpayment for purposes of the five-year
limitations statute; the refund claims were thus barred because they were made more than five
years after the overpayments. Id. at 226.
¶ 34 We find Alvarez to be inapposite. The Alvarez court noted that the statute of limitations
created an exception to the voluntary payment doctrine, which would otherwise bar repayment in
that case. Id. at 221-22. Voluntary payment and duress were not at issue; rather, the issue was
whether the refund requests were barred under the specific statute of limitations.
¶ 35 Defendant also asserts that the circuit court properly relied on Wexler, 211 Ill. 2d 18, in
ruling against plaintiffs. In Wexler, the plaintiff, who purchased liquor as a retail customer at a
liquor store, challenged the constitutionality of a statute increasing taxes on manufacturers and
importers of alcoholic beverages. Id. at 20-21. Our supreme court held that the plaintiff’s
payment of the taxes was voluntary and not under duress. Id. at 23-24. The court held:
“duress exists where the taxpayer’s refusal to pay the tax would result in loss
of reasonable access to a good or service considered essential. [Citation.]
Goods or services deemed to be necessities have included telephone and
electrical service and, for women, sanitary napkins and tampons. [Citation.]
Alcoholic beverages do not fall within the category of necessary goods or
services.” Id. at 24.
¶ 36 The Wexler court concluded that alcoholic beverages were “not essential, in any objective
sense, to consumers such as [the plaintiff].” Id.; see Geary, 129 Ill. 2d at 397-98 (implied duress
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where the nature of the product—sanitary napkins and tampons—was a necessity and the
consequence of nonpayment of the taxes on the product was significant, i.e., the plaintiffs could
not obtain the product unless they paid the taxes); Ross v. City of Geneva, 71 Ill. 2d 27, 33-34
(1978) (implied duress where the defendant had a policy of terminating electric service if a
customer failed to pay their bills, electrical service was a necessity, and there was no reasonable
alternative provider of electrical service). The plaintiff was aware of the tax and purchased the
alcohol anyway and, in fact, did so in order to establish a basis upon which to bring his legal
challenge. Wexler, 211 Ill. 2d at 24.
¶ 37 Defendants argue that the payment of the fee to file a motion to challenge an
interlocutory order here is more like the purchase of alcoholic beverages in Wexler and different
from the necessary products or services at issue in the cases Wexler discussed, i.e., the sanity
napkins and tampons at issue in Geary, the electrical service at issue in Ross, or the telephone
service at issue in Getto. However, Wexler is readily distinguishable from the present
circumstances. Access to the courts to challenge an order entered against a party is an entirely
different consideration than the plaintiff’s purchase of alcoholic beverages in Wexler. And,
unlike in Wexler, there is no indication that plaintiffs here filed the interlocutory motions and
paid the filing fees solely to form a legal basis upon which to challenge the fee statute.
¶ 38 In addition, we are not persuaded by defendants’ argument that the approximately $60 fee
could not be impliedly coercive because it is a small amount compared to one hour of reasonable
attorney fees in the Chicago market. Defendants do not cite to any authority holding that the
amount of the unlawful fee is a relevant consideration. Indeed, case law points in the opposite
direction. See Norton, 293 Ill. App. 3d 620 (finding that a $3 charge was compulsory).
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¶ 39 Accordingly, we find that the trial court erred in holding that plaintiffs’ claims were
insufficient to plead duress and failed to show they were denied access to a service that was
necessary to them. Plaintiffs alleged that they paid the fees under duress because nonpayment
would have resulted in loss of access to a necessary good or service, i.e., access to the courts to
challenge adverse judgments entered against them. At a minimum, the circuit court should not
have resolved the issue of duress as a matter of law on the pleadings, as it is generally a question
of fact. Smith, 276 Ill. App. 3d at 850.
¶ 40 E. Implied Cause of Action Under the Clerks of Courts Act
¶ 41 We next examine whether the circuit court erred in dismissing count II of the complaint
upon concluding that no implied private right of action existed under the Clerks of Courts Act.
