Appellate

Kwasniewski v. Schaid, 153 Ill.2d 530 (1992)

This lawsuit arose out of a three-car Wisconsin accident. The accident occurred in Walworth County, Wisconsin but was brought in McHenry County, Illinois. Plaintiff, Stanley Kwasniewski, both in his individual capacity and as special administrator of his wife Joan’s estate, was a resident of Cook County, Illinois. Defendant, Keith Schaid, and his employer, Button Construction, were residents of McHenry County, Illinois.

Stanley Kwasniewski, with his wife Joan as a passenger, were struck head-on when an automobile driven by Schaid crossed into the moving lane of traffic. All of the parties sustained injuries with Joan Kwasniewski subsequently dying. Stanley Kwasniewski, both individually and as special administrator of Joan’s estate, brought suit in McHenry County against Schaid and Button Construction. Based upon the doctrine of forum non conveniens, Schaid and Button Construction moved to dismiss the McHenry County action, arguing that Walworth County, Wisconsin, would be a more convenient forum. The trial court denied the defendants’ forum non conveniens motion, and the appellate court denied leave to appeal. The Illinois Supreme Court granted defendants’ petition for leave to appeal. The Supreme Court first explained the difference between intrastate forum non conveniens and interstate forum non conveniens, stating that in intrastate forum non coveniens, a plaintiff’s “home forum” is plaintiff’s home county; on the other hand, in interstate forum non conveniens, a plaintiff’s “home forum” is plaintiff’s home state.

The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the trial court dismissing defendants’ motion to dismiss on the basis of intrastate forum non conveniens. The Court stated:

“Most significantly, the suit was brought in defendants’ home county. It is all but incongruous for defendants to argue that their own home county is inconvenient.” 153 Ill.2d 550 at 555 (1992).

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