Landeros v. Equity Property and Development

747 N.E.2d 391, 321 Ill. App. 3d 57, 254 Ill. Dec. 351
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 28, 2001
Docket1-99-3602
StatusPublished
Cited by59 cases

This text of 747 N.E.2d 391 (Landeros v. Equity Property and Development) 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
Landeros v. Equity Property and Development, 747 N.E.2d 391, 321 Ill. App. 3d 57, 254 Ill. Dec. 351 (Ill. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

JUSTICE WOLFSON

delivered the opinion of the court:

This case demonstrates the price that can be paid for an offhand approach to the rules that govern civil proceedings.

BACKGROUND

Eleazar Landeros (Eleazar) and Luz Maria Landeros (Luz Maria) brought this negligence action against Equity Property and Development (Equity) and Bearland Vistas, Inc. (Bearland), after Eleazar was shot by a third party in the parking lot of Ford City Shopping Center (Ford City). Ford City is maintained and operated by Equity and Bear-land. Plaintiffs allege the shooting was caused by defendants’ negligent failure to provide adequate security in the parking lot of Ford City.

Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. After plaintiffs filed their response to the motion, defendants filed a motion to strike the exhibits attached to plaintiffs’ response. The trial court granted defendants’ motion to strike, as well as their motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs filed a motion to reconsider, which the trial court denied.

Plaintiffs appeal both the trial court’s ruling on the motion for summary judgment and its ruling on the motion to reconsider, contending: (1) the trial court erred in finding defendants did not owe a duty to protect plaintiffs from criminal attack; and (2) a genuine issue of fact exists as to whether defendants negligently failed to provide adequate security.

We affirm.

FACTS

Eleazar and Luz Maria were shopping at Ford City with two of their children, Ileana and Octavio, on February 27, 1994. As they exited the shopping center and walked toward a Chicago Transit Authority bus stop, Eleazar was shot in the arm and chest by a third party. Luz Maria was allegedly injured when Eleazar pushed her to the ground in an attempt to protect her from the shots fired. Equity employed security personnel to provide security services at the mall.

PROCEDURAL FACTS

Plaintiffs filed this suit in December 1994. In January 1999, defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. In their motion, defendants argued plaintiffs could not establish defendants had a duty to secure the parking lot from intervening criminal attacks by third parties. Defendants attached a transcript of Eleazar’s deposition testimony and referred to his statement that the shooting occurred in the mall parking lot. Defendants also argued plaintiffs could not establish the incident was the result of inadequate security. They attached David Levenberg’s affidavit, in which he said:

“1. I am the Corporate Director of Security for General Growth Management, Inc. and I am responsible for Public Safety and Loss Prevention programs for over 120 regional shopping centers. I have worked in the field of security of shopping facilities and retail for over 20 years.
2. I am familiar with the standard of care for security at shopping centers in the Chicago area.
3. It is my opinion based on a reasonable degree of certainty, that all times [szc] relevant and in particular that on February 27, 1994, the security at Ford City Shopping Center complied with the standard of care applicable in the Chicago area and on a national level and conformed to the acceptable standard of care of security pertaining to shopping centers in the Chicago area in 1994.”

Plaintiffs responded to the summary judgment motion, arguing defendants had a duty to protect them from criminal attack by third parties because similar incidents had occurred on the mall premises in the past, making the incident reasonably foreseeable. Plaintiffs attached a Chicago police department “Listing of Case Reports” as support for these assertions. This list showed all of the reported offenses that occurred at the mall’s address from December 1993 through March 1994. Plaintiffs also attached the affidavit of Patrick Halpin, which said:

“1. I am currently and have been a Chicago Police Officer since March 1976. I am presently the afternoon and evening supervisor for the Treasure Island Shopping Mall located on Clybourn Avenue, and have been employed there since 1994 as a security guard. Similarly I am a security guard at Finkl Steel Mill located on Cortland Ave., and have been employed as a security guard there since 1989.
2.1 am familiar with the standard of care and security procedures for shopping centers in the Chicago area.
3. It is my opinion that based on a reasonable degree of certainty, that at all times relevant and in particular that on February 27, 1994, the security at Ford City Shopping Center did not comply with the standard of care applicable in the Chicago area, and did not conform to the acceptable standard of care pertaining to shopping centers in the Chicago area in 1994.”