¶ 42 “When a plaintiff seeks to use a statutory enactment as a predicate for a tort action
seeking damages, he must demonstrate that a private right of action is either expressly granted or
implied in the statute.” Gassman, 2017 IL App (1st) 151738, ¶ 25 (citing Noyola v. Board of
Education of the City of Chicago, 179 Ill. 2d 121, 129-31 (1997)). Our supreme court has
outlined a four-part test to determine whether a statute implies a private right of action:
“(1) the plaintiff belongs to the class for whose benefit the statute was
enacted; (2) the plaintiff’s injury is one the statute was designed to prevent;
(3) a private right of action is consistent with the underlying purpose of the
statute; and (4) implying a private right of action is necessary to provide an
adequate remedy for the statute’s violation.” Marshall v. County of Cook,
2016 IL App (1st) 142864, ¶ 12 (citing Fisher v. Lexington Health Care, Inc.,
188 Ill. 2d 455, 460 (1999), and Givot v. Orr, 321 Ill. App. 3d 78, 87 (2001)).
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¶ 43 In count II, plaintiffs alleged that defendants violated section 27.2a(g) by imposing and
collecting the filing fees and that plaintiffs were overcharged or paid fees they did not owe and
suffered monetary damages as a result. Plaintiffs requested a declaration that charging the fees
was unlawful and also sought a return of the fees collected pursuant to section 27.2a(g), in
addition to attorney fees and other costs. Defendants asserted in their motion to dismiss that
count II should be dismissed under Marshall, 2016 IL App (1st) 142864, because there is no
implied private cause of action for an alleged violation of section 27.2a(g). Defendants argued
that plaintiffs have an adequate remedy in the form of a restitution claim. The circuit court
agreed.
¶ 44 On appeal, plaintiffs attempt to distinguish Marshall in asserting that litigants are the
intended beneficiaries of the statute, as demonstrated by statements by a legislator in opposition
to a proposal to increase court fees and the Act’s detailed categories of fees and maximum
amounts that the Clerk may charge. Plaintiff contends that payment of the unlawful fee is the
type of injury intended to be prevented, considering the legislature amended the Act to add the
adjective “final,” and an implied cause of action would be consistent with the underlying purpose
of the statute. Plaintiffs dispute that a restitution claim would provide an adequate remedy, as
plaintiffs seek damages caused by defendants’ imposition of unlawful fees, which includes the
amount paid in unlawful fees and their attorney fees and costs.
¶ 45 Defendants maintain on appeal that Marshall is controlling. Defendants also assert that
plaintiffs are not entitled to attorney fees absent a statutory or contractual basis. Defendants
reiterate that plaintiffs have an adequate remedy in the form of a claim for restitution.
¶ 46 In Marshall, 2016 IL App (1st) 142864, ¶ 4, the plaintiff asserted that he paid statutory
filings fees under different provisions of the Clerks of Courts Act—section 27.3a (to establish
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record keeping systems) and section 27.3c (for document storage systems) (705 ILCS 105/27.3a,
27.3c (West 2012))—in addition to a fee under section 5-1103 (55 ILCS 5/5-1103 (West 2012))
(to defray costs of court security), but the county allegedly refused to use the fees for the specific
purposes set forth in the enabling statutes. The plaintiff requested that the county be compelled to
use the fees for their statutory purposes or be returned to him. Marshall, 2016 IL App (1st)
142864, ¶ 5. The circuit court granted the county’s motion to dismiss, finding no implied private
cause of action under the statutes and that the plaintiff lacked standing. Id. ¶ 7. On appeal, this
court held that the circuit court correctly found no private cause of action existed under the
statutes because the plaintiff was “not a member of the class intended to be benefited by the
statutes—the statutes are intended to benefit counties that want to reduce court security costs or
establish and maintain document storage or automated recordkeeping systems.” Id. ¶ 13. The
Marshall court further held that implying a private cause of action was “inconsistent with that
underlying purpose and not necessary to provide an adequate remedy, as the circuit court noted,
since the Cook County State’s Attorney can bring an action for any alleged violations.” Id.
