Court Opinion

ID: 9535952
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 06:47:12.138453+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:33:23.786187
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE GREEN, concurring in part and dissenting in part: I concur in the decision to reverse the judgment and remand but dissent from the order to dismiss the appeal of petitioner. Supreme Court Rule 303(a) (87 Ill. 2d R. 303(a)) states that, except in situations not involved here, a notice of appeal must be filed “within 30 days after the entry of the final judgment appealed from, or, if a timely post-trial motion directed against the judgment is filed *** within 30 days after the entry of the order disposing of the motion.” (Emphasis added.) The rule speaks in terms of “a” post-trial motion and does not say that the motion must be that of the appellant. When a post-trial motion is timely filed and denied, subsequent appeals are from the underlying final judgment and not from the ruling on the post-trial motion, although errors in the ruling on the post-trial motion may be considered. (Sears v. Sears (1981), 85 Ill. 2d 253, 258, 422 N.E.2d 610, 612.) Here, petitioner filed a notice of appeal which, by operation of law, was from the final judgment entered. It was filed within 30 days after the ruling on respondent’s post-trial motion which was “a timely post-trial motion directed against the judgment.” By the express wording of Rule 303(a) petitioner’s notice of appeal was timely filed. Had respondent’s cross-appeal, treated by the majority as a notice of appeal, been originally designated as such, petitioner would have had 10 days from its filing to file a cross-appeal by the terms of Rule 303(a). As the trial was at bench, she could have raised by cross-appeal, any claim of error she wished. Thus, it would not appear that there is any compelling policy requirement that requires she not be permitted to file a notice of appeal merely because it was not filed within 30 days of a ruling upon a post-trial motion filed by her. Apparently, the precise question in issue here has never been ruled upon before. Certainly, Elliott does not require a holding that petitioner’s notice of appeal was not timely. Absent either precedent or compelling policy reason, we should not do so when our holding is contrary to the express wording of Rule 303(a).