Title: Miller v. Rosenberg
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 89009
State: Illinois
Issuer: Illinois Supreme Court
Date: April 19, 2001

Docket No. 89009Agenda 26September 2000.
JERALD MILLER, D.D.S., Appellant, v. ELAINE
ROSENBERG, Appellee.
Opinion filed April 19, 2001.
JUSTICE McMORROW delivered the opinion of the court:
The primary issue presented in this appeal is whether section
2109 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2109 (West 1998)), which
eliminates the requirement to plead or prove special injury for certain
malicious prosecution plaintiffs, is unconstitutional because it violates two
provisions of the Illinois Constitution of 1970: the special legislation clause
set forth in article IV, section 13 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, §13), and the
right to equal protection guaranteed by article I, section 2 (Ill. Const. 1970,
art. I, §2). The circuit court of Lake County held that section 2109
violates each of these constitutional provisions. Appeal was taken directly to
this court. 134 Ill. 2d R. 302(a). For the reasons that follow, we reverse the
judgment of the circuit court and remand this cause for further proceedings.
 
BACKGROUND
In November 1988, Elaine Rosenberg filed a medical
malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Jerald Miller, a periodontist. Rosenberg, who
had been a patient of Dr. Miller between March 1982 and February 1987, claimed
in her complaint that, during this time period, Miller negligently failed to
detect, diagnose and treat an impacted wisdom tooth in Rosenberg's lower right
jaw. According to Rosenberg's complaint, she underwent surgery to extract this
tooth in March 1987. Rosenberg alleged that as a direct and proximate cause of
Miller's negligence in failing to timely diagnose and treat her lower right
wisdom tooth, the tooth became embedded in her jawbone, causing parathesia, or
numbness, in her jaw and face. In his answer to Rosenberg's complaint, Miller
stated that while Rosenberg was under his care, he referred her to an oral
surgeon. Rosenberg, however, failed to follow up on this referral. Miller
further alleged that two of Rosenberg's prior treaters had also advised her to
undergo an examination by an oral surgeon for the possible extraction of the
wisdom tooth.
After the completion of discovery, the circuit court granted
summary judgment in favor of Miller. On appeal, the appellate court reversed the
grant of summary judgment, and remanded the cause to the circuit court. Rosenberg
v. Miller, 247 Ill. App. 3d 1023 (1993). The matter thereafter proceeded to
trial. The jury found Miller not liable, and on April 21, 1995, judgment for
Miller was entered on the jury's verdict.
On November 8, 1995, Miller filed a three-count malicious
prosecution action against Rosenberg and her attorneys. Only count I of Miller's
complaint is at issue in this appeal. Miller alleged that, in commencing and
continuing to pursue her medical malpractice lawsuit, Rosenberg acted without
probable cause and with malice in several respects. According to Miller,
Rosenberg "alleged a lack of knowledge of the presence of an impacted lower
right wisdom tooth" while she was his patient, "despite previously
being advised of this condition." Further, Miller stated that Rosenberg
"failed to properly investigate" both "the facts surrounding her
claims of negligence" and "whether the alleged negligence of [Miller]
was a cause of her claimed injury." Miller also alleged that Rosenberg had
filed and continued to prosecute the medical malpractice lawsuit against him
"without probable cause in retribution for perceived incourtesies by
[Miller toward Rosenberg]," and that Rosenberg's objective was to
"obtain money despite the fact that she knew or should have known that any
alleged negligence was not a cause of any alleged injuries." Miller further
claimed that, as a direct and proximate result of Rosenberg's lawsuit, he
"suffered personal and pecuniary injuries, including but not limited to,
mental anguish," experienced "increased anxiety," was forced to
incur attorney fees and "expend considerable time and energy in the defense
of the underlying action," and was "required to defend his
professional reputation and will be required to pay increased premiums for
professional liability insurance."
