Opinion ID: 2066000
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Justiciable Issue

Text: The Comptroller initially argues that the trial court should not have construed the scope of the Burial Funds, Pre-Need and Care Acts because no justiciable controversy existed between the parties within the meaning of the declaratory judgment statute (735 ILCS 5/2-701 (West 1992)). The Comptroller apparently concedes that the Bank may properly seek a judicial declaration with respect to liability the Bank may incur under those statutes if it sells the cemetery property in a foreclosure sale. The Comptroller argues, however, that no actual controversy exists with regard to the liability that a potential purchaser at a foreclosure sale may incur under the Acts. In support of this argument, the Comptroller notes that a potential purchaser is not a party to this action. The Comptroller also notes that, while most cemeteries are licensed under the Care Act, a purchaser need not obtain a license under the Burial Funds Act or the Pre-Need Act to operate as a cemetery. The Comptroller also contends that, if a potential purchaser applies for and is wrongfully denied a license to operate under those statutes because of the Comptroller's policy, the purchaser has an adequate remedy under the administrative review provisions of those statutes. Thus, the Comptroller argues, the trial court erred in granting declaratory relief as it related to the liability of a potential purchaser at a foreclosure sale, because no actual controversy was presented with regard to such a purchaser. We disagree. Section 2-701(a) of the Code of Civil Procedure provides, in relevant part, that a trial court may, in cases of actual controversy, make binding declarations of rights, having the force of final judgments, whether or not any consequential relief is or could be claimed, including the determination, at the instance of anyone interested in the controversy, of the construction of any statute    or other governmental regulation    and a declaration of the rights of the parties interested. (735 ILCS 5/2-701(a) (West 1992).) A complaint for declaratory judgment must recite in sufficient detail an actual and legal controversy between the parties and must demonstrate that the plaintiff is interested in the controversy. Underground Contractors Association v. City of Chicago (1977), 66 Ill.2d 371, 375-76, 5 Ill. Dec. 827, 362 N.E.2d 298. An actual controversy exists if there is a legitimate dispute admitting of an immediate and definite determination of the parties' rights, the resolution of which would help terminate all or part of the dispute. (See Kerr Steamship Co. v. Chicago Title & Trust Co. (1983), 120 Ill.App.3d 998, 1003, 76 Ill.Dec. 355, 458 N.E.2d 1009.) The requirement that an actual controversy be present does not mean that a party must have been wronged or suffered an injury. (See Stone v. Omnicom Cable Television of Illinois, Inc. (1985), 131 Ill.App.3d 210, 214, 86 Ill.Dec. 226, 475 N.E.2d 223.) Rather, an actual controversy may be found where the mere existence of a claim, assertion or challenge to the plaintiff's legal interests portends the ripening seeds of litigation. ( Stone, 131 Ill. App.3d at 214, 86 Ill.Dec. 226, 475 N.E.2d 223.) An interest in the controversy means that the plaintiff must have a personal claim or right which is capable of being affected. See Underground Contractors Association v. City of Chicago (1977), 66 Ill.2d 371, 375-76, 5 Ill.Dec. 827, 362 N.E.2d 298. The declaratory judgment procedure was designed to settle and fix rights before there has been an irrevocable change in the position of the parties that will jeopardize their respective claims of right. (See Gagne v. Village of LaGrange (1976), 36 Ill.App.3d 864, 345 N.E.2d 108.) The remedy is used to afford security and relief against uncertainty so as to avoid potential litigation. (See Gagne, 36 Ill.App.3d 864, 345 N.E.2d 108.) In order to carry out the purposes for which the remedy was designed, our courts have repeatedly held that the declaratory judgment statute must be liberally construed and should not be restricted by unduly technical interpretations. Illinois Gamefowl Breeders Association v. Block (1979), 75 Ill.2d 443, 27 Ill.Dec. 465, 389 N.E.2d 529. With these principles in mind, we find that the Bank's complaint sets forth an actual controversy which stems from the parties' conflicting interpretations of the scope of the Comptroller's authority under the Burial Funds, Pre-Need and Care Acts. The Bank has alleged that the Comptroller has adopted policies which rest upon an erroneous construction of those statutes, and that these policies will have a negative impact on the Bank's pecuniary interest in the mortgages it holds on Floral Lawns Cemetery. Specifically, the Bank contends that the Comptroller has adopted a policy of holding purchasers of cemetery property liable, either directly or indirectly ( e.g., by making it a condition of licensure), for shortfalls in trust funds required under the Burial Funds, Pre-Need and Care Acts. The Bank further contends that the Comptroller lacks statutory authority to hold a potential purchaser liable for trust fund shortfalls or to deny a license to operate under those acts unless trust funds are replenished. The Bank contends that the Comptroller's unlawful policy will substantially reduce the price the Bank receives for the cemetery property at the sheriff's sale. Thus, the Comptroller's current policy will have a direct impact on the Bank's pecuniary interest in the mortgages it holds on the cemetery property. Our courts have recognized that [t]he mere existence of a claim, assertion or challenge to plaintiff's legal interests,    which cast[s] doubt, insecurity, and uncertainty upon plaintiff's rights or status, damages plaintiff's pecuniary or material interests and establishes a condition of justiciability. ( Roberts v. Roberts (1967), 90 Ill.App.2d 184, 187, 234 N.E.2d 372.) Here, the trial court properly found that parties with adverse interests had a legitimate dispute over the scope of the Comptroller's authority under the Burial Funds, Pre-Need and Care Acts. Judicial construction of the statutes was appropriate to determine the validity of the Comptroller's policies and to help terminate the dispute between the parties before the Bank sells the property at a foreclosure sale. We are not persuaded by the Comptroller's claim that the Bank lacks a justiciable interest in the Comptroller's policy, insofar as it relates to the liability of a potential purchaser for trust fund shortfalls. As stated, the Comptroller contends that the administrative review provisions of each statute adequately protect the purchaser's interest in obtaining a license to operate under the three statutes. The fact that the purchaser at the sheriff's sale may later challenge the Comptroller's policy in an administrative proceeding may, of course, adequately protect the purchaser's interests. Such a proceeding, however, will not protect the Bank's interest in obtaining the highest legitimate price at the foreclosure sale of the cemetery property. To deprive the Bank of the opportunity to challenge the Comptroller's policy before the foreclosure sale takes place would negate the salutary purposes that underlie the declaratory judgment statute. Accordingly, we reject the Comptroller's argument that the plaintiff's complaint failed to set forth a justiciable controversy within the meaning of the declaratory judgment statute. See Amos v. Norwood Federal Savings & Loan Association (1977), 47 Ill.App.3d 643, 7 Ill.Dec. 772, 365 N.E.2d 57 (dispute between mortgagor and mortgagee as to the legal effect of the due on conveyance clause of mortgage held justiciable in declaratory judgment action, even though proposed sale agreement had not been executed).