Opinion ID: 546272
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Favoritism and the purchase of land for retention pond

Text: 11 Former Village attorney Robert Biederman owned property (the Southpointe parcel) adjacent to the Karagias property. In 1981 Biederman began construction of condominiums on the Southpointe parcel. The plaintiffs claim that Biederman did not have to submit the same materials as they had to submit in order to secure the building permits. Appellants' Br. at 11. Prior to construction, Biederman was informed that he would have to construct a retention pond due to stormwater drainage problems. He first suggested that he build a private pond, but the Village preferred a public pond to service the area, including the Karagias property. 12 Biederman purchased a parcel (known as Outlot A) in 1981 for $63,000. The Village, desirous of putting the retention pond on that parcel, subsequently purchased part of the parcel for $90,000 through a special assessment condemnation. A hearing on the condemnation was held in June 1983, and the Circuit Court of Cook County confirmed the special assessment in May 1984. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants assured them that, if the plaintiffs did not object to the special assessment, then the Village would grant the plaintiffs' building permits. Appellants' Br. at 13. In February of 1984 Sylvester applied for a building permit for a six-unit condominium. No action has been taken on this application. II CLAIMS DISMISSED BEFORE TRIAL A. Standards of Review 13 Several of the plaintiffs' claims were dismissed on the pleadings; others were dismissed on summary judgment. The standards of review governing each are well settled. Dismissal of a claim is appropriate if there exists no set of facts that would support the claim and entitle the plaintiff to recover. Illinois Health Care Assoc. v. Illinois Dep't of Public Health, 879 F.2d 286, 288 (7th Cir.1989). In making this determination, we accept all well-pleaded allegations as true and draw all reasonable inferences from them. Id. Our review of the judgment of the district court is de novo. Villegas v. Princeton Farms, Inc., 893 F.2d 919, 924-25 (7th Cir.1990). 14 Our standard for dealing with a grant of summary judgment is also well established. The movant bears the burden of establishing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Any doubt as to the existence of a genuine issue for trial is resolved against the moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2513, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (The evidence of the nonmovant is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor.); United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 994, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962) (per curiam). When the moving party has met its burden, the nonmoving party then has the burden of presenting specific facts to show that there is a genuine issue of material fact. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Co., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-56, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). Summary judgment is inappropriate if the dispute about a material fact is 'genuine,' that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247, 106 S.Ct. at 2509. In examining the district court's grant of summary judgment, our duty is to review de novo the record and the controlling law. PPG Indus., Inc. v. Russell, 887 F.2d 820, 823 (7th Cir.1989).