In October 1996, Rosenberg filed a motion to dismiss Miller's
malicious prosecution action pursuant to sections 2615 and 2619 of the
Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2615, 2619 (West 1996)). Rosenberg
alleged that, under Illinois law, in order to validly plead a common law cause
of action for malicious prosecution, a plaintiff must claim that he suffered
injury or damages over and above the ordinary expense and trouble attendant in
defending any civil action. Because Miller had not alleged that he suffered a
"special injury" as a result of Rosenberg's lawsuit, Rosenberg
argued that Miller had not pled a valid malicious prosecution claim.
In addition, Rosenberg maintained in her motion to dismiss
that Miller's complaint could not be saved by section 2109 of the Code of
Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2109 (West 1996)). Section 2109 provides:
"In all cases alleging malicious prosecution arising
    out of proceedings which sought damages for injuries or death by reason of
    medical[,] hospital[,] or other healing art malpractice, the plaintiff need
    not plead or prove special injury to sustain his or her cause of action. In
    all such cases alleging malicious prosecution, no exemplary or punitive
    damages shall be allowed." 735 ILCS 5/2109 (West 1996).
Rosenberg asserted that the special benefit afforded by
section 2109 to malicious prosecution plaintiffs who also happen to be health
care providers violates not only the proscription against special legislation
found in article IV, section 13, of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 (Ill.
Const. 1970, art. IV, §13), but also the guarantee of due process and equal
protection contained in article I, section 2 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §2).
Specifically, Rosenberg contended that section 2109 is unconstitutional
because it arbitrarily and irrationally eliminates the common law special injury
requirement for this select group of plaintiffs, thereby making it far easier
for these plaintiffs to file and proceed with a malicious prosecution claim than
it is for other malicious prosecution plaintiffs who must still establish a
special injury.
The circuit court denied Rosenberg's motion to dismiss on
January 10, 1997. The court found that although section 2109 confers special
privileges upon health care providers who file malicious prosecution actions
which arise out of underlying medical malpractice litigation, this special
treatment does not violate the Illinois Constitution. The court reasoned that
this classification is warranted by the Illinois General Assembly's
determination that there existed a medical malpractice crisis at the time
section 2109 was enacted.
On December 9, 1999, the circuit court held a hearing on a
motion in limine filed by Rosenberg which requested that the court bar
Miller in his malicious prosecution action from the recovery of attorney fees he
incurred in defending against the underlying malpractice lawsuit. The circuit
court agreed with Rosenberg that, pursuant to section 2622(e) of the Code of
Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2622(e) (West 1998)), any claim by Miller to
recover attorney fees in connection with the underlying medical malpractice
litigation was untimely.
During the hearing on the attorney fee matter, the circuit
court judge noted that his previous ruling with respect to the constitutionality
of section 2109 was rendered prior to this court's 1997 decision in Best
v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367 (1997). Because the circuit court
judge had "never considered this case in light of the Best
case," he invited the parties to again submit briefs "to revisit the
question of whether or not [section 2109] is or is not special
legislation."
On January 20, 2000, the circuit court declared that section
2109 violates the Illinois Constitution, specifically, the prohibition
against special legislation (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, §13) and the guarantee
of equal protection (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §2). In the course of his
ruling, the circuit judge stated:
"In my view, [health care providers] have been
    singled out without there being a rational basis for singling them out and
    excluding all of the other individuals who might properly bring a malicious
    prosecution action. *** [I]f there was a medical malpractice crisis, that
    does not permit in my view the adoption of an arbitrary or unrelated means
    of addressing the problem, and that is what I think has been done in this
    case, where the health care providers have been allowed to have special
    advantages in a malicious prosecution [action] that no one else in the state
    shares. That, in my view, is an arbitrary and unrelated means of addressing
    the problem of a medical malpractice crisis if one exists. *** There is
    nothing inherent in being a health care provider that should give them
    special rights that nobody in the State of Illinois has."
Miller appealed the circuit court's ruling directly to this
court. 134 Ill. 2d R. 302(a).
 
ANALYSIS
This appeal presents the principal issues of whether section
2109 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2109 (West 1996)) violates
the prohibition against special legislation found in article IV, section 13, of
the Illinois Constitution of 1970 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, §13), and the
guarantee of equal protection contained in article I, section 2 (Ill. Const.
