Rodriguez v. Village of Park Forest

2021 IL App (1st) 201269-U
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 19, 2021
Docket1-20-1269
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2021 IL App (1st) 201269-U (Rodriguez v. Village of Park Forest) 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
Rodriguez v. Village of Park Forest, 2021 IL App (1st) 201269-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

2021 IL App (1st) 201269-U

No. 1-20-1269

Filed August 19, 2021

Fourth Division

NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT

MARCOS RODRIGUEZ, ) Appeal from the Circuit Court of ) Cook County. Plaintiff-Appellant, ) ) v. ) No. 18 L 12670 ) THE VILLAGE OF PARK FOREST, ) a municipal corporation, and ) JAMES KESSLER, ) The Honorable ) Christopher E. Lawler, Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge Presiding

JUSTICE MARTIN delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice Gordon and Justice Lampkin concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: A police officer and Village are immune from liability when the police officer allowed a motorist to drive away after a minor traffic accident without investigating whether the driver was under the influence of alcohol and the driver, who was intoxicated, was subsequently injured in a crash.

¶2 Marcos Rodriguez appeals the circuit court’s order granting summary judgment to

defendants James Kessler and the Village of Park Forest, Illinois. Rodriguez sustained injuries

when he fell asleep at the wheel and his vehicle left the roadway, rolled over, and struck a utility No. 1-20-1269

pole. Upon being transported to a hospital, Rodriguez was discovered to have a blood alcohol

concentration of 0.24. Preceding the crash, Rodriguez was involved in a minor traffic accident

with another vehicle. The driver of the other car called police and Kessler, a Park Forest police

officer, responded. Rodriguez asserts that he exhibited clues of intoxication, which should have

prompted Kessler to investigate whether he was driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).

However, Kessler did not investigate Rodriguez for DUI and allowed him to drive away. Thus, he

claims Kessler’s failure to investigate and prevent him from driving after the earlier accident was

willful and wanton conduct making the officer and the Village liable based on the qualified

immunity afforded under section 2-202 of the Local Government and Governmental Employees

Tort Immunity Act (“Tort Immunity Act”) (745 ILCS 10/2-202 (West 2016)). In granting

summary judgment in favor of the defendants, the trial court found the defendants did not owe

Rodriguez a duty and, therefore, could not be liable. In addition, the court found that even if the

defendants owed Rodriguez a duty, applicable sections of the Tort Immunity Act concerning the

provision of adequate police services (id. § 4-102) and the failure to make an arrest (id. § 4-107)

conferred absolute immunity from Rodriguez’s claim. For the following reasons, we affirm. 1

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 Marcos Rodriguez went to his friend Todd Senholtz’s house in Park Forest, Illinois to

watch a football game on the evening of December 7, 2017. Rodriguez and Senholtz watched the

game and drank in the “man cave” of Senholtz’s garage until 5:30 a.m. During his visit, Rodriguez

steadily consumed an entire bottle of whiskey. Senholtz told Rodriguez he was “not okay to drive”

and invited Rodriguez to sleep at his house. Rodriguez wanted to return to his home in New Lenox,

Illinois. Despite being “conscious that [he] was drunk” and feeling the effects from the whiskey,

1 In adherence with the requirements of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 352(a) (eff. July 1, 2018), this appeal has been resolved without oral argument upon the entry of a separate written order. -2- No. 1-20-1269

Rodriguez “made [his] own decision” to “take [his] own chances.” After departing, Rodriguez

called his girlfriend. She told him he was not “okay” and implored him to pull over and tell her

where he was. Rodriguez insisted he was “okay to drive” and continued.

¶5 A short time after leaving his friend’s house, Rodriguez bumped into the rear of Kimberly

Taylor’s car, which was stopped at a traffic light on Sauk Trail at the intersection with Shabbona

Drive. Taylor and Rodriguez both exited their cars and had a brief conversation. Taylor believed

that Rodriguez was drunk. In deposition testimony, Taylor denied that Rodriguez smelled of

alcohol or exhibited bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, or unsteady balance. The sole basis for her

belief was that she observed his vehicle weave across lanes of traffic before the accident. The

collision occurred at a low speed, neither driver was injured, and there was no significant damage

to either car. Nevertheless, Taylor decided to call the Park Forest police to report the accident.

¶6 Officer James Kessler arrived at the scene of the collision. Rodriguez was in the driver’s

seat of his vehicle and Taylor was standing outside of hers. Kessler asked Taylor to return to her

car for her safety, as traffic passed in both directions on either side of the two stopped cars. After

obtaining some basic information from both drivers, Kessler asked Taylor to exit her car and walk

to the rear to assess any damage. While doing so, Taylor informed Kessler that she had observed

Rodriguez weave across lanes while driving ahead of her. She explained that she passed Rodriguez

and he rear-ended her at the intersection where she had stopped for a red light. In an affidavit,

Taylor attested that she told Kessler that she believed Rodriguez was drunk. But in her deposition

testimony, Taylor was unsure. Dashcam video from Kessler’s police cruiser captured the

encounter. The audio quality is poor at times making it difficult to discern the entirety of what was

said. Of what can be heard clearly, Taylor and Kessler primarily discuss the lack of damage to her

car and probable responses from the insurance company if she were to make an insurance claim.

-3- No. 1-20-1269

Taylor can be heard telling Kessler that Rodriguez weaved, but the audio never clearly depicts her

telling him that she believed Rodriguez was drunk.

¶7 Kessler also spoke with Rodriguez, who remained in his vehicle. After Kessler asked

Rodriguez to provide proof of insurance, Rodriguez sifted through various papers in his vehicle

and twice presented other documents, such as a utility bill. Kessler responded, “that has nothing

to do with insurance.” Eventually, Rodriguez handed Kessler a card with insurance information.

While Rodriguez was searching for the insurance card, Kessler asked him where he lived.

Rodriguez responded by “rattl[ing] off” several digits. Later, Kessler asked Rodriguez to provide

his phone number. In the video, Rodriguez can be heard reciting a phone number with clear speech.

In his deposition, Kessler testified he did not detect an odor of alcohol, though he had a cold at the

time, which inhibited his sense of smell.

¶8 According to his deposition testimony, Rodriguez believed his intoxication caused him to

hit Taylor’s car and, at that time, thought it was unsafe for him to continue driving. He explained,

however, that he did not inform Kessler that he had been drinking because he was scared and did

not want to be arrested or go to jail.

¶9 Ultimately, Kessler gave Taylor a note on which he wrote the incident number assigned to

the reported accident and a phone number to contact him. He told Taylor she could go, and she

drove away. Kessler then gave Rodriguez a similar note, told him to pay attention, and instructed

him to pull forward. (The traffic light was red at that point, but Rodriguez’s vehicle was about two

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2021 IL App (1st) 201269-U, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodriguez-v-village-of-park-forest-illappct-2021.