JL Props. Grp. B, LLC v. Pritzker
| Decision Date | 21 May 2021 |
| Docket Number | Appeal Nos. 3-20-0304 & 3-20-0305 |
| Citation | 2021 IL App (3d) 200305,185 N.E.3d 780,452 Ill.Dec. 375 |
| Parties | JL PROPERTIES GROUP B, LLC ; Mark Dauenbaugh; and Steven Cole, Not Individually but as Trustee of the ALI (401K) Trust FBO Steven Cole, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Jay Robert "JB" PRITZKER, in His Official Capacity as Governor of Illinois, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
2021 IL App (3d) 200305
185 N.E.3d 780
452 Ill.Dec. 375
JL PROPERTIES GROUP B, LLC ; Mark Dauenbaugh; and Steven Cole, Not Individually but as Trustee of the ALI (401K) Trust FBO Steven Cole, Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
Jay Robert "JB" PRITZKER, in His Official Capacity as Governor of Illinois, Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal Nos. 3-20-0304 & 3-20-0305
Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District.
Opinion filed May 21, 2021
James V. Noonan and Solomon Maman, of Noonan & Lieberman, Ltd., and Jeffrey Grant Brown, of Jeffrey Grant Brown, P.C., both of Chicago, for appellants.
Kwame Raoul, Attorney General, of Chicago (Jane Elinor Notz, Solicitor General, Sarah A. Hunger, Deputy Solicitor General, and Evan Siegel, Aaron Talen Dozeman, and Caleb Rush, Assistant Attorneys General, of counsel), for appellee.
Sarah Megan, of Prairie State Legal Services, Inc., of West Chicago, and Lawrence Wood, of Legal Aid Chicago, of Chicago, amici curiae.
JUSTICE HOLDRIDGE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.
¶ 1 The plaintiffs, JL Properties Group B LLC (JL Properties Group), Mark Dauenbaugh, and Steven Cole, sued the defendant, Governor Jay Robert "JB" Pritzker, in his official capacity, for declaratory and injunctive relief related to moratoria the Governor has imposed on residential eviction orders in Illinois during the COVID-19 pandemic. The circuit court granted the Governor's motion to dismiss and denied the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction. On appeal, the plaintiffs argue that (1) the circuit court erred when it dismissed four counts of the complaint for failing to state claims upon which relief could be granted and (2) the court erred when it denied the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction. We dismiss in part and affirm in part.
¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND
¶ 3 A. The Governor's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
¶ 4 On March 9, 2020, the Governor issued a proclamation declaring all counties in Illinois to be disaster areas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Proclamation No. 2020-38, 44 Ill. Reg. 4744 (Mar. 9, 2020), https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/gov/Documents/CoronavirusDisasterProc-3-12-2020.pdf [https://perma.cc/HF89-Y8HD]. The proclamation was made pursuant to section 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act (Act) ( 20 ILCS 3305/7 (West 2018) ) and was to remain in effect for 30 days. Id.
¶ 5 Due to the ongoing nature of the pandemic, the Governor issued subsequent 30-day disaster proclamations on April 1, April 30, May 29, June 26, July 24, August 21, September 18, October 16, and November 13, 2020. State of Ill. Coronavirus Response, https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/resources-for-executive-orders (last visited May 17, 2021) [https://perma.cc/F98W-KR9G]. All of the Governor's proclamations were purportedly based on section 7 of the Act ( 20 ILCS 3305/7 (West 2018) ).
¶ 6 The Governor also issued numerous executive orders related to the pandemic. The Governor's executive order of March 20, 2020, included, inter alia , an order suspending the enforcement of residential eviction orders:
"Pursuant to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, 20 ILCS 3305/7(2), (8), and (10), all state, county, and local law enforcement officers in the State of Illinois are instructed to cease
enforcement of orders of eviction for residential premises for the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation. No provision contained in the Executive Order shall be construed as relieving any individual of the obligation to pay rent, to make mortgage payments, or to comply with any other obligation that an individual may have under tenancy or mortgage." Exec. Order No. 2020-10, 44 Ill. Reg. 5857 (Mar. 20, 2020), https://www2.illinois.gov/Pages/Executive-Orders/ExecutiveOrder2020-10.aspx [https://perma.cc/TY96-2HUD].
