State Place Condominium Association v. Magpayo
2016 IL App (1st) 140426
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2016Background
- Magpayo owned a condominium unit and parking space at State Place and fell behind on monthly assessments; State Place sued for unpaid assessments, seeking money judgment and possession.
- After a February 28, 2013 bench trial, the court entered judgment for possession, awarded past-due assessments, court costs, and attorney fees, and stayed enforcement until April 30, 2013.
- Magpayo filed multiple posttrial and emergency motions to vacate under 735 ILCS 5/9-111, asserting she had paid amounts due and offering cashier’s and personal checks; the court denied successive motions and barred further filings without leave.
- Magpayo was evicted on September 19, 2013; State Place later leased the unit to a tenant.
- On November 25, 2013 the court denied Magpayo’s ninth emergency motion to vacate, finding she had not tendered amounts owed and that the premises had been leased; Magpayo’s motion to reconsider was denied on January 14, 2014.
- Magpayo appealed the November 25 and January 14 orders; the appellate court reviewed statutory construction and the limited record and affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (State Place) | Defendant's Argument (Magpayo) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether an evidentiary hearing is required under 735 ILCS 5/9-111 before denying a motion to vacate for payment cure | Not required if sufficient evidence in record shows default not cured and premises leased | Statute and precedent (Gotham Lofts) require an evidentiary hearing to resolve factual disputes about cure and leasing | No mandatory evidentiary hearing; court may deny where record contains sufficient evidence that default persisted and unit was leased |
| Whether payment of postjudgment attorney fees is required to cure the judgment for possession | Attorney fees are part of the owner’s share of common expenses and must be paid to cure under current statutes | Postjudgment attorney fees need not be paid to vacate possession order (relying on Chiaramonte) | Attorney fees are properly included in common expenses by statute and must be paid to cure the judgment |
| Whether the trial court erred in finding the unit was leased | Evidence (lease shown to defense counsel and court statements) supported finding that premises were leased | Lack of testimony or full evidentiary hearing meant lease evidence was insufficient | Finding of a lease was supported on the record provided and not against the manifest weight of the evidence |
| Whether the appellate record preserved claimed errors and conferred jurisdiction to review other orders | Only the November 25 and January 14 orders were appealed; the record before the court was insufficient to review omitted proceedings | Argued broader errors (trial judgment, prior fee award) but did not include those orders in the notice and provided an incomplete record | Appellate review limited to specified orders; absence of transcripts presumes trial court acted properly and resolves doubts against appellant |
Key Cases Cited
- Foutch v. O'Bryant, 99 Ill.2d 389 (appellate record completeness and presumption the trial court acted properly)
- Webster v. Hartman, 195 Ill.2d 426 (appellant's burden to present a sufficiently complete record)
- Chiaramonte v. Glens of Hanover Condominium Ass'n, 159 Ill. App.3d 287 (prior appellate holding that attorney fees were not a bar to vacating possession order)
- Corral v. Mervis Industries, Inc., 217 Ill.2d 144 (presumption that trial court had a sufficient factual basis when transcript is absent)