Title: Star Charters v. Figueroa

State: illinois

Issuer: Illinois Supreme Court

Document:

Docket No. 88179-Agenda 19-May 2000.
STAR CHARTERS, Appellee, v. DAVID J. FIGUEROA et al., 
								Appellants.


Opinion filed July 6, 2000.
	JUSTICE HEIPLE delivered the opinion of the court:
	The question presented by this appeal is whether a
defendant's post-trial request for a setoff based on amounts paid
in settlement by other defendants must be filed within 30 days of
the entry of judgment. The answer is no.
	David J. Figueroa was injured when the bus in which he was
riding collided with two trucks. Figueroa filed suit against the
operators of each truck and against Star Charters, which operated
the bus. Prior to trial, Figueroa reached court-approved
settlements with the two truck operators for a total of $70,000.
The case then proceeded to trial, resulting in a $200,000
judgment for Figueroa.
	Two months after judgment was entered, Star Charters filed
this suit seeking to set off the $200,000 judgment by the $70,000
already paid to Figueroa in settlement. The circuit court granted
the requested setoff. The appellate court affirmed. No.
1-98-4262 (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23).
We allowed Figueroa's petition for leave to appeal. 177 Ill. 2d
R. 315(a).
	Figueroa contends that the circuit court had no authority to
award the setoff because Star Charters was required to file its
request for setoff within 30 days of the entry of judgment.
Figueroa notes that section 2-1202 of the Code of Civil
Procedure requires that post-trial motions be filed within 30 days
of the entry of judgment. 735 ILCS 5/2-1202 (West 1996).
Figueroa argues that a request for setoff is a post-trial motion
subject to this statutory time limit. Figueroa is incorrect.
	As recognized by nearly all of the appellate decisions which
have addressed this issue, a defendant's request for setoff to
reflect amounts paid by settling defendants seeks not to modify,
but rather to satisfy, the judgment entered by the trial court. See
Couch v. State Farm Insurance Co., 279 Ill. App. 3d 1050,
1055 (1996); Klier v. Siegel, 200 Ill. App. 3d 121, 128 (1990);
J.F. Equipment, Inc. v. Owatonna Manufacturing Co., 143 Ill.
App. 3d 208, 221 (1986); Weaver v. Bolton, 61 Ill. App. 2d 98,
105 (1965). Such a request does not arise as a result of trial, but
is instead in the nature of a supplementary or enforcement
proceeding within the inherent power of the judgment court.
Because the request is not a motion directed against the
judgment, it is not subject to the 30-day time limit applicable to
post-trial motions. The decision to the contrary by the Fifth
District of the appellate court in Decker v. St. Mary's Hospital,
266 Ill. App. 3d 523 (1994), is hereby overruled.
	The appellate court's judgment is affirmed.
	Affirmed.