DesPain v. City of Collinsville

888 N.E.2d 163, 382 Ill. App. 3d 572, 320 Ill. Dec. 946
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 9, 2008
Docket5-07-0300
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 888 N.E.2d 163 (DesPain v. City of Collinsville) 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
DesPain v. City of Collinsville, 888 N.E.2d 163, 382 Ill. App. 3d 572, 320 Ill. Dec. 946 (Ill. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

JUSTICE WEXSTTEN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff, Robert DesPain, appeals from the order of the circuit court of Madison County granting a partial summary judgment in favor of the defendants, the City of Collinsville, Collinsville Mayor Stan Schaeffer, and Collinsville city council members Fred Dalton, Diane Meyer, and Michael Bartsch. For the reasons that follow, we reverse in part and affirm in part.

BACKGROUND

The present appeal stems from three written requests that the plaintiff submitted to the City of Collinsville (the city) pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (the Act) (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq. (West 2000)). The facts relevant to the case are not in dispute.

In March 2001, the plaintiff filed a single-count pro se complaint for a declaratory judgment against the defendants. The complaint alleged a violation of the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/1 et seq. (West 2000)).

In April 2001, the plaintiff requested that, pursuant to the Act, the city allow him to inspect “and listen to” the audiotapes of the city council meetings of “1/29/01” and “2/12/01.” In a response letter, John Swindle, the city’s “Freedom of Information Officer” (FOIO) advised the plaintiff that the records he had requested were “available for inspection, immediately.” The letter further stated, however, that the city did “not have the facilities for the public to listen to audiotapes,” that the city had to “maintain possession of the originals,” and that the plaintiff could obtain copies of the tapes for a fee. The plaintiff subsequently appealed the response to his request in a letter to Mayor Schaeffer. See 5 ILCS 140/10(a) (West 2000). In his appeal letter, the plaintiff maintained that the Act permitted him to inspect the requested audiotapes and that it was “unreasonable to take the position that an audiotape can be inspected without listening to it.” In a response letter, stating that he believed that the plaintiff had not “been denied access to a public record,” Mayor Schaeffer denied the plaintiffs appeal. Citing the city’s need to “preserve its original public records,” the mayor’s letter explained that “in order to inspect an audiotape, a copy must be made.” The mayor’s letter advised that copies of the tapes were available for a fee. The letter further stated that “a [c]ity employee could be provided for the purpose of operating the audiotape machine as you inspect [copies of the audiotapes],” but the mayor intimated that the plaintiff would still have to pay for the copies.

In May 2001, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint for a declaratory judgment, adding counts II and III. Count II of the amended complaint alleged that the city had violated section 3 of the Act (5 ILCS 140/3 (West 2000)) by denying his request to listen to the audiotapes that he had asked to inspect. The plaintiff requested an order directing the defendants to allow him to listen to the original audiotapes, as opposed to copies. Count III alleged that the city had violated section 9(a) of the Act (5 ILCS 140/9(a) (West 2000)) because the city’s responses to his request failed to conform to the statutory requirements set forth therein.

In August 2001, the plaintiff filed a second amended complaint, again alleging counts I, II, and III. No new counts were added, and no substantive changes were made to the existing counts.

In February 2002, the plaintiff requested that the city allow him to inspect and listen to a portion of the “original” audiotape of the city council meeting of “12/26/01.” In a response letter, the city’s FOIO advised the plaintiff that the city did “not have the facilities that would enable the public to listen to audiotapes,” that the city had to “maintain possession of all originals,” and that a copy of the tape was available for a fee.

In March 2002, the plaintiff requested that the city allow him to inspect and listen to a portion of the audiotape of the city council meeting of “3/25/02.” In a response letter, the FOIO again informed the plaintiff that the city did “not have the facilities for the public to listen to audiotapes,” that the city had to “maintain possession of the originals,” and that a copy of the tape was available for a fee.

In April 2002, the plaintiff filed a third amended complaint, adding counts TV, V, VI, and VII. Counts IV and V mirrored count II of the plaintiff’s first and second amended complaints but referenced his February and March inspection requests, respectively. Counts VI and VII alleged that the city had violated the Act with respect to an inspection request unrelated to the present appeal.

In November 2002, the plaintiff filed a fourth amended pro se complaint for a declaratory judgment, adding counts VIII, IX, X, and XI. Counts VIII and XI alleged further violations of the Open Meetings Act. Counts IX and X alleged violations of the Act with respect to inspection requests unrelated to the present appeal.

In June 2006, the defendants moved for a summary judgment on counts I through X of the plaintiff’s fourth amended complaint pursuant to section 2 — 1005 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2— 1005 (West 2006)). With respect to counts II, IV and V the defendants maintained that “nothing in [the Act] states that an original public record must be provided to a requestor” and that “nothing in [the Act] states that a public body must provide the means or facilities to a requestor for the purpose of listening to an original or a copy of an audiotape.” With respect to count III, the defendants argued that because the plaintiff had not been denied access to the public records referred to in count II, there was no need to comply with section 9(a) of the Act.

In March 2007, the circuit court entered an order granting the defendants’ motion for a summary judgment on counts II, III, IY and V of the plaintiff’s fourth amended complaint and denying a summary judgment on the remaining counts. As to counts II, IV and V the court held that the plaintiff had no right under the Act to listen to the original audiotapes in question, “nor were [the] defendants obligated to provide a method or procedure for him to do so.” The circuit court granted a summary judgment on count III “because [the plaintiff] was not denied the ‘inspection’ or ‘copying’ of the subject audiotapes.”

In April 2007, the plaintiff filed a timely motion to reconsider the granting of a summary judgment in favor of the defendants on counts II, III, IV and V The circuit court denied the motion to reconsider and stated that pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 304(a) (210 Ill. 2d R. 304(a)), there was no just reason for delaying the enforcement or appeal of its previous order or its order denying the motion to reconsider.

In May 2007, the circuit court dismissed the remainder of the plaintiff’s complaint for a want of prosecution.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Hites v. Waubonsee Community College
2016 IL App (2d) 150836 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2016)
C.E. v. Board of Education of East St. Louis School District No. 189
2012 IL App (5th) 110390 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2012)
In Re Skidmore
953 N.E.2d 981 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2011)
In re Application of Skidmore
2011 IL App (2d) 100730 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2011)
First American Bank Corp. v. Henry
942 N.E.2d 1262 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2011)
First American Bank v. Henry
Illinois Supreme Court, 2011
Better Government Association v. Blagojevich
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2008
BETTER GOVERNMENT ASS'N v. Blagojevich
899 N.E.2d 382 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
888 N.E.2d 163, 382 Ill. App. 3d 572, 320 Ill. Dec. 946, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/despain-v-city-of-collinsville-illappct-2008.