Dorman v. Gilbert , 2024 IL App (5th) 231179-U ( 2024 )

NOTICE
2024 IL App (5th) 231179-UNOTICE
Decision filed 10/28/24. The
This order was filed under
text of this decision may be NO. 5-23-1179 Supreme Court Rule 23 and is
changed or corrected prior to
the filing of a Petition for not precedent except in the
Rehearing or the disposition of
IN THE limited circumstances allowed
the same. under Rule 23(e)(1).
APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
FIFTH DISTRICT
______________________________________________________________________________
ROBERT DORMAN and DOUGLAS HULME, ) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court of
Plaintiffs, ) St. Clair County.
)
v. ) No. 23-LA-790
)
JOHN GILBERT and SANDBERG PHOENIX & )
VON GONTARD, P.C., )
)
Defendants-Appellees ) Honorable
) Christopher T. Kolker,
(Robert Dorman, Plaintiff-Appellant). ) Judge, presiding.
______________________________________________________________________________
JUSTICE MOORE delivered the judgment of the court.
Justices Boie and McHaney concurred in the judgment.
ORDER
¶1 Held: There is sufficient information in the record on appeal to review the circuit court’s
decision to award sanctions and the sanctions award was not an abuse of discretion.
¶2 I. BACKGROUND
¶3 On July 7, 2023, Robert Dorman and Douglas Hulme, 1 as pro se litigants, filed a six-count
complaint against the defendants, John Gilbert and Sandberg Phoenix & Von Gontard, P.C.
(Sandberg Phoenix). Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to sections 2-
619(a)(9) and 2-615 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-619(a)(9), 2-615 (West 2022)).
1
Douglas Hulme was previously dismissed as an appellant from this matter due to a lack of appellate
jurisdiction.
1
Defendants also filed a motion seeking sanctions from the plaintiffs pursuant to Illinois Supreme
Court Rule 137 (eff. Jan. 1, 2018) and a motion to transfer venue. Responses and replies were filed
regarding these motions. The pending motions were set for hearing on October 17, 2023.
¶4 The day prior to the hearing on the pending motions, attorney Thomas Maag entered a
limited scope appearance to represent Dorman and Hulme on the pending motions, and Dorman
and Hulme were represented by counsel at the motion hearing. On October 17, 2023, the circuit
court entered a written order that dismissed the complaint, granted the motion for sanctions with
instructions for defendants to submit their request for fees within seven days and set the matter for
hearing on sanctions, and denied the motion to transfer venue as moot.
¶5 A sanctions hearing was held on November 21, 2023. 2 The circuit court entered a written
order the same day finding that defendants’ motion for attorney fees was granted and ordered
plaintiffs to pay $9630.25 to Madison County within 14 days of the order.
¶6 On November 27, 2023, Dorman 3 filed a pro se notice of appeal. The notice of appeal
stated as follows:
“Comes now Plaintiffs, Robert Dorman and Douglas Hulme, pro se and SUBMIT
THEIR NOTICE OF APPEAL, of this Court’s 11-21-2023 order and any other orders
necessary for the full review of this file.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs request that the 11-21-2023 order be reversed and
vacated, all claims against Plaintiff dismissed, and the case be remanded for further
proceedings on the merits.”
2
The record on appeal does not contain a transcript of the November 21, 2023, hearing, nor a
bystander’s report or agreed statement of facts.
3
The pro se notice of appeal stated it was filed by Robert Dorman and Douglas Hulme; however,
this court has previously ruled that Douglas Hulme did not perfect his appeal.
2
¶7 II. ANALYSIS
¶8 On appeal, Dorman is again represented by attorney Thomas Maag. Dorman’s appellate
brief argues the circuit court misapprehended that the present case had been previously litigated,
and the order of dismissal should be reversed and vacated. Next, Dorman argues that the circuit
court erred in awarding sanctions. He argues that since the case should not have been dismissed,
he should not be sanctioned for filing it. Alternatively, he argues that even if the circuit court’s
award of sanctions was warranted, the order did not comply with Illinois Supreme Court Rule
137(d) because the order did not specify the reasons and basis for the sanction in writing.
¶9 Prior to considering the merits of an appeal, “[a] reviewing court must ascertain its
jurisdiction before proceeding in a cause of action, regardless of whether either party has raised
the issue.” Secura Insurance Co. v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co., 232 Ill. 2d 209, 213 (2009).
As previously indicated, Dorman’s pro se notice of appeal referred only to the circuit court’s order
of November 21, 2023. On appeal, Dorman presents arguments regarding the circuit court’s
dismissal of his complaint, so we must first determine what is properly before this court.
¶ 10 Our supreme court has held that “[p]ro se litigants are presumed to have full knowledge of
applicable court rules and procedures, including procedural deadlines with respect to filing
motions.” Steinbrecher v. Steinbrecher, 197 Ill. 2d 514, 517 (2001). Pro se litigants “are not
entitled to more lenient treatment than attorneys.” U.S. Bank Trust National Ass’n v. Junior, 2016
IL App (1st) 152109, ¶ 16.
