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.



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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.