Corbett v. The County of Lake
104 N.E.3d 389
| Ill. | 2017Background
- Plaintiff Kathy Corbett was injured when her bicycle struck a defect (vegetation-grown, broken asphalt) on the Skokie Valley Bike Path in Highland Park, Illinois, on August 21, 2013; she sued the City and County alleging willful and wanton maintenance failures.
- The County leased the right-of-way from ComEd; the City had a maintenance agreement assigning routine maintenance of the portion within Highland Park to the City.
- The City moved for summary judgment asserting absolute immunity under section 3-107(b) of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, which bars liability for conditions of "any hiking, riding, fishing or hunting trail." The circuit court granted summary judgment for both defendants.
- The appellate court reversed as to the City, holding the path was not a "trail" under prior case law (which defined "trail" as a marked path through a forest or mountainous region) and remanded.
- The Illinois Supreme Court granted review and affirmed the appellate court, but rejected the appellate court’s forest/mountain requirement; it held section 3-107(b) applies only to primitive/rustic unimproved trails (natural surface), not paved shared-use paths like the Skokie Valley Bike Path, and remanded for further proceedings.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the Skokie Valley Bike Path is a "trail" under 745 ILCS 10/3-107(b) | Corbett: Path is paved, runs through developed/commercial area, not a forest or primitive trail; so statutory blanket immunity does not apply | City: The path is commonly called a "trail" and is surrounded by vegetation; "trail" should be given its ordinary meaning so section 3-107(b) provides absolute immunity | Held: "Trail" must be read in context with "hiking, fishing, hunting" (noscitur a sociis); applies only to primitive/rustic unimproved trails. The paved, shared-use Skokie Valley Bike Path is not a "trail" under §3-107(b). |
| Whether dictionary/isolated definitions control statutory meaning | Corbett: Contextual statutory construction controls; isolated dictionary definitions are inappropriate | City: Prior appellate decision used dictionary definition (marked path through forest) supporting immunity | Held: Court rejects relying on an isolated dictionary definition (Brown). Words must be read in context; noscitur a sociis narrows "trail." |
| Whether broad reading of §3-107(b) would produce anomalous results vis-à-vis §3-106 (recreational land immunity) | Corbett: Broad construction would let governments avoid willful/wanton liability for park bike paths, causing inconsistent treatment with §3-106 | City: Blanket immunity furthers public policy to encourage creation/maintenance of trails | Held: Court agrees with Corbett—broad reading creates anomalous/inconsistent results; policy reasons don’t overcome statutory text and strict construction against immunity. |
| Whether definitions from other statutes (e.g., Recreational Trails of Illinois Act) should be imported | Corbett: Definitions have different context and should not be imported | City: §862/10 definition supports classifying the path as a recreational trail | Held: Reject importing other-statutory definitions; context and purposes differ. |
Key Cases Cited
- DeSmet v. County of Rock Island, 219 Ill. 2d 497 (2006) (immunity language without exception shields entities from willful and wanton liability)
- Bremer v. City of Rockford, 2016 IL 119889 (2016) (standard of review for summary judgment)
- Moon v. Rhode, 2016 IL 119572 (2016) (statutory interpretation reviewed de novo)
- Brown v. Cook County Forest Preserve, 284 Ill. App. 3d 1098 (1996) (appellate court relied on dictionary definition to classify a forested bicycle path as a "trail")
- Goodwin v. Carbondale Park District, 268 Ill. App. 3d 489 (1994) (section 3-107 read to apply to unimproved natural property)
- Moore v. Chicago Park District, 2012 IL 112788 (2012) (§3-106 immunity for recreational property does not bar willful and wanton claims)
- Van Meter v. Darien Park District, 207 Ill. 2d 359 (2003) (statutory immunity in derogation of common law must be strictly construed)
- Gustafson v. Alloyd Co., 513 U.S. 561 (1995) (noscitur a sociis canon: words in a list should be given related meanings)