¶ 47 The holding in Marshall demonstrates that the fees imposed by section 27.2a(g) are
intended to compensate for the financial costs of operating the Clerk’s office in handling
litigants’ pleadings and motions. It is not meant to benefit litigants such as plaintiffs. As the
Marshall court specifically held, the Clerks of Courts Act is intended to “benefit counties that
want to reduce court security costs or establish and maintain document storage or automated
recordkeeping systems” and a private right of action is inconsistent with this underlying purpose
of the Act and not necessary to provide an adequate remedy. Id. The same reasoning is
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applicable here. 5 Thus, we are not persuaded by plaintiffs’ arguments that one legislator’s
comment regarding a proposed fee increase in 1991 demonstrates that the Act was meant to
protect litigants as a class. Similarly, we are not persuaded that the fee structure of the Act shows
that it was intended to primarily protect litigants and prohibit the Clerk from charging
“exorbitant fees for access to the courts” or that plaintiffs’ injuries were of the type intended to
be prevented by the statute. The fees correspond with different types of filings and the
administrative costs associated with each type of filing. Id. Implying a private cause of action
here is not necessary to effectuate the purpose of the statute.
¶ 48 We also examine whether “implying a private right of action is necessary to provide an
adequate remedy for the statute’s violation.” Id. ¶ 12. Plaintiffs complain that equitable relief
would not fully compensate them because they are seeking damages—i.e., attorney fees and
other expenses costs incurred.
¶ 49 We note that in Gassman, the Clerk argued, as it does here, that there was no implied
private right of action under section 27.2a(g). Gassman, 2017 IL App (1st) 151738, ¶ 24. The
plaintiff in Gassman sought a writ of mandamus to compel the Clerk to cease collecting the
unauthorized fees, to return all fees previously collected, and for an accounting of all fees
collected. Id. ¶ 7. This court held that it was not necessary to infer a private right of action
5
That the purpose of section 27.2a(g) of the Clerks of Courts Act is intended to benefit the clerks’
offices to cover the expenses associated with filing a petition to vacate a final order or judgment is
buttressed by other cases examining the purpose behind similar fee provisions in the Clerks of Courts Act.
See Pick v. Pucinski, 247 Ill. App. 3d 1068, 1073 (1993) (statute requiring payment of a second filing fee
after remand had a reasonable basis of compensating clerks for services rendered to case on remand;
upheld statutory fee based on purpose related to operating and maintaining court system); People v.
Tolliver, 363 Ill. App. 3d 94, 97 (2006) (circuit clerks’ fee for automation and document storage
constituted a fee, and not a fine, as it compensates clerks for costs associated with a defendant’s
conviction); People v. Heller, 2017 IL App (4th) 140658, ¶ 74 (same); Lee v. Pucinski, 267 Ill. App. 3d
489 (1994) (statutory fees charged under Clerks of Courts Act for reproduction of records did not violate
constitutional right to free access to courts as they constituted charge to compensate clerks for expenses in
providing copying services, and statutory fees were reasonably related to statute’s purpose of defraying
copying expenses).
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because the plaintiff was not seeking tort-like relief or damages, but instead the plaintiff’s suit
for mandamus was the proper vehicle. Id. ¶ 24. The plaintiff was not attempting to impose tort
liability on the Clerk, but to compel public officials to comply with the language of the statute,
and therefore the plaintiff was “entitled to pursue a mandamus action to compel the officials’
compliance with the law, and no private right of action is necessary.” Id. ¶ 25.
¶ 50 Indeed, a mandamus action is “an extraordinary remedy to enforce the performance of
official duties by a public officer where no exercise of discretion on his part is involved.” Wilson
v. Quinn, 2013 IL App (5th) 120337, ¶ 18 (citing Noyola, 179 Ill. 2d at 133). See also Noyola,
179 Ill. 2d at 124, 132-35 (where the plaintiffs brought suit to force public officials to comply
with statutory requirements, and were not using statute as a predicate for tort action, a court may
compel public officials’ compliance by means of a writ of mandamus). We note that the circuit
court here ruled on defendants’ motion to dismiss in the present case before Gassman was
decided. To the extent that plaintiffs here are requesting a declaration that imposition of the filing
fees is unlawful and seek a return of the fees collected pursuant to section 27.2a(g), plaintiffs’
claim can be construed as one for restitution, and not attempting to impose tort liability or
damages on the Clerk.
