2025 IL App (1st) 241371-U
Ill. App. Ct.2025Background
- Clivia Campos was injured in a car accident involving Jacqueline Penaranda and a City of Chicago garbage truck.
- Campos filed a negligence lawsuit, resulting in a jury awarding her $9,734,740, including $257,390 for medical expenses.
- Multiple healthcare providers asserted liens under the Illinois Health Care Services Lien Act against the verdict proceeds, including Fullerton Kimball Medical & Surgical Center and Fullerton Kimball Medical Group (FKM), whose liens greatly exceeded the jury’s medical expense finding.
- Campos requested a hearing to determine the reasonable value of medical services and argued the total liens should not exceed the jury's $257,390 finding.
- At the lien adjudication hearing, FKM’s counsel failed to appear, and the court significantly reduced FKM’s claimed liens based on comparators and the Act.
- FKM moved to vacate the order but failed to provide a transcript or alternative record of the hearing; the trial court denied the motion, and FKM appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether trial court abused discretion denying vacatur | Order should stand as FKM failed to appear/justify higher lien | Court's order deviated from Lien Act and was unfair | No abuse; lack of record means court’s action presumed proper |
| Whether liens can exceed jury's finding of medicals | Liens, combined, should be capped at jury's $257,390 number | Lien Act allows greater proof of reasonable value | Court found lien values based on comparators, capped amounts |
| Weight of evidence at hearing (no FKM representation) | FKM did not appear, so record undisturbed | FKM wanted to present further evidence | FKM's absence led to ruling based on available evidence |
| Appellant’s burden to perfect appellate record | Court’s judgment presumptively correct without full record | Not directly addressed | Insufficient record precludes reversal on appeal |
Key Cases Cited
- Foutch v. O’Bryant, 99 Ill. 2d 389 (Ill. 1984) (Absence of transcript or record on appeal results in presumption that trial court acted properly)
- Webster v. Hartman, 195 Ill. 2d 426 (Ill. 2001) (Appellant has burden to present complete record for review or court presumes validity of trial decision)
- Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Hansen, 2016 IL App (1st) 143720 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016) (Lack of record of hearing precludes appellate review of trial court's exercise of discretion)
- Larson v. Pedersen, 349 Ill. App. 3d 203 (Ill. App. Ct. 2004) (Moving party bears the burden of establishing sufficient grounds for vacating a judgment)