Illinois Supreme Court Denies Leave to Appeal in Four Home Repair and Remodeling Act Cases

I previously noted here that the Illinois Supreme Court's November 2010 Docket included petitions for leave to appeal for four recent cases involving the Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act (the "HRRA).  Here are the four cases:

Artisan Design Build v. Bilstrom , ILSC No. 109371, discussed here.
Fandel v. Allen, ILSC No. 109887, discussed here.
Roberts v. Adkins, ILSC No. 109909, discussed here.  
 Universal Structures, LTD. v. Buchman , ILSC No. 110842, discussed here.


On November 24, the Court denied leave to appeal to all four.  For Artisan Design Build, Fandel, and Universal Structures, this means that the decision of the appellate court is final (although these cases are not necessarily over, depending on the disposition of each case at the respective trial courts).  For the Roberts case, however, the Supreme Court directed the Third District Appellate Court to vacate and to reconsider its judgment in light of its recent holding in K. Miller Construction Co. v. McGinnis, ILSC No. 109156, discussed here.  


The common thread is that, consistent with the Court's holding in McGinnis and the HRRA revisions enacted earlier this year, homeowners can no longer argue that they don't have to pay a remodeling contractor merely for violating the HRRA.  Instead, the homeowner will have to pursue a claim (or a counterclaim if the contractor files suit) under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, and will have to show that the contractor's violation of the HRRA caused the homeowner to sustain actual damages. 


In Roberts, the Appellate Court found that the homeowners had not shown actual damages, and thus did not have a Consumer Fraud claim.   


Nate Hinch is an attorney and partner at the law firm of Mueller, Reece & Hinch, LLC.  He has offices at 404 N. Hershey Road, Suite C, Bloomington, IL 61704, and 809 Detweiller Drive, Peoria, IL 61615, and can be reached by phone at (309) 827-4055 and email at nhinch@mrh-law.com.

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