1970, art. I, §2). The constitutionality of a statute is a question of law
subject to de novo review. Brown's Furniture, Inc. v. Wagner,
171 Ill. 2d 410, 420 (1996). All statutes are presumed to be constitutional, and
the burden of rebutting this presumption is on the party challenging the
validity of the statute to clearly establish a constitutional violation.
Arangold Corp. v. Zehnder, 187 Ill. 2d 341, 351 (1999); Russell v.
Department of Natural Resources, 183 Ill. 2d 434, 441 (1998). A court must
construe a statute so as to affirm its constitutionality if the statute is
reasonably capable of such a construction. Russell, 183 Ill. 2d  at 441.
Accordingly, "if [a] statute's construction is doubtful, a court will
resolve the doubt in favor of the statute's validity." People v.
Shephard, 152 Ill. 2d 489, 499 (1992).
In the matter at bar, Rosenberg urges us to affirm the
judgment of the circuit court that the special treatment afforded by section 2109
to a select group of plaintiffs is unconstitutional. Specifically, section 2109
relieves health care professionals from the requirement of pleading and proving
special injury when those professionals file malicious prosecution suits against
unsuccessful medical malpractice plaintiffs. A malicious prosecution action is
brought to recover damages suffered by one against whom a suit has been filed
maliciously and without probable cause. Cult Awareness Network v. Church of
Scientology International, 177 Ill. 2d 267, 272 (1997); Schwartz v.
Schwartz, 366 Ill. 247, 250 (1937). Generally, in a complaint for malicious
prosecution based upon a prior civil proceeding, the plaintiff must allege that
the defendant instituted the underlying suit without probable cause and with
malice, that the former action was terminated in the plaintiff's favor, and
that as a result of the underlying action the plaintiff suffered a special
injury beyond the usual expense, time or annoyance in defending a lawsuit. Cult
Awareness Network, 177 Ill. 2d  at 272; Schwartz, 366 Ill.  at 250-53.
Rosenberg contends that the circuit court correctly ruled that the elimination
of special injury as an element of malicious prosecution claims brought by
health care professionals arising out of underlying medical malpractice
proceedings renders section 2109 impermissible special legislation and
violates the guarantee of equal protection.
Although the prohibition against special legislation and the
guarantee of equal protection are not identical, constitutional challenges
premised on these provisions are generally judged under the same standards. Best,
179 Ill. 2d  at 393; In re Petition of the Village of Vernon Hills, 168 Ill. 2d 117, 123 (1995); Bernier v. Burris, 113 Ill. 2d 219, 228 (1986).
The parties do not dispute that section 2109 neither affects a fundamental
right nor involves a suspect or quasi-suspect classification. See Bernier,
113 Ill. 2d  at 227-29. Therefore, the appropriate standard for our review of the
instant constitutional challenge is the rational basis test. Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 393; Bernier, 113 Ill. 2d  at 228. Under the rational basis
standard, judicial review of a legislative classification is limited and
generally deferential. Jacobson v. Department of Public Aid, 171 Ill. 2d 314, 323 (1996). " Under this standard, a court must determine
whether the statutory classification is rationally related to a legitimate State
interest.' " Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 393, quoting Village of
Vernon Hills, 168 Ill. 2d  at 123; Bernier, 113 Ill. 2d  at 228-29. A
legislative classification must be upheld if any set of facts can reasonably be
conceived which justify distinguishing the class to which the statute applies
from the class to which the law is inapplicable. In re A.A., 181 Ill. 2d 32, 38 (1998).
Before this court, Rosenberg's constitutional challenge to
section 2109 rests primarily upon her contention that this provision violates
our constitution's prohibition against special legislation. Ill. Const. 1970,
art. IV, §13. Indeed, the circuit court's ruling in the instant cause was
almost exclusively premised on its finding that section 2109 constitutes
special legislation. We therefore begin our analysis by addressing this claim.
The special legislation clause of the Illinois Constitution
provides:
"The General Assembly shall pass no special or local
    law when a general law is or can be made applicable. Whether a general law
    is or can be made applicable shall be a matter for judicial
    determination." Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, §13.