Defendants replied to plaintiffs’ response and filed a motion to strike both the “Listing of Case Reports” and Halpin’s affidavit. Defendants argued plaintiffs failed to authenticate the case reports and as such they were inadmissible. They argued Halpin’s affidavit was conclusory and did not comply with Supreme Court Rule 191. 145 Ill. 2d R 191. Defendants also argued plaintiffs failed to identify Hal-pin as an expert witness pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 213 (177 Ill. 2d R. 213) and did not establish Halpin’s expertise in security issues.

The trial court granted defendants’ motion to strike and their motion for summary judgment on May 12, 1999.

Plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration, attaching several new documents and affidavits as exhibits. The new exhibits included the deposition testimony of Donald Story, taken on April 21, 1998. Story’s deposition exhibits were included with his deposition. These exhibits consisted of Ford City’s security log, several Ford City security incident reports, Chicago police department reports, and a document entitled “Responsibilities of Security.”

Plaintiffs attached several police reports to the motion to reconsider. These were some of the same reports used as exhibits during Story’s deposition. Plaintiffs again attached the Chicago police department “Listing of Cases” stricken from their response to defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs authenticated the list with an affidavit from Sergeant O’Reilly, the record keeper for the Chicago police department.

Plaintiffs attached several affidavits to their motion to reconsider. Joseph Flynn, who was identified by defendants in 1997 as one of the security guards on duty at the time of the shooting, provided an affidavit. In it, he said he was personally aware of a number of violent crimes that occurred in the Ford City parking lot prior to the shooting in this case. He authenticated the “security log,” kept by Ford City security personnel, listing offenses committed on the mall premises.

Plaintiffs attached a new affidavit from Patrick Halpin. This affidavit complied with Supreme Court Rule 191. 145 Ill. 2d R. 191.

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

Related

Wader v. Macon County, Illinois and Illinois Dept. of Transportation
2025 IL App (5th) 240852-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2025)
ASA Construction & Consulting, Inc. v. Oliver
2024 IL App (2d) 230110-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2024)
Nare Meacham Square, LLC v. Falafill SC
2022 IL App (1st) 210874-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2022)
Williams v. Streator Township High School District 40
2021 IL App (3d) 200460-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
T2 Expressway, LLC v. Tollway, LLC
2021 IL App (1st) 192616 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
Morris Engineering, Inc. v. New Lenox Development, LLC
2021 IL App (3d) 190532-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
Brandenberry Park Condominium Ass'n v. Baligh Hassan Abu Taleb
2020 IL App (1st) 200442 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
Brandenberry Park Condominium Ass'n v. Abu Taleb
2020 IL App (1st) 200442 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
City of Chicago v. Eychaner
2020 IL App (1st) 191053 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
Nelson v. THC-Chicago, Inc.
2019 IL App (1st) 190968-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2019)
Liceaga v. Baez
2019 IL App (1st) 181170 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2019)
Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund v. Nwidor
2018 IL App (1st) 171378 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2018)
Horlacher v. Cohen
2017 IL App (1st) 162712 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2017)
Jones v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.
2016 IL App (1st) 152923 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2016)
Nichols v. City of Chicago Heights
2015 IL App (1st) 122994 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2015)
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Progressive Northern Insurance Co.
2015 IL App (1st) 140447 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2015)
Aurora Bank FSB v. Perry
2015 IL App (3d) 130673 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2015)
US Bank v. Avdic
2014 IL App (1st) 121759 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2014)
Emrikson v. Morfin
2012 IL App (1st) 111687 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2012)
Pikovsky v. North Skokie Boulevard Condominium Association
2011 IL App (1st) 103742 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
747 N.E.2d 391, 321 Ill. App. 3d 57, 254 Ill. Dec. 351, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/landeros-v-equity-property-and-development-illappct-2001.