{
  "id": 2533168,
  "name": "DENISE SMITH, Indiv. and as Adm'x of the Estate of Richard Robert Smith, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NORTHEAST ILLINOIS REGIONAL COMMUTER RAILROAD CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee (Arthur Hurley et al., Defendants)",
  "name_abbreviation": "Smith v. Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad",
  "decision_date": "1991-02-15",
  "docket_number": "1-89-1757",
  "first_page": "223",
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  "last_updated": "2023-07-14T22:48:57.765044+00:00",
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    "judges": [],
    "parties": [
      "DENISE SMITH, Indiv. and as Adm\u2019x of the Estate of Richard Robert Smith, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NORTHEAST ILLINOIS REGIONAL COMMUTER RAILROAD CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee (Arthur Hurley et al., Defendants)."
    ],
    "opinions": [
      {
        "text": "JUSTICE McNULTY\ndelivered the opinion of the court:\nPlaintiff Denise Smith, special administratrix of the estate of Richard Robert Smith, sued defendant Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, also known as \u201cMETRA,\u201d and two of its employees, alleging that Smith was injured and killed when his car collided with a METRA train. Counts I through III of the amended complaint seek compensatory damages from all defendants pursuant to the Wrongful Death Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 70, par. 1 et seq.) and the Survival Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. IIOV2, par. 27 \u2014 6) as well as recovery under the family expense act. These counts are not involved in this appeal.\nIn count IV against METRA, only, plaintiff individually sought punitive damages from METRA under the Public Utilities Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 1112/3, par. 5 \u2014 201). METRA moved to strike and the circuit court struck, with prejudice, count IV of the amended complaint on the ground that METRA is a \u201cgovernmental entity\u201d under the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act and as such \u201cnot liable to pay punitive or exemplary damages in any action.\u201d (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 85, par. 2 \u2014 102.) The circuit court\u2019s order further stated that it was final and appealable pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 304(a) (134 Ill. 2d R. 304(a)).\nFor the following reasons, we affirm.\nFacts\nPlaintiff\u2019s amended complaint alleges that decedent Richard Robert Smith was fatally injured on August 29, 1986, about 8 a.m. at the 1430 West 107th Street crossing in Chicago by METRA train No. 408. METRA employee-defendants, Arthur Hurley and Neil Hallahan, allegedly controlled and operated the northbound train. As Smith was travelling west over the tracks on 107th Street, his auto collided with the METRA train. Smith died shortly thereafter. Plaintiff allegedly incurred medical and burial expenses as a result of the accident.\nPlaintiff filed a four-count complaint against METRA, Hallahan and Hurley. The only count on appeal is count IV of the amended complaint, seeking punitive damages from METRA alone, which the circuit court dismissed by final order on July 5, 1989.\nOpinion\nPlaintiff contends that Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (METRA) is a separate public corporation established by ordinance of the Commuter Rail Board pursuant to section 2.20(a)(xii) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 1112/3, par. 702.20(a)(xii)), and thus not within the definition of \u201clocal public entity\u201d exempt from punitive damages liability under the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (Act or Tort Immunity Act) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 85, pars. 2-101,1-206).\n\u201cLocal public entity\u201d as defined in section 1 \u2014 206 of the Act at the time of decedent\u2019s demise August 29, 1986, \u201cincludes a county, township, municipality, municipal corporation, school district, school board, forest preserve district, park district, fire protection district, sanitary district, and all other local governmental bodies.\u201d Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 85, par. 1 \u2014 206.\nPlaintiff contends that since METRA is defined by section 2.20(a)(xii) of the Regional Transportation Authority Act (111. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 1112/3, par. 701.01 et seq.) as a \u201cseparate public corporation\u201d it was not a local public entity as defined in section 1 \u2014 206 of the Tort Immunity Act at the time plaintiff's cause of action arose and thus not exempt from punitive damage claims.\nPlaintiff further contends that Bilyk v. Chicago Transit Authority (1988), 125 Ill. 2d 230, 531 N.E.2d 1, and George v. Chicago Transit Authority (1978), 58 Ill. App. 3d 692, 374 N.E.2d 679, are inapplicable because the Chicago Transit Authority was designated as a municipal corporation in the statute that created it, while METRA was not. Plaintiff distinguishes West v. Northeastern Illinois M.R. Corp. (1989), 180 Ill. App. 3d 307, 535 N.E.2d 987, on the basis that both parties in West assumed that NIRC (METRA) was a local public entity for the purpose of the notice of claims provision of the Tort Immunity Act and, therefore, the court was not called upon to decide its status, the matter at issue here.