Cityescape Garden & Design, LLC v. City of Chi., Case No. 14 C 5404

• Decision Date: 24 September 2015
• Docket Number: Case No. 14 C 5404
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois
• Parties: CITYESCAPE GARDEN & DESIGN, LLC, an Illinois limited liability company, Plaintiff, v. THE CITY OF CHICAGO, an Illinois municipal Corporation, JAMIE L. RHEE, Officer for the Department of Procurement Services, in her official capacity, and ROSEMARIE S. ANDOLINO, Commissioner for the Department of Aviation, in her official and personal capacities, and JONATHAN D. LEACH, Chief Operating Officer for the Department of Aviation, in his official and personal capacities, Defendants.

CITYESCAPE GARDEN & DESIGN, LLC,
an Illinois limited liability company, Plaintiff,
v.
THE CITY OF CHICAGO, an Illinois municipal Corporation,
JAMIE L. RHEE, Officer for the Department of Procurement Services,
in her official capacity, and ROSEMARIE S. ANDOLINO,
Commissioner for the Department of Aviation, in her official
and personal capacities, and JONATHAN D. LEACH,
Chief Operating Officer for the Department of Aviation,
in his official and personal capacities, Defendants.

Case No. 14 C 5404

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

September 24, 2015

Judge John Z. Lee

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

In this action for breach of contract, Plaintiff CityEscape Garden & Design, LLC ("CityEscape") and Defendants the City of Chicago, Jamie L. Rhee, Rosemarie S. Andolino, and Jonathan D. Leach (collectively, "the City") have filed cross-motions for partial summary judgment. In their motions, the parties urge the Court to adopt their respective interpretations as to the meaning of the contractual term "full-time." Because the Court concludes that the term "full-time" as it is used in the contract is ambiguous as a matter of law, both motions must be denied.

Factual Background

In December 2011, CityEscape successfully bid on a contract to provide landscaping services to the City at its O'Hare and Midway airports. Pl.'s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 6. The five-

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year agreement, which was drafted by the City, went into effect on January 1, 2012, and was set to expire on December 31, 2016. Id. ¶¶ 6, 17. Although the contract covered that entire period, it also "recognize[d] that the [services provided under it] are seasonal in nature" and specified an approximate nine-month work period spanning from March through November each year. Id. ¶ 23; Rivera Decl., Ex. 1, Pt. 2, at 59.

Particularly relevant to this dispute is Section 11.5 of the contract. Section 11.5 lists "the minimum qualifications of Key Personnel that [CityEscape] must employ." Pl.'s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 19; Rivera Decl., Ex. 1, Pt. 2, at 59. Amongst those qualifications are a "full-time Superintendent," a "full-time Foreman," and "[f]ull-time crews, consisting of a minimum of ten (10) experienced laborers, at each Airport." Pl.'s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 19; Rivera Decl., Ex. 1, Pt. 2, at 59. With regard to the full-time crews, the contract acknowledged that "staffing can increase and change according to the task at hand." Pl.'s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 20; Rivera Decl., Ex. 1, Pt. 2, at 59. The term "full-time" is not defined in the written agreement.

CityEscape began providing services in March 2012. Pl.'s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 30. Come early 2013, the City began requesting CityEscape provide time sheets reflecting the hours worked by its employees at the airports. Id. ¶ 33. An email sent to CityEscape on March 15, 2013 detailed the City's expectations in this regard: "[b]ased on . . . 'full time' equaling forty (40) hours per week, CityEscape would need to provide at a minimum the following labor to satisfy the contractual requirements for maintenance:

Title (City)	O'Hare	Midway
Foreman (1)	1,560	1,560
Laborer (10)	15,600	15,600
Truck Driver (1)	1,560	1,560

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Id. ¶ 34. Beginning with CityEscape's August 2013 invoice, the City began auditing...