Johnson v. Saen

725 N.E.2d 774 (Ill. App. Ct. 2000)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Carol J. Johnson (P) sued Bertha Saenz (D) for personal injuries she sustained in an automobile accident with D. The complaint alleged that on June 10, 1996, P was stopped at a red light at the intersection of North Mulford Road and Mulford Village Drive in Rockford. D's car collided with P's car as D approached the stop light. Attached to P's complaint was a notice to compel D's appearance at the arbitration hearing pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 237 (166 Ill. 2d R. 237). Following a hearing on November 19, 1998, a majority of the three-member panel of arbitrators entered an award of $19,500 in favor of P. The award specifically noted that D did not personally appear at the arbitration. However, D's attorney was present. Shortly after the hearing, D's attorney went to the county courthouse on an unrelated matter. While he was there, he noticed D sitting in a courtroom. Subsequently, D filed a notice of rejection of the arbitrators' award. P filed a motion to bar D from rejecting the award because D violated Rule 237 when she failed, without good cause shown, to appear at the arbitration and failed to participate in the arbitration in a good-faith and meaningful manner. D stated that she does not speak or read English fluently. D claimed that she did not appear at the arbitration hearing because she went to the courthouse and not the arbitration center. According to D, when she arrived at the courthouse, court personnel directed her to a courtroom, and no one at the courthouse ever told her that she should have gone to the arbitration center. The trial court granted P's motion. The trial court entered judgment in favor of plaintiff for $19,500.D appealed.