\nMETRA asserts:\n(1) the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is \u201ca unit of local government, body politic, political subdivision and municipal corporation\u201d (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 1112/3, par. 701.04); and\n(2) the Commuter Rail Board, pursuant to section 2.20(a)(xii) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 1112/3, par. 702.20(a)(xii)), \u201cshall continue the separate public corporation known as the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation [also known as METRA] ***. *** Such corporation shall have all the powers given the Authority [RTA] *** under Article II of this Act *** as are delegated to it by ordinance of the Commuter Rail Board *** and the same exemptions, restrictions and limitations as are provided by law with regard to the Authority [RTA] shall apply to such Corporation.\u201d\nMETRA contends that its parent corporation, RTA, is a municipal corporation exempt from punitive damage liability under section 2\u2014 102 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 85, par. 2 \u2014 102), and under section 2.20(a)(xii) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 1112/3, par. 702.20(a)(xii)), it enjoys the same exemption as RTA.\nIn West, the court stated that METRA was a local public entity entitled to the then applicable notice of claim provisions of the Tort Immunity Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 85, par. 8 \u2014 102).\nSection 1 \u2014 206 of the Tort Immunity Act was amended by Public Act 84 \u2014 1431, effective November 25, 1986, to include within the definition of local public entity, \u201clibrary systems and any intergovernmental agency or similar entity formed pursuant to the Constitution of the State of Illinois or the Intergovernmental Corporation Act as well as any not-for-profit corporation organized for the purpose of conducting public business.\u201d\nMETRA is a not-for-profit corporation with no shareholders, funded with public funds from RTA and operates a commuter rail line in the public interest. The purpose of punitive damages is to punish the defendant, to teach him not to repeat outrageous conduct and to deter others from similar conduct. George v. Chicago Transit Authority (1978), 58 Ill. App. 3d 693, citing Mattyasovszky v. West Towns Bus Co. (1975), 61 Ill. 2d 31, 330 N.E.2d 509.\nThere are three principal reasons for exempting local public entities engaged in transportation from punitive damages liability:\n(1) Punitive damage liability would deplete public transportation funds and be borne by taxpayers and fare-paying passengers.\n(2) It is unsound public policy to punish taxpayers for misconduct of employees over whom they have no control.\n(3) Punishing the public and fare-paying passengers who are not shareholders and who have no authority to change corporate management serves no societal interest.\nSee George v. Chicago Transit Authority, 58 Ill. App. 3d 693.\nThe amendment to section 1 \u2014 206 of the Tort Immunity Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 85, par. 1 \u2014 206) effective November 25, 1986, includes within the definition local public entity not-for-profit corporations like METRA organized for the purpose of conducting public business. This enactment did not confer a status on METRA of being exempt from punitive damage liability under the Act which it had not theretofore enjoyed; rather, it clarified the tax-exempt status from punitive damage liability that METRA already had.\nAppellant\u2019s analysis of applicable statutes and case law would subject METRA to punitive damage liability under the Tort Immunity Act for carrying on a public transportation function which its parent RTA could perform exempt from such liability. That result makes no sense and furthers no worthwhile social or governmental policy.\nFor the policy reasons set forth above, METRA is the type of local public entity exempt under Illinois common law later codified by statute from punitive damages liability.\nAffirmed.\nLORENZ, P.J., and MURRAY, J., concur.",
        "type": "majority",
        "author": "JUSTICE McNULTY"
      }
    ],
    "attorneys": [
      "Randall F. Peters & Associates, of Chicago (Randall F. Peters and Richard L. Wattling, of counsel), for appellant.",
      "Lord, Bissel & Brook, of Chicago (C. Roy Peterson, Hugh C. Griffin, and Susan M. Jordan, of counsel), for appellee."
    ],
    "corrections": "",
    "head_matter": "DENISE SMITH, Indiv. and as Adm\u2019x of the Estate of Richard Robert Smith, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NORTHEAST ILLINOIS REGIONAL COMMUTER RAILROAD CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee (Arthur Hurley et al., Defendants).\nFirst District (5th Division)\n1 \u2014 89\u20141757\nOpinion filed February 15, 1991.\nRandall F. Peters & Associates, of Chicago (Randall F. Peters and Richard L. Wattling, of counsel), for appellant.\nLord, Bissel & Brook, of Chicago (C. Roy Peterson, Hugh C. Griffin, and Susan M. Jordan, of counsel), for appellee."
  },
  "file_name": "0223-01",
  "first_page_order": 245,
  "last_page_order": 250
}