¶ 51 As our supreme court has explained, restitution is available in both cases of law and
equity and “ ‘[t]he concepts of restitution and damages are quite distinct, but sometimes courts
use the term damages when they mean restitution.’ ” Raintree Homes, Inc. v. Village of Long
Grove, 209 Ill. 2d 248, 257 (2004) (quoting 1 Dan B. Dobbs, Law of Remedies § 3.1, at 280 (2d
ed. 1993)). “ ‘Damages differs from restitution in that damages is measured by the plaintiff’s
loss; restitution is measured by the defendant’s unjust gain.’ ” Id. (quoting Dobbs, supra, at 278).
In Raintree, the plaintiffs sought a declaration that the ordinance at issue was unlawful and the
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return of the impact fees collected under the same. Id. at 256. The court rejected the defendant’s
characterization of the plaintiffs’ claim as one for “damages,” holding instead that plaintiffs
sought a refund or restitution of the money they had paid which was not owed. Id. at 257. “ ‘[I]f
the plaintiff has no substantive claim grounded in tort, contract, or statute, then if the plaintiff’s
claim is viable at all, it must be one for restitution to prevent unjust enrichment.’ ” (Emphases in
original.) Id. at 258 (quoting Dobbs, supra § 4.1(1), at 556). The plaintiffs sought only return of
the money paid, not compensation for lost capital which could have been invested elsewhere, and
they did not allege that the defendant breached a duty as a predicate for imposing liability. Id. at
257.
¶ 52 Here, we find that plaintiffs do not have a basis to pursue a private action to impose tort
liability on defendants under Marshall, and consequently, they do not have a basis upon which to
seek damages to compensate for costs and expenses beyond restitution. However, plaintiffs can
proceed with a declaratory action, similar to the mandamus action pursued by the plaintiffs in
Gassman. Much like the mandamus action by the plaintiffs in Gassman, plaintiffs here need not
pursue a private right of action under the Clerks of Courts Act in seeking the equitable relief of a
declaratory judgment and return of the fees unlawfully imposed in the form of restitution.
¶ 53 Moreover, to the extent that plaintiffs argue that they are seeking attorney fees, we note
that “Illinois has long adhered to the general American rule that the prevailing party in a lawsuit
must bear the costs of litigation, unless a statutory provision or an agreement between the parties
allows the successful litigant to recover attorney fees and the expenses of suit.” Brundidge v.
Glendale Federal Bank, F.S.B., 168 Ill. 2d 235, 238 (1995) (citing Saltiel v. Olsen, 85 Ill. 2d 484,
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488 (1981), and Hamer v. Kirk, 64 Ill. 2d 434, 437 (1976)). 6 Here, plaintiffs have shown no
statutory provision or agreement authorizing such fees.
¶ 54 III. CONCLUSION
¶ 55 We find the circuit court erred in dismissing plaintiffs’ count I claim on the basis that it
was barred by the voluntary payment doctrine. As to count II, we find that no private right of
action is implied in the Clerks of Courts Act. However, plaintiffs may proceed on their
declaratory action to prevent the Clerk from charging filing fees under section 27.2a(g) for
interlocutory motions and to recover such fees paid by plaintiffs as restitution.
¶ 56 Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
6
We note that “where the outcome of the litigation has created a common fund, this court has
adopted the ‘common fund doctrine.’ ” Brundidge, 168 Ill. 2d at 238. “The general rule requiring litigants
to bear their own costs and attorney fees does not interfere, however, with the power of courts of equity to
permit a litigant or lawyer who recovers a common fund for the benefit of others to recover costs and
reasonable fees from the fund as a whole.” Ryan v. City of Chicago, 274 Ill. App. 3d 913, 921 (1995).
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Midwest Med. Records Ass'n, Inc. v. Brown
Court: Appellate Court of Illinois
Date filed: 2018-02-01
Citations: 2018 IL App (1st) 163230, 97 N.E.3d 125
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