The special legislation clause "expressly prohibits the
General Assembly from conferring a special benefit or exclusive privilege on a
person or a group of persons to the exclusion of others similarly
situated." Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 391; Village of Vernon Hills,
168 Ill. 2d  at 122. The purpose of the prohibition against special legislation
is to "prevent arbitrary legislative classifications that discriminate in
favor of a select group without a sound, reasonable basis." Best,
179 Ill. 2d  at 391. In determining whether section 2109 constitutes
impermissible special legislation, we must ascertain whether the classification
created by that provision is "based upon reasonable differences in kind or
situation, and whether the basis for the classifications is sufficiently related
to the evil to be obviated by the statute." Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at
394.
Section 2109 is one of a number of provisions added to the
Code of Civil Procedure in 1985 by Public Act 847, eff. August 16, 1985,
which was passed by the Illinois General Assembly in response to what was
perceived to be a crisis in the area of medical malpractice litigation. See DeLuna
v. St. Elizabeth's Hospital, 147 Ill. 2d 57, 65 (1992). By enacting this
package of medical malpractice reform legislation, the General Assembly intended
to "comprehensively *** regulate medical malpractice litigation, with a
view to reducing the number of such suits and the size of the awards which are
given in those in which the plaintiff successfully establishes his claim."
Ill. Ann. Stat., ch. 110, par. 2109, Historical &amp; Practice Notes, at 30
(Smith-Hurd Supp. 1992).
Shortly after the passage of Public Act 847, five
provisions of that Act were challenged as unconstitutional in Bernier v.
Burris, 113 Ill. 2d 219 (1986). In Bernier, this court determined
that the establishment of review panels in medical malpractice cases violated
provisions in the Illinois Constitution with respect to the source of judicial
power and the jurisdiction of the circuit courts (see Ill. Const. 1970, art. VI,
§§1, 9). Bernier, 113 Ill. 2d  at 233. However, we also held that the
remaining four provisions of Public Act 847 challenged in Bernier were
not constitutionally infirm. This court concluded that the periodic payment of
certain damages, the modification of the collateral source rule in medical
malpractice actions, the elimination of punitive damages in actions for medical
malpractice, and a sliding scale of the allowable fees an attorney may charge in
representing a medical malpractice plaintiff were all rationally related to the
legitimate government interest of "reduc[ing] the burdens existing in the
health professions as a result of the perceived medical malpractice
crisis." Bernier, 113 Ill. 2d  at 252.
In his brief to this court, Miller contends that, although
section 2109 was not among the statutory provisions at issue in Bernier,
the legitimate governmental interests identified in that decision with respect
to Public Act 847 apply with equal force to section 2109. Miller asserts
that our analysis in Bernier therefore leads to the conclusion that the
classification in section 2109 is rationally related to the legitimate
legislative goal of remedying the perceived medical malpractice crisis,
specifically, that it reduces the burdens against health care professionals and
creates a disincentive for the filing of meritless medical malpractice lawsuits.
Rosenberg, echoing the reasoning employed by the circuit
court in its ruling, responds that section 2109 constitutes impermissible
special legislation because there is no rational relation between a legitimate
state interest and the grant of a special benefit to health care providers who
file malicious prosecution actions against unsuccessful medical malpractice
litigants. Rosenberg labels as "fallacious" the argument advanced by
Miller that section 2109 bears a rational relation to the perceived medical
malpractice crisis. Specifically, Rosenberg contends that in contrast to the
statutory provisions of Public Act 847 which were upheld in Bernier
and "were all directly related to the conduct of the medical malpractice
litigation itself," section 2109 "does not apply to medical
malpractice litigation in any way during its pendency *** [and] no rational
argument can be made that health care providers deserve greater post-litigation
rights when they have allegedly been sued with malice and without probable cause
than any other similarly situated civil defendant." Rosenberg therefore
concludes that section 2109 arbitrarily and irrationally eliminates the
common law special injury requirement for this select group of malicious
prosecution plaintiffs. We reject Rosenberg's arguments.
