Opinion ID: 2180547
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Judicial Remedies Generally

Text: Section 9-102 of the Act authorizes a local public entity, in this case a school district (see 745 ILCS 10/1-206 (West 1998)), to pay any tort judgment or settlement for compensatory damages for which it    is liable in the manner provided in this Article. 745 ILCS 10/9-102 (West 1998). The majority interprets the term compensatory damages in section 9-102 of the Act as excluding the cost of complying with injunctive remedies. Invoking the plain language rule of statutory interpretation (193 Ill.2d at 496, 250 Ill.Dec. at 749-50, 739 N.E.2d at 512-13), the majority simply refers to a legal dictionary, compares the meaning of damages to that of an injunction, and states the obvious, i.e., that the terms have different narrow and technical meanings. The majority then reasons that section 9-102 does not apply to the payment of costs of complying with injunctive relief. 193 Ill.2d at 498, 250 Ill.Dec. at 750-51, 739 N.E.2d at 513-14. The majority's plain language analysis fails. Initially, the majority's reference to a legal dictionary in search of the plain and ordinary meaning of these terms is not dispositive. While this reference yields a rigid distinction between legal damages and equitable relief, a reference to a general dictionary yields a different result. Only eight years ago, this court noted the fluidand popularly understoodrelationship between legal damages and equitable relief. In Outboard Marine Corp. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., 154 Ill.2d 90, 180 Ill.Dec. 691, 607 N.E.2d 1204 (1992), this court broadly interpreted the term damages: Webster's dictionary defines `damages' as `the estimated reparation in money for detriment or injury sustained: compensation or satisfaction imposed by law for a wrong or injury caused by a violation of a legal right.' (Webster's Third New International Dictionary 571 (1986).) This definition does not distinguish between legal compensatory damages or the costs of complying with a mandatory injunction. It merely indicates that `damages' stands for the money required to be expended in order to right a wrong. To the popular mind, to most people, to ordinary laypersons, `damages' connotes money one must expend to remedy an injury for which he or she is responsible, irrespective of whether that expenditure is compelled by a court of law in the form of compensatory damages or by a court of equity in the form of compliance with mandatory injunctions. Outboard Marine, 154 Ill.2d at 115-16, 180 Ill.Dec. 691, 607 N.E.2d 1204. The majority now attempts to distinguish this court's proper interpretation of compensatory damages in Outboard Marine from the narrow and technical interpretation of the same term in this case. The majority reasons that, unlike this case, Outboard Marine was an insurance coverage case in an environmental cleanup context. 193 Ill.2d at 498-500, 250 Ill.Dec. at 750-52, 739 N.E.2d at 713-15. This distinction fails to persuade me, as it failed to persuade the federal district court in the school desegregation class action. What makes Outboard Marine applicable to this case is its reliance on the plain and ordinary definition of damages, which is based on a rule of construction that is equally applicable in the statutory interpretation context. The distinctions, while apparent, are of no difference. In re Application of the County Collector, 918 F.Supp. 235, 241 n. 8 (N.D.Ill.1996), rev'd on other grounds, 96 F.3d 890 (7th Cir.1996). This court has stated that it is reluctant to abandon or modify a recent precedent. The People and the bar of this State are entitled to rely upon our decisions with assurance that they will not be lightly overruled. Moehle v. Chrysler Motors Corp., 93 Ill.2d 299, 304, 66 Ill.Dec. 649, 443 N.E.2d 575 (1982). Indeed, the federal district court in this litigation relied upon this court's interpretation of compensatory damages in Outboard Marine. In re Application of the County Collector, 918 F.Supp. at 240-41. This court does a disservice to anyone who looks to it for a definition of Illinois law when it finds different meanings of plain language to reach different results in particular cases. Reference to a dictionary aside, common law meanings of words and terms may be assumed to apply in statutes dealing with new or different subject matter, to the extent that they appear fitting and absent evidence indicating a contrary meaning. Advincula v. United Blood Services, 176 Ill.2d 1, 17, 223 Ill.Dec. 1, 678 N.E.2d 1009 (1996), citing 2B N. Singer, Sutherland on Statutory Construction § 50.03, at 103 (5th ed. 1992). The rigid distinction that the majority attempts to make between legal damages and equitable relief fades against the backdrop of fundamental common law principles. A court of equity, which has obtained jurisdiction of a cause on any ground, or for any purpose, will retain jurisdiction to administer complete relief and do full justice in the case. The court will do this whether the rights and remedies involved are legal or equitable. McLeod v. Lambdin, 22 Ill.2d 232, 236, 174 N.E.2d 869 (1961) (describing principle as axiomatic). Accordingly, to afford complete relief, a court of equity may award damages as an adjunct to its equity jurisdiction. See, e.g., Garden City Sand Co. v. Southern Fire Brick & Clay Co., 260 Ill. 231, 236-42, 103 N.E. 207 (1913) (party may be liable for damages in equity); see generally 27A Am.Jur.2d Equity §§ 103 through 05, 252 (1996); 42 Am.Jur.2d Injunctions §§ 271, 272 (2000); 30A C.J.S. Equity §§ 72 through 77 (1992); 21A Ill. L. & Prac. Injunctions § 243 (1977). In other words, a court of equity can issue an injunction, i.e., the court can order the performance of an act. See 193 Ill.2d at 498, 250 Ill.Dec. at 750-51, 739 N.E.2d at 513-14, quoting Black's Law Dictionary 788 (7th ed. 1999). One such act can be the payment of a personal judgment or the recovery of damages. See 27A Am.Jur.2d Equity § 105, at 591 (1996). These principles indicate that injunctive remedies can greatly resemble damages. The majority's conclusion to the contrary is inaccurate. 193 Ill.2d at 498, 250 Ill.Dec. at 750-51, 739 N.E.2d at 513-14.