20 ILCS 1108/35 — Illinois Code / Chapter 20 / Act 1108 / Section 35
Section 35
Status: in_force

(20 ILCS 1108/35) Sec. 35. Representation. In furtherance of the State of Illinois' obligations set forth in subsection (b) of Section 25 and in Section 30 of this Act, the Attorney General has the following duties: (a) In the event that any public liability action covered under Section 30 of this Act is commenced against the Operator, the Attorney General shall, upon timely and appropriate notice to the Attorney General by the Operator, appear on behalf of the Operator and defend the action. Any such notice must be in writing, must be mailed within 15 days after the date of receipt by the Operator of service of process, and must authorize the Attorney General to represent and defend the Operator in the action. The delivery of this notice to the Attorney General constitutes an agreement by the Operator to cooperate with the Attorney General in defense of the action and a consent that the Attorney General shall conduct the defense as the Attorney General deems advisable and in the best interests of the Operator and the State of Illinois, including settlement in the Attorney General's discretion. The Operator may appear in such action through private counsel to respond or object only to any aspect of a proposed settlement or proposed court order which would directly affect the day-to-day operations of the FutureGen Project. In any such action, the State of Illinois shall pay the court costs and litigation expenses of defending such action, to the extent approved by the Attorney General as reasonable, as they are incurred. (b) In the event that the Attorney General determines either (i) that so appearing and defending the Operator involves an actual or potential conflict of interest or (ii) that the act or omission which gave rise to the claim was not within the scope of the indemnity as provided in Section 30 of this Act, the Attorney General shall decline in writing to appear or defend or shall promptly take appropriate action to withdraw as attorney for the Operator. Upon receipt of such declination or withdrawal by the Attorney General on the basis of an actual or potential conflict of interest, the Operator may employ its own attorney to appear and defend, in which event the State of Illinois shall pay the Operator's court costs, litigation expenses, and attorneys' fees, to the extent approved by the Attorney General as reasonable, as they are incurred. (c) In any action asserted by the Operator or the State of Illinois to enforce the indemnification obligations of the State of Illinois as provided in Section 30 of the Act, the non-prevailing party is responsible for any reasonable court costs, litigation expenses, and attorneys fees incurred by the prevailing party. (d) Court costs and litigation expenses and other costs of providing a defense, including attorneys' fees, paid or obligated under this Section, and the costs of indemnification, including the payment of any final judgment or final settlement under this Section, must be paid by warrant from appropriations to the Department pursuant to vouchers certified by the Attorney General. (e) Nothing contained or implied in this Section shall operate, or be construed or applied, to deprive the State of Illinois, or the Operator, of any defense otherwise available. (f) Any judgment subject to State of Illinois indemnification under this Section is not enforceable against the Operator, but shall be paid by the State of Illinois in the following manner: Upon receipt of a certified copy of the judgment, the Attorney General shall review it to determine if the judgment is (i) final, unreversed, and no longer subject to appeal and (ii) subject to indemnification under Section 30 of this Act. If the Attorney General determines that it is, then the Attorney General shall submit a voucher for the amount of the judgment and any interest thereon to the State of Illinois Comptroller and the amount must be paid by warrant from appropriation to the Department to the judgment creditor solely out of available appropriations. (Source: P.A. 97-618, eff. 10-26-11.)