As stated, it is the burden of the party challenging the
validity of a statute to rebut the presumption of constitutionality. Arangold,
187 Ill. 2d  at 351; Russell, 183 Ill. 2d  at 441. We hold that Rosenberg
has failed to clearly establish that the provisions of section 2109 violate
the proscription against special legislation. Contrary to Rosenberg's
assertions that the classification in section 2109 is irrational and
arbitrary, we find that there are discernable, rational reasons why the General
Assembly distinguished between health care professionals who file malicious
prosecution suits against unsuccessful medical malpractice plaintiffs and all
other individuals who may bring a malicious prosecution action. The
classification is based upon "a rational difference of situation or
condition" between those persons included in the classification and
excluded from it (Vernon Hills, 168 Ill. 2d at 123), and the
classification bears a reasonable relationship to the purposes of the statute.
As we observed in Bernier, the history of Public Act
847 "amply demonstrates that it was enacted in response to what was
perceived to be a crisis in the area of medical malpractice." Bernier,
113 Ill. 2d  at 229; see also DeLuna, 147 Ill. 2d  at 66; Ill. Ann. Stat.,
ch. 110, par. 2109, Historical &amp; Practice Notes, at 30 (Smith-Hurd Supp.
1992). The primary intent of the General Assembly in passing this medical
malpractice reform package was to "reduce the burdens existing in the
health professions as a result of the perceived malpractice crisis." Bernier,
113 Ill. 2d  at 252. To this end, certain statutory provisions were enacted with
the specific purpose of operating "as a disincentive for filing frivolous
suits." Bernier, 113 Ill. 2d  at 252; see also Ill. Ann. Stat., ch.
110, par. 2109, Historical &amp; Practice Notes, at 30 (Smith-Hurd Supp.
1992). Section 2109 is such a provision. As commentators have explained, the
General Assembly intended that section 2109 "liberalize the availability
of a suit for malicious prosecution as a means of punishing and discouraging the
filing of ill-grounded medical malpractice cases. It does so by removing the
need to show special injury in order to recover in such cases. It mitigates the
effect of this provision by foreclosing the award of exemplary or punitive
damages ***." Ill. Ann. Stat., ch. 110, par. 2109, Historical &amp;
Practice Notes, at 31 (Smith-Hurd Supp. 1992).
This understanding of the purpose of section 2109 refutes
Rosenberg's argument that there is no rational relationship between this
statutory provision and the perceived medical malpractice crisis. In enacting
section 2109, the legislature eased the burden of bringing a malicious
prosecution action for health care professionals with the specific intent of not
only "discouraging" the filing of frivolous medical malpractice
lawsuits, but also as a way of "punishing" those plaintiffs who bring
baseless medical malpractice claims. The legislature could have reasonably
believed that liberalizing the availability of a malicious prosecution action
for health care providers is an effective means of curtailing meritless medical
malpractice litigation. The possibility of being a defendant in a subsequent
malicious prosecution suit where the element of special injury is not required
to be pled or established would likely provide a strong incentive to a potential
medical malpractice plaintiff to thoroughly investigate the basis of the claim
before filing suit. Those potential plaintiffs who conclude that there is
probable cause to file a medical malpractice action would have no reason to be
discouraged from bringing suit, while those whose claims lack probable cause
would be deterred from filing an action.
Rosenberg contends, however, that there is further support
for her position that the special rights conferred upon health care providers by
section 2109 are not rationally related to a legitimate state interest.
Rosenberg observes that as part of Public Act 847, the General Assembly also
enacted section 2622 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2622 (West
1998)), which mandates that before a medical malpractice action can be filed,
the party bringing the action must obtain a certificate from a qualified health
professional which certifies "that there is a reasonable and meritorious
cause for the filing of such action." 735 ILCS 5/2622(a)(1) (West 1998).
