Opinion ID: 2995871
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Biondi’s Malpractice Claim Against His Former

Text: Attorneys Biondi also argues that the district court erred in granting the third-party defendants’ motion for summary judgment of his malpractice claim. In a nutshell, Biondi contends that the third-party defendants should be required to indemnify him for any monies that he is required to pay the Trustees because but for their malpractice he would not have committed fraud. Specifically, Biondi claims that the third-party defendants were negligent in their representation of him during his divorce proceedings because: (1) they failed to advise the Plan directly of Biondi’s divorce and his need to obtain COBRA benefits for his ex-wife; or (2) they did not advise Biondi of the need for him to give notice of his divorce to the Plan and request COBRA benefits for his ex-wife. Biondi maintains that had the third-party defendants taken either of these actions “any possibility of the kind of fraud that occurred would have been impossible.” In granting the third-party defendants’ motion for summary judgment, the district court rejected this argument, holding that “[e]ven if Biondi’s lawyers were negligent and committed malpractice as he contends, Biondi cannot seek to hold them responsible for the damages he has to pay as a result of his fraud.” We agree. While neither party has cited authority directly on point, the general rule is that Illinois courts “will not aid a fraudfeasor who invokes the court’s jurisdiction to relieve him of the consequences of his fraud.” Goldstein v. Lustig, 507 N.E.2d 164, 170 (Ill. App. Ct. 1987). “This refusal to aid derives not from the consideration of the defendant, but from a desire to see that those who transgress the moral or criminal code shall not receive aid from the judicial branch of government.” Mettes v. Quinn, 411 N.E.2d 549, 551 (Ill. App. Ct. 30 No. 00-3598 1980). Furthermore, Illinois tort law, which both parties agree applies in this case, distinguishes between conditions and causes; when one party’s negligence simply furnishes a condition by which an injury is made possible, and that condition leads to an injury due to the later independent act of another party, the creation of the condition is held not to be the proximate cause of the injury. See, e.g., First Springfield Bank & Trust v. Galman, 720 N.E.2d 1068, 1071 (Ill App. Ct. 1999). We, therefore, conclude that the district court was correct in granting the third-party defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and in denying Biondi’s Rule 59(e) motion to alter or amend its judgment as well.