Court Opinion

ID: 9715377
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 06:02:34.371351+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:34.216581
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE JOHNSON, dissenting: I respectfully dissent from the majority’s reversal of the trial court’s judgment in favor of plaintiff for $57,600. An award of damages in a bench trial should not be disturbed on appeal unless it is against the manifest weight of the evidence. (Hough v. Mooningham (1986), 139 Ill. App. 3d 1018, 1023.) Additionally, “in a bench trial it is within the province of the trial court to determine the credibility and weight of the testimony, to resolve the inconsistencies and conflicts, and to render its decision accordingly [citation].” (MBL (USA) Corp. v. Diekman (1983), 112 Ill. App. 3d 229, 235.) Moreover, in Amadeo v. Zant (1988), 486 U.S. ___, 100 L. Ed. 2d 249, 108 S. Ct. 1771, the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed the deference that must be accorded the fact finder. The Court held that “ ‘[w]here there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder’s choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous.’ [Citations.]” (Amadeo, 486 U.S. at _, 100 L. Ed. 2d at 262, 108 S. Ct. at 1778, quoting Anderson v. Bessemer City (1985), 470 U.S. 564, 574, 84 L. Ed. 2d 518, 528, 105 S. Ct. 1504, 1511.) Here, the fact finder’s determination was supported by sufficient evidence in the record and, consequently, I would affirm.