Rosenberg asserts that no other civil defendant in Illinois is entitled to a
prelawsuit opinion witness certification that the case against him has merit,
and that as a result of the screening provisions contained within section 2622,
a health care provider is the defendant least likely to be subjected to a
maliciously prosecuted action. We reject Rosenberg's argument. As this court
stated in Bernier, "[i]n attempting to remedy a perceived ill, the
legislature is not limited to choosing the single, most effective remedy against
the problem but rather may decide to attack it along several fronts
simultaneously." Bernier, 113 Ill. 2d  at 252. We conclude that the
legislature could have reasonably believed that baseless medical malpractice
claims could most effectively be deterred by enacting both section 2109 and
section 2622.
In a final effort to lend support to her position that the
elimination of the special injury requirement for health care providers is a
constitutionally impermissible "special benefit," Rosenberg argues
that the classification contained within section 2109 is analogous to the
legislative classification in section 21117 of the Code of Civil Procedure
which this court found to constitute special legislation in Best v. Taylor
Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367 (1997). In Best, the plaintiff
challenged as unconstitutional several provisions contained within Public Act 897,
a legislative package more popularly known as the Civil Justice Reform Act of
1995. Applying analytical principles consistent with those used in Bernier,
we held in Best that two provisions of Public Act 897 which amended
the Code of Civil Procedure represented unconstitutional special legislation:
the cap placed on compensatory damages for noneconomic injury in section 21115.1
(735 ILCS 5/21115.1 (West 1996)), and the application of the principle of
joint and several liability in medical malpractice actions provided in section 21117
(735 ILCS 5/21117 (West 1996)). Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 409, 429.
As we explained in Best, Public Act 897 rewrote
section 21117 of the Code of Civil Procedure to abolish the common law
doctrine of joint and several liability, and substituted in its place several
liability based upon proportionate fault. Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 423.
However, although subsection (a) of section 21117 purported to eliminate the
doctrine of joint and several liability for all plaintiffs, subsection (b) of
that provision provided that if the damages cap in section 21115.1 was
invalidated, the doctrine of joint and several liability was automatically
reinstated, but only for medical malpractice defendants. Because we held that
the cap on damages was unconstitutional, subsection (b) was activated.
We determined in Best that the abatement of
proportionate several liability solely in the context of medical malpractice
actions violated the prohibition against special legislation because it
arbitrarily and irrationally benefitted only those plaintiffs filing medical
malpractice claims. Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 431-32. We observed that by
virtue of the benefit contained in section 21117(b), a select group of tort
plaintiffs would be relieved from the burden faced by all other plaintiffs of
"bring[ing] several separate actions to recover full compensation for their
injuries," and that this select group did not, unlike all other tort
plaintiffs, have to "bear the risk of any tortfeasor being insolvent or
otherwise unavailable." Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 431. We concluded that
there was "no discernable rational basis for treating medical malpractice
plaintiffs differently from other plaintiffs in death, bodily injury and
property damage cases," and stated that "[i]f in fact, a real need
exists to eliminate the harshness of several liability, then logically this need
exists for all plaintiffs who have suffered physical injury or loss of property
at the hands of joint tortfeasors, and not just medical malpractice
plaintiffs." Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 431-32.
Relying upon this statement from our opinion in Best,
Rosenberg asserts that "[t]his reasoning applies with equal force to prove
the unconstitutionality of" section 2109. Rosenberg contends that the
special benefit afforded to health care providers by section 2109 is just as
arbitrary and irrational as the special treatment provided to medical
malpractice plaintiffs in section 21117. Echoing our statement in Best,
Rosenberg concludes that "[i]f, in fact, a real need exists to eliminate
the harshness of the special injury or special damages requirement of malicious
prosecution actions, then logically that need exists for all defendants who
suffered from maliciously prosecuted lawsuits, not just health care
providers." We find Rosenberg's argument unpersuasive.
As previously discussed, we find that the classification in
section 2109 is reasonably related to a legitimate governmental purpose. It
has been amply demonstrated that, in enacting the provisions contained within
Public Act 847, the legislature intended to remedy what it perceived to be a
crisis in medical malpractice litigation. The provisions of section 2109 are
reasonably related to this legitimate public interest by serving as a deterrent
against, and punishment for, the filing of frivolous medical malpractice claims.