In support of this order, the Governor stated that "the enforcement of eviction orders for residential premises is contrary to the interest of preserving public health and ensuring that individuals remain in their homes during this public health emergency." Id. The March 20, 2020, executive order also contained a stay-at-home order providing that Illinois citizens were permitted to leave their residences "only for Essential Activities, Essential Government Functions, or to operate Essential Businesses and Operations." Id.
¶ 7 On April 23, 2020, the Governor issued an executive order that suspended residential eviction actions except in certain circumstances. The order stated:
"A person or entity may not commence a residential eviction action pursuant to or arising under 735 ILCS 5/9-101 et seq., unless a tenant poses a direct threat to the health and safety of other tenants, an immediate and severe risk to property, or a violation of any applicable building code, health ordinance, or similar regulation. Nothing in this Executive Order shall be construed as relieving any individual of the obligation to pay rent or comply with any other obligation that an individual may have pursuant to a lease or rental agreement. This Executive Order does not supersede any provision of any other prior Executive Order." Exec. Order No. 2020-30, 44 Ill. Reg. 8108 (Apr. 23, 2020), https://www2.illinois.gov/Pages/Executive-Orders/ExecutiveOrder2020-30.aspx [https://perma.cc/DP4B-D6NF].
The April 23, 2020, executive order also extended the stay-at-home order for another 30 days. Id.
¶ 8 The stay-at-home order lapsed in May 2020 and has not been reinstated. Nevertheless, the Governor extended the eviction-related moratoria in each of his subsequent 30-day-disaster proclamations. The Governor's July 24, 2020, executive order stated that the moratoria on residential eviction actions and enforcement of eviction orders "shall remain in effect to allow the Illinois Housing Development Authority to distribute monetary assistance under the Emergency Rental Assistance and Emergency Mortgage Assistance programs directly to landlords or property owners on behalf of eligible tenants or, for eligible homeowners, directly to the mortgagor's loan servicer." Exec. Order No. 2020-48, 44 Ill. Reg. 13134 (July 24, 2020), https://www2.illinois.gov/Pages/Executive-Orders/ExecutiveOrder2020-48.aspx [https://perma.cc/9LU3-QMQM].
¶ 9 At the time of oral argument, the eviction-related moratoria remained in effect pursuant to the Governor's November 13, 2020, executive order. Exec. Order No. 2020-72, 44 Ill. Reg. 18802 (Nov. 13, 2020), https://www2.illinois.gov/Pages/Executive-Orders/ExecutiveOrder2020-72.aspx [https://perma.cc/5WDE-Z5TK]. As noted above, the moratoria have since been extended through several successive executive orders and remain in effect at the time of this disposition.1
¶ 10 B. The Plaintiffs and the Instant Action
¶ 11 The plaintiffs are three landlords who lease residences in Illinois. JL Properties Group owns a single-family residence in Bolingbrook. The tenant became delinquent on rent in March 2020 and, as of June 2020, owed $4,500 in back rent.
¶ 12 Dauenbaugh owns a multi-unit residential property in Rockford. The tenants in one of the units became delinquent on rent in February 2020 and, as of June 2020, owed $1,730 in back rent. Dauenbaugh served a five-day notice of delinquency on the tenants in May 2020, informing them that they must cure their delinquency or they would be evicted.
¶ 13 Cole's trust owns a residential property in University Park. Cole is the trustee of the trust and the landlord for the property. On March 6, 2020, Cole obtained an eviction order against the known and unknown residents of the property. The eviction order provided that the subject of the order and any unknown occupants were to vacate the property on or before March 13, 2020.
¶ 14 In June 2020, the plaintiffs filed a complaint against the Governor, challenging his authority to suspend the commencement of eviction proceedings against delinquent tenants and the enforcement of previously-obtained eviction orders.2 The plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief in 10 counts.
¶ 15 Count I alleged that the Governor lacked the authority to enforce or extend the eviction-related moratoria because those moratoria were based on the stay-at-home order, which expired on May 29, 2020.
¶ 16 Count II alleged that the Governor lacked the authority under the Act to suspend the commencement of residential evictions or to impose either of the eviction-related moratoria without simultaneously providing for just compensation.
¶ 17 Count III alleged that the moratoria and their extensions or renewals were invalid because they amounted to constructive possession of the plaintiffs’ properties without payment of just compensation as required by section 7(4) of the Act ( 20 ILCS 3305/7(4) (West 2018)).
¶ 18 Count IV alleged that the moratoria violated separation of powers principles in that they encroached upon the...
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