VICKI MOFFETT-YOCUM, Claimant v. STATE OF ILLINOIS, Respondent
Case summary
Claimant alleged negligence by the State in allowing a cable cover on the floor of the NIU Convocation Center, causing her to trip and injure herself during a cheerleading event. The Court granted Respondent's motion to dismiss because Claimant failed to exhaust remedies against the third-party licensee, Champion Spirit Group, as required by Section 25 of the Court of Claims Act.
Statutes cited: 705 ILCS 505/25
Cases cited: Welsh v. State, 46 Ill. Ct. Cl. 420, 422-423 (1994); Lucius v. State, 48 Ill. Ct. Cl. 306, 210 (1996); Lyons v. State, 37 Ill. Ct. Cl. 72, 75 (1981); Boe v. State, 37 Ill. Ct. Cl. 72, 75 (1984)
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ORDER
GAGLIARDO, J
This matter appearing before the Illinois Court of Claims coming to be heard on Respondent's Motion to Dismiss and Claimant's Objections to Respondent's Motion to Dismiss, and this Court being fully advised in the premises:
BACKGROUND
On November 30, 2020, Claimant filed a Complaint alleging Respondent was negligent in allowing the placement of a cable cover on the floor of the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center (the NIU Convocation Center"), which caused Claimant's injury when she tripped over said cable cover during the Nation's Choice Holiday Classic cheerleading event (the "Event") on December 18, 2018. Claimant had timely filed her Notice of Intent on April 26, 2019.
On December 15, 2021, Respondent filed a Motion to Dismiss arguing that the Event at the NIU Convocation Center was not hosted by NIU; rather, Champion Spirit Group had entered a license agreement with NIU to use the NIU Convocation Center for the Event (the "License Agreement") which included indemnification language and insurance requirements giving Claimant means to pursue her claims elsewhere.
On March 4, 2022, Claimant filed Objections to Respondent's Motion to Dismiss arguing the Respondent's suggestion that Claimant must pursue a claim against Champion Spirit Group in order to comply with the doctrine of exhaustion of remedies would be frivolous or unreasonable under the circumstances.
On April 27, 2022, Respondent filed its Reply to Claimant's Objections to Respondent's Motion to Dismiss arguing that Champion Spirit Group may have owed a duty under Illinois negligence law to protect against dangerous conditions while hosting the Event at the NIU Convocation Center and therefore, any failure to pursue a remedy against said party would constitute a failure to exhaust available remedies.
LEGAL ANALYSIS
Section 25 of the Court of Claims Act states that "[a]ny person who files a claim in the court shall, before seeing final determination of his or her claim exhaust all other remedies and sources of recovery whether administrative or judicial; except that failure to file or pursue actions against State employees, acting within the scope of their employment, shall not be a [*227] defense. (705 ILCS 505/25) Courts have consistently found that this affirmative duty of the Claimant is mandatory. Welsh v. State, 46 Ill. Ct. Cl. 420, 422-423 (1994); see also Lucius v.
State, 48 Ill. Ct. Cl. 306, 210 (1996); Lyons v. State, 37 Ill. Ct. Cl. 72, 75 (1981). As such, claimants must exhaust all possible causes of action before seeking final disposition of a case filed in the Court of Claims. Welsh, 46 Ill. Ct. Cl. at 422 (citing Boe v. State, 37 Ill. Ct. Cl. 72, 75 (1984). Here, Claimant suffered an injury after tripping over a cable cover at an Event hosted by Champion Spirit Group at the NIU Convocation Center. Further, as a condition to the License Agreement, Champion Spirit Group was required to obtain insurance and indemnify Respondent.
Respondent argues that the License Agreement shifts liability to Champion Spirit Group, and Claimant’s failure to pursue a claim against it constitutes the requirement to exhaust all available remedies before seeking relief in the Court of Claims. In Claimant’s Objections, Claimant argues such a lawsuit would be unreasonable and frivolous; however, but for Champion Spirit Group’s licensing of the NIU Convocation Center to host the Event, Claimant would not have suffered the injury described in Claimant’s Complaint. Therefore, this Court finds Claimant’s argument unpersuasive, and that Claimant has failed to exhaust all other remedies before filing its immediate claim in the Court of Claims. The failure of a person before the Court of Claims to meet this inescapable requirement to exhaust all administrative, legal, or equitable remedies requires dismissal of that claim. Lucius, 48 Ill. Ct. Cl. at 310 (1996).
THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED.