CHICAGO – Homeowners in Tinley Park have lost another round in their bid to hold the village of Tinley Park responsible for water drainage issues at their house, despite an annexation agreement that required a developer to install storm sewer drains years ago the homeowners assert would have solved their water issues.
On Sept. 28, a three-justice panel of the Illinois First District Appellate Court agreed with two Cook County judges who sided with the village and a developer in the area in a negligence claim.
The Cook County judges said Patricia and Brian Doyle weren’t protected under the annexation agreement as successor owners, so they didn’t have standing to sue the developer, Malone & Moloney Inc. The judges also granted Tinley Park summary judgment in the case, saying the village was safe from a lawsuit under a state law known as the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, which bars lawsuits against governments and government workers cting under official policies.
The Doyles appealed and the appellate justices affirmed the trial court’s ruling.
The Doyles sued Tinley Park and subdivision developer Malone & Moloney Inc. after their home started having drainage issues years after they purchased it. They alleged negligence and said Malone didn’t install a storm drain system correctly, which they asserted violated the annexation agreement between Malone and Tinley Park that dates back to 1990. They also named the village in the lawsuit and said the damage was worsened because Tinley Park delayed addressing the drainage issue.
The Doyles said they had standing as successors and third-party beneficiaries under the annexation agreement that subjected Malone to Tinley Park’s ordinances and says, “'This agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto, successor owners of record of the subject property, assignees, lessees and upon any successor municipal authorities of said village and successor municipalities,’” according to the opinion.
The appellate justices, however, said the Doyles interpreted the annexation incorrectly. The justices pointed out the statute protects successor owners of the land, not those who buy just a small portion as the couple did for their home. If that was the case, each of the homeowners in the subdivision would be protected under the clause.
As for the village, the court also reiterated its safety from lawsuit through the Tort Immunity Act. The justices noted village work crews placed stone and soil around the storm drains at the heart of the case twice in 2010.
While the Doyles asserted the village didn't do enough work, including tests of the storm drains through a dye or camera test to ensure the drains were working properly, the appellate justices said the workers had discretion to do the additional work or not. In this case, they thought it was enough to fill a sinkhole without further testing
The Appeals Court stated the village "employed discretion at every step of the repair process," despite the Doyles being upset with how long it took to fix the issue. It affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of the case against Malone and granted summary judgement for Tinley Park.
Justice Mary Anne Mason wrote the opinion. Justices Aurelia Pucinski and Michael B. Hyman concurred.
According to Cook County court records, the Doyles are represented by attorney Peter G. Hallam, of Flossmoor.
The village of Tinley Park is represented by the firm of Hartigan & O'Connor, of Chicago.
Malone & Moloney is represented by the firm of De Bruyn, Taylor & De Bruyn, of Orland Park.