Benno v. Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency

609 N.E.2d 1056, 242 Ill. App. 3d 306, 182 Ill. Dec. 522, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 272
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 5, 1993
Docket2-92-0605
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 609 N.E.2d 1056 (Benno v. Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency) 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.

Bluebook
Benno v. Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency, 609 N.E.2d 1056, 242 Ill. App. 3d 306, 182 Ill. Dec. 522, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 272 (Ill. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

JUSTICE UNVERZAGT

delivered the opinion of the court;

Plaintiff, Edward L. Benno, appeals pro se from the orders of the trial court which dissolved a temporary restraining order (TRO), dismissed plaintiff’s complaint for trespass, and awarded damages to defendant, the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency. The essential issue on appeal is whether a utility is free to dig and install a water main in plaintiff’s land without securing plaintiff’s permission or exercising the power of eminent domain where the State of Illinois has the right to use that land for highway purposes.

On October 23, 1991, plaintiff filed a pro se petition for a TRO against defendant. In the petition, plaintiff sought to prevent defendant from digging under or into any portion of his property until after a full hearing. Plaintiff attached to the petition his affidavit in which he averred that he owned two parcels of land at 17960 W. Route 120 which extended to the center line of Route 120 so that the south 25 feet of his property were being used by the State for highway purposes. Plaintiff further averred that a waterline under his property would prevent him from building on his land in the event that the highway easement reverts to plaintiff. Plaintiff also attached a copy of the legal description and a plat of survey of the property, and a copy of a letter from the Department of Transportation (DOT). The letter states in relevant part that DOT admitted that plaintiff owned the property up to the center line of Route 120. On the basis of these documents, the court granted a TRO.

On October 29, 1991, defendant filed an appearance and moved to dissolve the TRO. Defendant argued that the court erred in imposing the TRO by not giving notice to defendant and by not requiring plaintiff to post a bond to secure the TRO, and defendant suffered damages from the delay. Defendant also argued that plaintiff had no likelihood of prevailing on the merits and he would suffer no irreparable injury and has an adequate remedy at law if the pipe is laid under the shoulder of the road.

Defendant submitted the affidavit of its construction manager, William McDonnell, in which McDonnell stated that defendant was laying 32 miles of water transmission lines, including the line under the shoulder of Route 120. Defendant procured all of the easements or rights-of-way by donation or purchase and did not have to resort to condemnation. The lines were completed on either side of plaintiff’s property, but defendant needed to connect the lines to pressure test them. Further, McDonnell averred that until the line was pressure tested, the contractor could not begin the surface restoration.

Defendant also attached a copy of the affidavit of its chairman, N. David Graf. According to Graf, defendant received written consent from DOT to install the waterline along Route 120. Defendant had intended to place the waterline on a portion of plaintiff’s property which was not subject to the highway easement, but plaintiff demanded $196,300 for such an easement, so defendant relocated the line to be in the highway right-of-way. The waterline was completed except for the portion in front of plaintiff’s property. The water carried through this line will serve the residents of Grayslake, Gurnee and Wildwood. Finally, defendant attached a copy of the highway permit by which DOT allowed defendant to place the lines in the highway right-of-way of Route 120.

The court found that the TRO was granted without notice; the TRO was granted improvidently; and there existed an adequate remedy at law for plaintiff. The court therefore dissolved the TRO on October 29, 1991.

The following day, plaintiff filed a complaint for trespass. Plaintiff alleged, inter alia, that in February 1991, Nestor Reina, an engineer for defendant, entered plaintiff’s property. Reina gave plaintiff a packet of materials which stated that construction for the pipeline would begin in the area. Plaintiff informed Reina that the property extended to the middle of Route 120 and there were no easements on the property for defendant to use. Reina told plaintiff that defendant would not enter the property. Early in March 1991, plaintiff saw workers with chain saws cutting down bushes and trees on his property and trees with X’s spray-painted on them. One workman was inserting stakes into plaintiff’s front yard. The man informed plaintiff that he worked for the general contractor of the project. Plaintiff told them there were no easements in the property that defendant could use, and plaintiff ordered the crew to cease destroying his trees and bushes and to leave the property. After the sheriff’s deputies and Reina arrived, plaintiff showed Reina surveys of the property. Reina acknowledged that defendant had no right to enter the property and assured plaintiff they would leave and cease further trespasses. Later that month, plaintiff received a number of telephone calls from defendant requesting an easement on the property. Plaintiff further alleged that after the court dissolved the TRO, digging resumed on the property and, in the process, trees, bushes and fencing were being destroyed. In addition, plaintiff alleged that the general contractor “willfully and wantonly without notice broke the main power cable to the Property cutting off all electricity, water and heat” to plaintiff’s home. Finally, plaintiff alleged that the past trespasses caused him damages in excess of $100,000 and future trespasses would cause further damages because plaintiff would be further deprived of trees and bushes expected to die as a result of the digging. In his prayer for relief, plaintiff requested an injunction in addition to damages.

Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to section 2 — 615 of the Code of Civil Procedure (111. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 110, par. 2 — 615). Defendant argued that the installation of a public improvement along a highway falls within the highway easement. On February 5, 1992, the court ruled that defendant had the right to install its pipeline beneath the highway right-of-way and there had been no trespass. The court therefore dismissed the complaint. Plaintiff filed a motion to reconsider, and defendant filed a petition for damages incurred as a result of the TRO and moved to amend the order so that the court could retain jurisdiction to hear the petition. The court denied the motion to reconsider, and it granted the motion to amend the order and allowed defendant leave to file its petition.

Plaintiff then filed a section 2 — 1401 petition for relief from the order which dissolved the TRO. (See 111. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 110, par. 2 — 1401.) Essentially, plaintiff alleged that defendant had notice that plaintiff was seeking a TRO because plaintiff telephoned defendant’s office that morning and informed defendant’s assistant director of plaintiff’s intention to seek a TRO. Thus, plaintiff reasoned, the TRO should not have been dissolved. Plaintiff also sought leave to file an amended complaint.

The court denied the section 2 — 1401 petition, and it denied plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint. The court granted defendant’s petition for damages and awarded defendant $10,493.57. Plaintiff then timely appealed.

Plaintiff contends that defendant had no authority to lay its pipe on plaintiff’s property.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
609 N.E.2d 1056, 242 Ill. App. 3d 306, 182 Ill. Dec. 522, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 272, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/benno-v-central-lake-county-joint-action-water-agency-illappct-1993.