Lewis v. Lead Industries Ass'n, 126 N.E.3d 1241

Plaintiffs Mary Lewis and Tashswan Banks (with Kathleen O’Sullivan separately) brought a class action seeking recovery of costs for children’s lead toxicity blood tests required by the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act.
The certified class included parents/guardians of children (6 months–6 years) living in designated high-risk zip codes who had venous or capillary lead tests between Aug. 18, 1995 and Feb. 19, 2008; class excluded those who incurred no expense, obligation, or liability for testing.
Defendants moved for summary judgment against Lewis, Banks, and O’Sullivan, producing depositions showing Lewis and Banks were Medicaid recipients whose children’s tests were paid entirely by Medicaid; neither parent paid any portion of tests.
The circuit court granted summary judgment, finding Lewis and Banks were not class members because they incurred no expense, obligation, or liability for the testing; Lewis and Banks appealed under Ill. S. Ct. Rule 304(a).
Issue on appeal: whether parents whose minor children’s testing was paid entirely by Medicaid nonetheless incurred an “expense, obligation, or liability” (such that they may recover) for testing allegedly caused by defendants’ conduct.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether parents whose children’s lead tests were paid entirely by Medicaid incurred an “expense, obligation, or liability” for those tests	Lewis/Banks: parents are primarily liable for minor children’s medical expenses; liability arises when services are rendered regardless of later payment; collateral-source rule prevents reduction because Medicaid paid	Defendants: Medicaid payments mean plaintiffs incurred no expense/obligation/liability; providers cannot bill recipients for Medicaid-covered services and state cannot seek reimbursement from recipients, insulating plaintiffs	Court held plaintiffs did incur an actionable obligation as parents; they have a cause of action for the reasonable value of testing despite Medicaid payment; reversed summary judgment and remanded

Manago v. County of Cook, 2017 IL 121078 (codification and application of parental liability for family expenses)
Clark v. Children’s Memorial Hospital, 2011 IL 108656 (parental responsibility for children’s medical expenses)
Graul v. Adrian, 32 Ill. 2d 345 (statutory interpretation of family expense obligations)
Pirrello v. Maryville Academy, Inc., 2014 IL App (1st) 133964 (parental liability for child-related expenses and cause of action lies with parent)
Estate of Hammond v. Aetna Casualty, 141 Ill. App. 3d 963 (third-party payment does not defeat parent’s cause of action for medical expenses)
Wills v. Foster, 229 Ill. 2d 393 (Medicaid payer-status is not materially different from private insurer for recovery purposes)
Wilson v. The Hoffman Group, Inc., 131 Ill. 2d 308 (justification for collateral source rule)
Arthur v. Catour, 216 Ill. 2d 72 (benefits to injured party should not become a windfall for tortfeasor)
In the Interest of Wheat, 68 Ill. App. 3d 471 (parents’ primary responsibility for minor children’s medical expenses)