Bainter v. Chalmers Township

Appellate Court of Illinois

Bainter v. Chalmers Township

555 N.E.2d 1195, 198 Ill. App. 3d 540, 144 Ill. Dec. 676, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 851

CourtAppellate Court of Illinois

DecidedJune 8, 1990

Docket3-89-0537

StatusPublished

Cited by9 cases

This text of 555 N.E.2d 1195 (Bainter v. Chalmers Township) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Bainter v. Chalmers Township, 555 N.E.2d 1195, 198 Ill. App. 3d 540, 144 Ill. Dec. 676, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 851 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

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Opinion

JUSTICE STOUDER

delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiffs, Juanita and Lynn Bainter, appeal from the trial court’s granting the defendant’s, Chalmers Township’s, motion to dismiss count V of their complaint. This appeal involves a collision between the Bainters’ automobile and a school bus. The collision occurred on Timberhill Road in Chalmers Township (the township), a township of McDonough County, Illinois. The trial court granted the township’s motion to dismiss count V of the complaint for failure to state a cause of action relying on this court’s decision in Havens v. Harris Township (1988), 175 Ill. App. 3d 768, 530 N.E.2d 284. The trial court, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 304(a), made its judgment final and appealable. (107 Ill. 2d R. 304(a).) We affirm.

On appeal, the Bainters ask this court to reverse our holding in Havens or find the instant case distinguishable from Havens. The Bainters further request that this court follow the reasoning in Long v. Friesland (1988), 178 Ill. App. 3d 42, 532 N.E.2d 914, wherein the court found the clearing of brush from alongside a road to be a ministerial act.

We will continue to adhere to our decision in Havens. A township has no common law duty to widen roads, smooth gravel, erect signs, or mow weeds (Havens v. Harris Township (1988), 175 Ill. App. 3d 768, 530 N.E.2d 284), and a public official has an absolute immunity from lawsuits challenging his acts of judgment or discretion. (Kirchgessner v. County of Tazewell (1987), 162 Ill. App. 3d 510, 516 N.E.2d 379.) Absent a statutory or common law duty, moreover, it is up to the township’s discretion to decide whether road improvements, such as clearing the brush in the instant case, were necessary. Havens, 175 Ill. App. 3d at 771, 530 N.E.2d at 285.

Accordingly, the judgment of the circuit court of McDonough County is affirmed.

Affirmed.

HEIPLE, P.J., and SCOTT, J., concur.

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JUSTICE STOUDER

delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiffs, Juanita and Lynn Bainter, appeal from the trial court’s granting the defendant’s, Chalmers Township’s, motion to dismiss count V of their complaint. This appeal involves a collision between the Bainters’ automobile and a school bus. The collision occurred on Timberhill Road in Chalmers Township (the township), a township of McDonough County, Illinois. The trial court granted the township’s motion to dismiss count V of the complaint for failure to state a cause of action relying on this court’s decision in Havens v. Harris Township (1988), 175 Ill. App. 3d 768, 530 N.E.2d 284. The trial court, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 304(a), made its judgment final and appealable. (107 Ill. 2d R. 304(a).) We affirm.

On appeal, the Bainters ask this court to reverse our holding in Havens or find the instant case distinguishable from Havens. The Bainters further request that this court follow the reasoning in Long v. Friesland (1988), 178 Ill. App. 3d 42, 532 N.E.2d 914, wherein the court found the clearing of brush from alongside a road to be a ministerial act.

We will continue to adhere to our decision in Havens. A township has no common law duty to widen roads, smooth gravel, erect signs, or mow weeds (Havens v. Harris Township (1988), 175 Ill. App. 3d 768, 530 N.E.2d 284), and a public official has an absolute immunity from lawsuits challenging his acts of judgment or discretion. (Kirchgessner v. County of Tazewell (1987), 162 Ill. App. 3d 510, 516 N.E.2d 379.) Absent a statutory or common law duty, moreover, it is up to the township’s discretion to decide whether road improvements, such as clearing the brush in the instant case, were necessary. Havens, 175 Ill. App. 3d at 771, 530 N.E.2d at 285.

Accordingly, the judgment of the circuit court of McDonough County is affirmed.

Affirmed.

HEIPLE, P.J., and SCOTT, J., concur.

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555 N.E.2d 1195, 198 Ill. App. 3d 540, 144 Ill. Dec. 676, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 851, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bainter-v-chalmers-township-illappct-1990.

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