Section 2109, therefore, is clearly distinguishable from section 21117,
which appeared to be "designed primarily to confer a benefit on a
particular private group without a reasonable basis, rather than to promote the
general welfare." Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 395.
Section 2109 is distinguishable from section 21117 in
an additional respect. In Best, our finding that section 21117
violated the special legislation clause was also premised upon the fact that
section 21117(b) contradicted the purpose stated by the General Assembly for
enacting proportionate several liability. Although the preamble to Public Act 897
declared that "it is the public policy of this State that a defendant
should not be liable for damages in excess of its proportionate share of
fault," we noted that section 21117(b) "inexplicably contradict[ed]
this rationale." Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 432. We explained that "[i]f
the premise underlying Public Act 897's abolition of joint and several
liability is that the doctrine unfairly permits a plaintiff to recover more in
damages than is justified from an individual defendant then, logically, that
unfairness is only exacerbated if there is no cap on the total amount of the
damages which the plaintiff can recover." Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 432.
We therefore concluded that the invalidation of the damages cap did not justify
or explain the exemption provided by section 21117(b) from the general rule
of several liability, and that "treating these plaintiffs differently in
the absence of a damages cap is directly contrary to the legislature's
acknowledged purpose for enacting proportionate several liability." Best,
179 Ill. 2d  at 432-33. In contrast to section 21117, section 2109 does not
contravene the stated policy of Public Act 847 to remedy the malpractice
crisis. Instead, the provisions of section 2109 further that policy by
discouraging and penalizing meritless medical malpractice claims.
In sum, Rosenberg has failed to satisfy her burden of proof
to clearly establish that section 2109 constitutes impermissible special
legislation in violation of article IV, section 13, of the Illinois Constitution
of 1970 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, §13). We find that the classification
contained in section 2109 is rationally related to the legitimate
governmental interest of curtailing frivolous medical malpractice actions.
Accordingly, section 2109 does not constitute special legislation.
Raising arguments identical to those made in support of her
special legislation claim, Rosenberg next asserts that section 2109 violates
the guarantee of equal protection contained within article I, section 2, of the
Illinois Constitution of 1970 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §2). The equal
protection clause requires that the government treat similarly situated
individuals in a similar manner. A.A., 181 Ill. 2d  at 37. As previously
stated, an equal protection challenge is generally judged under the same
standards applicable to a special legislation challenge. Best, 179 Ill. 2d  at 393; Village of Vernon Hills, 168 Ill. 2d  at 123; Bernier,
113 Ill. 2d  at 228. Because section 2109 involves neither a suspect class nor
a fundamental right, it is subject only to deferential review under the rational
basis test. As we have already discussed, section 2109 satisfies the rational
basis test. Therefore, the classification contained within that section is
neither discriminatory nor arbitrary. Accordingly, section 2109 does not
contravene principles of equal protection.
In her written submission to this court, Rosenberg also makes
a brief argument, as she did before the circuit court, that section 2109
violates the guarantee of due process found in article I, section 2, of our
constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §2). In support of this claim,
Rosenberg relies on the same arguments raised with respect to her special
legislation and equal protection challenges, stating that they "apply with
equal validity to establish a violation of the due process clause." We
disagree. As in analyzing a claim of special legislation or equal protection in
which no fundamental rights are burdened, "the appropriate inquiry under
due process is whether the legislation bears a rational relationship to a
legitimate governmental interest." Bernier, 113 Ill. 2d  at 228-29.
Because section 2109 meets the rational basis requirement, it does not
violate the due process clause.
 
 
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we hold that section 2109 of the Code of Civil
Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2109 (West 1998)) does not violate the prohibition
against special legislation set forth in article IV, section 13, of the Illinois
Constitution of 1970 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, §13). We also hold that
section 2109 does not violate the right to equal protection guaranteed by
article I, section 2, of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 ( Ill. Const. 1970,
art. I, §2), or the guarantee of due process in article I, section 2, of the
Illinois Constitution of 1970 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §2). Accordingly, we
reverse the judgment of the circuit court and remand this cause for further
proceedings.
Circuit court judgment reversed;
cause remanded.