¶ 11 Illinois Supreme Court Rule 303(b)(2) requires that a notice of appeal “shall specify the
judgment or part thereof or other orders appealed from and the relief sought from the reviewing
court.” Ill. S. Ct. R. 303(b)(2) (eff. July 1, 2017). A notice of appeal confers jurisdiction on a
reviewing court to consider only the judgment, order, or part thereof specified in the notice of
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appeal. People v. Smith, 228 Ill. 2d 95, 104 (2008). While a notice of appeal is to be liberally
construed, the purpose of the notice of appeal is to inform the other party which circuit court order
is to be reviewed. Id. The notice of appeal filed by Dorman, no matter how liberally construed,
cannot be said to have fairly and adequately set out the order complained of as being the dismissal
order entered on October 17, 2023, as the notice of appeal identified a different order entered on
November 21, 2023. Accordingly, this court does not have jurisdiction to consider the circuit
court’s order of dismissal entered on October 17, 2023; however, we do have jurisdiction to
consider the order entered on November 21, 2023.
¶ 12 The November 21, 2023, order of the circuit court awarded $9630.25 to be paid by
plaintiffs to Madison County, Illinois. The November 21, 2023, order was the final order that
followed the October 17, 2023, order which granted the motion for sanctions. On appeal, Dorman
argues that if this court reverses and vacates the dismissal of the complaint that the sanctions order
should also be reversed and vacated. As we have no jurisdiction to consider the dismissal, we turn
to his alternative argument that the sanctions order did not comply with Rule 137(d) and should
be reversed and vacated. The appellees counter that it was not an abuse of the circuit court’s
discretion to award sanctions and that the grounds for imposing the sanction was sufficiently
specified.
¶ 13 The purpose of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 137 is to prevent the filing of false and
frivolous lawsuits. McCarthy v. Taylor, 2019 IL 123622, ¶ 19. Rule 137 applies to attorneys as
well as pro se litigants. Ill. S. Ct. R. 137 (eff. Jan. 1, 2018).
¶ 14 The circuit court’s decision whether to impose sanctions will not be reversed absent an
abuse of discretion. Rankin v. Heidlebaugh, 321 Ill. App. 3d 255, 260 (2001). However, the
appellate court may independently review the record and find an abuse of discretion and reverse
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either a denial of a motion for sanctions or reverse the granting of a motion for sanctions. Id. at
260, 268. “A trial court abuses its discretion with regard to Rule 137 sanctions when no reasonable
person could take the view that the court adopted.” Cretton v. Protestant Memorial Medical
Center, Inc., 371 Ill. App. 3d 841, 864-65 (2007).
¶ 15 Dorman asks us to set aside the sanctions award in this case because the circuit court did
not comply with Rule 137(d), which states, “[w]here a sanction is imposed under this rule, the
judge shall set forth with specificity the reasons and basis of any sanction so imposed either in the
judgment order itself or in a separate written order.” Ill. S. Ct. R. 137(d) (eff. Jan. 1, 2018). The
purpose of paragraph (d) of Rule 137 “is to allow the reviewing court to make an informed and
reasoned review of the decision to impose sanctions.” Kellett v. Roberts, 276 Ill. App. 3d 164, 172
(1995). “ ‘[T]he better practice is for the [circuit] court to explicitly state its reasons for the
sanctions in [a] written order,’ but strict compliance with Rule 137(d) is not required when the
record otherwise establishes the circuit court’s reasoning for the award.” Asher Farm Ltd.
Partnership v. Wolsfeld, 2022 IL App (2d) 220072, ¶ 61 (quoting Kellett, 276 Ill. App. 3d at 172).
¶ 16 In the present matter, the circuit court conducted a hearing on October 17, 2023, on both
the defendants’ motion to dismiss and motion for sanctions. After the circuit court made its oral
pronouncement that the motion to dismiss was granted, the parties presented argument on the
motion for sanctions. The circuit court then made the following pronouncement:
“This [complaint] is completely meritless. There is no cause of action for this. Not only is
there no cause of action for it, but the exact issue was decided by the Appellate Court.
When I read that decision and I went through it I was taken aback at why the suit was here.
*** So your motion’s granted.”
5
The circuit court then instructed the defendants to submit their request for attorney fees and set the
matter for a subsequent hearing on November 21, 2023.
¶ 17 The defendants presented the affidavit of counsel with billing records which indicated that
attorney fees in the amount of $19,260.50 were incurred in defending the action filed by plaintiffs.
The defendants requested that half of that amount be awarded as a sanction, and the circuit court
agreed and entered a written order on November 21, 2023, for an award of $9630.25 against
plaintiffs and in favor of Madison County, Illinois.
¶ 18 The record indicates that a hearing was held on November 21, 2023; however, the record
on appeal does not contain a transcript of this hearing. We note, “[i]t is the appellant’s
responsibility to provide an adequate record on appeal, and in the absence of a complete record,
this court is compelled to assume that the missing evidence supports the lower court’s decision.”
Cretton, 371 Ill. App. 3d at 862.
¶ 19 The circuit court’s order did not contain written specific findings as to the reasoning and
basis for awarding sanctions; however, the record on appeal that we were presented sets forth the
circuit court’s reasoning for awarding sanctions. The circuit court indicated the matter before it
was “meritless.” The purpose of Rule 137 is to prevent frivolous claims. A frivolous claim is one
that is “lacking a legal basis or legal merit,” per Black’s Law Dictionary. Black’s Law Dictionary
(12th ed. 2024). Accordingly, we cannot find that it was an abuse of discretion for the circuit court
to award sanctions after determining the cause of action was meritless.
¶ 20 III. CONCLUSION
¶ 21 Based on the foregoing, we affirm the circuit court’s order of November 21, 2023.
¶ 22 Affirmed.
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