Opinion ID: 620041
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: LINA's Counterclaim

Text: Lastly, the Trust asserts that the district court improperly granted summary judgment on LINA's breach of contract counterclaim. LINA asserts that the Trust refused to pay the August and September 2004 premiums following the dispute over Knight's death benefit. The district court granted LINA's summary judgment motion and ordered the Trust to pay the past-due premiums plus accrued interest. To succeed on a breach of contract claim in Illinois, the proponent must prove the existence of a contract, performance under that contract, breach by the counterparty, and an injury resulting from that breach. Burrell v. City of Mattoon, 378 F.3d 642, 651 (7th Cir.2004) (citing Hickox v. Bell, 195 Ill.App.3d 976, 142 Ill.Dec. 392, 552 N.E.2d 1133, 1143 (1990)). The Trust principally takes issue with the performance element of LINA's claim. [4] Specifically, the Trust suggests that LINA did not provide coverage in any meaningful sense because it failed to notify the Trust that it would not pay the Trust as a beneficiary. As an initial matter, the Trust had knowledge that the policy had been issued and it was thus charged with knowing the contours of the policy. See Schoonover, 157 Ill.Dec. 794, 572 N.E.2d at 1264. Moreover, the Trust's assertion that LINA did not perform contradicts the record. On summary judgment, it is undisputed that after LINA received notice of Knight's death, LINA fulfilled its policy obligations by paying Knight's beneficiaries on August 4, 2004. This payment typifies performance under an insurance policy. Additionally, the Trust's assertion that Heindl's August 18, 2004, letter gave it justification to discontinue premium payments is unconvincing. Heindl's letter specifically terminated coverage effective September 30, 2004. Rather than justify the immediate discontinuation of premium payments, Heindl's letter is evidence that the insurer remained on risk until September 30. The Trust offered no evidence to refute LINA's ongoing performance. Thus, we hold that LINA offered enough uncontested breach-of-contract evidence to succeed at summary judgment.