The Habitat Co. v. Ellis , 2020 IL App (1st) 191454-U ( 2020 )

2020 IL App (1st) 191454-UNo. 1-19-1454
Order filed May 11, 2020
First Division
NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and may not be cited as
precedent by any party except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).
______________________________________________________________________________
IN THE
APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
FIRST DISTRICT
______________________________________________________________________________
THE HABITAT COMPANY, ) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court of
Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County.
)
v. ) No. 18 M 1718548
)
ROSELIA ELLIS, ) Honorable
) Preston Jones Jr.
Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding.
JUSTICE HYMAN delivered the judgment of the court.
Presiding Justice Griffin and Justice Walker concurred in the judgment.
ORDER
¶1 Held: We affirm the trial court’s judgment where defendant failed to supply a sufficient
record from which to review her claims.
¶2 After a jury trial, defendant Roselia Ellis was ordered to vacate her apartment and pay
rent and costs to The Habitat Company. She represents herself on this appeal. We must affirm.
The record on appeal lacks a report of proceedings, and without it or an acceptable substitute, we
cannot determine what issues actually arose during trial, how the trial court ruled on questions of
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law, what evidence was admitted or excluded, and whether the jury’s verdict was against the
manifest weight of the evidence.
¶3 Background
¶4 The facts are gleaned from the common law record. It includes the trial court’s half
sheets, an affidavit of service, the parties’ pleadings and motions, and the judgment order.
¶5 The Habitat Company filed a complaint seeking possession of Ellis’s apartment. The
affidavit from the Sheriff’s Office of Cook County states that Ellis was personally served.
Counsel appeared for her.
¶6 Habitat filed a motion for summary judgment stating that “[f]or the purposes of this
Motion, [it] is only seeking possession of the premises.” A “certification” of its property
manager averred that Ellis retained possession of the apartment and currently owed more than
$551.76 in unpaid rent.
¶7 The trial court granted Ellis’s counsel’s motion for leave to withdraw. Through new
counsel, she filed an answer, affirmative defense, and counterclaim. Ellis denied the complaint’s
allegations, claimed Habitat increased rent in violation of federal regulations, and alleged in a
counterclaim that the lawsuit was an act of retaliation. Ellis attached a letter to Habitat dated
April 26, 2018, sent by a different attorney on her behalf, which complained her right to “quiet
enjoyment” violated by “physical violence” and “harassment” from another tenant. Habitat
moved to dismiss Ellis’s counterclaim.
¶8 Ellis responded to Habitat’s motion for summary judgment, arguing that questions of fact
existed as to whether Habitat unlawfully increased her rent and rejected her attempts to pay. She
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also attached a letter from Habitat, stating her rent was increased to $130, and a later letter,
stating her rent was increased to $137.
¶9 Habitat’s reply argued that Ellis’s response: (i) lacked “sworn testimony, evidentiary
facts, or sworn documents,” and (ii) relied on a misunderstanding of applicable federal laws. The
trial court denied Habitat’s motion for summary judgment and granted its motion to strike and
dismiss the counterclaim.
¶ 10 The case proceeded to trial. The half-sheet entry states the jury returned a verdict for
Habitat. The trial court entered an order that Ellis must vacate the apartment and pay Habitat the
amount of $520 in rent and $388.25 in costs.
¶ 11 Ellis then filed a pro se motion asking the trial court to overturn the “order to evict.” She
argued that (i) she paid her rent timely, (ii) Habitat did not explain the rent increases, (iii) the
trial court denied Habitat’s motion for summary judgment, and (iv) the suit was “frivolous”
because she was “senior, elderly, and disabled.” Ellis also moved to extend the time to vacate the
apartment. The trial court entered an order staying eviction, but denied the motion to overturn the
verdict.
¶ 12 Appeal
¶ 13 This pro se appeal followed. We entered an order taking the case on Ellis’s brief only.
See First Capitol Mortgage Corp. v. Talandis Construction Corp., 63 Ill. 2d 128, 133 (1976).
Ellis contends that (i) she was not properly served, (ii) the trial court “failed to review the
complaint,” (iii) the complaint did not request possession, (iv) the trial court did not enter an
order granting possession, (v) the trial court “failed to properly instruct [the] jury that no decision
was to be made on the issue of possession,” (vi) the jury decided the case based on “matters
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outside the realm” of the “trial courts” and the “complaint,” (vii) the trial court “failed to present
[the] jury” with the facts, and (viii) the verdict “was based on incomplete evidence.” Ellis
attached three exhibits to her brief: “A,” images of her $114 rent checks from November and
December 2018; “B,” a portion of the Chicago Municipal Code; and “C,” a letter from Habitat
dated May 1, 2018.
¶ 14 Analysis
¶ 15 Ellis’s brief fails to comply with Illinois Supreme Court Rule 341. Under Rule 341, an
appellant must provide a statement of facts with “appropriate reference to the pages of the record
on appeal.” Ill. S. Ct. R. 341(h)(6) (eff. May 25, 2018). Additionally, the brief’s argument
section must contain “citation of the authorities and the pages of the record relied on.” Ill. S. Ct.
R. 341(h)(7) (eff. May 25, 2018). Here, the statement of facts does not contain citations to the
record and the argument section does not cite legal authority. And Exhibits B and C were not
contained in the record on appeal and nothing indicates they were presented at trial. We cannot
consider documents for the first time on appeal. See Keener v. City of Herrin, 235 Ill. 2d 338,
346 (2009) (“A party may generally not rely on matters outside the record to support its position
on appeal.”).
¶ 16 Illinois law requires all briefs, including those filed by a self-represented party, comply
with Rule 341. See Holzrichter v. Yorath, 2013 Il App (1st) 110287, ¶ 78. Ellis’s brief is subject
to dismissal due to these failures. See Epstein v. Galuska, 362 Ill. App. 3d 36, 42 (2005). But,
because the issues are simple and Ellis attempted to use the proper forms, we decline to dismiss
her appeal on this basis.
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¶ 17 Notwithstanding, Ellis’s claims must be denied. Ellis did not provide a sufficient record
on appeal, and every appellant must supply a complete record so that the reviewing court can
evaluate the arguments. Foutch v. O’Bryant, 99 Ill. 2d 389, 391-92 (1984). In the absence of a
complete record, the law mandates that the reviewing court assume the evidentiary rulings and
findings of fact in the trial court accorded with the law and were based on sufficient facts. Id.;
Benford v. Everett Commons, 2014 IL App (1st) 131231, ¶ 32 (applying Foutch to appeal from
jury trial).
¶ 18 Without a report of proceedings or acceptable substitute, such as a bystander’s report or
agreed statement of facts, we cannot evaluate Ellis’s claims on appeal. See Ill. S. Ct. R. 323(a),
(c), (d) (eff. July 1, 2017). More specifically, we cannot determine what issues actually arose
during trial, how the trial court ruled on questions of law, what evidence was admitted or
excluded, and whether the jury’s verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence. See
Benford, 2014 IL App (1st) 131231, ¶ 32. Accordingly, we must presume that the decisions of
the trial court and jury conformed with the law, and no basis exists for disturbing the verdict.
Foutch, 99 Ill. 2d at 391-92.
¶ 19 Affirmed.
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