Court Opinion

ID: 9720988
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 08:46:04.770288+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:22.645186
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE GREEN, dissenting: As indicated by the majority, I cannot agree that the petitioner waived any error in the judgment fixing child support by not taking action in the circuit court raising the issue that the award was less than that required by statutory guidelines unless appropriate findings were made. I recognize the general rule set forth in Rodriguez and cases cited therein. However, the issue waived in Rodriguez concerned the standing of a party which should have been raised before judgment. The same is true of the errors involved in cases cited in Rodriguez. Here, the alleged error in the judgment could not have been raised until the judgment was entered and, thus, could be raised only by a post-trial motion. At all times pertinent, Supreme Court Rule 366(b)(3)(ii) provided that, in civil cases tried without a jury, “[njeither the filing of nor the failure to file a post-trial motion limits the scope of review.” 107 Ill. 2d R. 366(b)(3)(ii). In nonjury civil cases I deem the relationship between the general rule requiring error to be raised in the trial court to preserve the issue for review and Supreme Court Rule 366(b)(3)(ii) to be such that in those cases error first occurring in a final order appealed need not be raised in the trial court in order to be reviewable. The cited wording of the foregoing rule was taken from section 68.3(1) of the former Civil Practice Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 110, par. 68.3(1)). The comments of the joint committee which recommended the adoption of that legislation stated the language of section 68.3 made “clear that in non-jury cases no formal action is necessary to preserve for review the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence.” Ill. Ann. Stat., ch. 110, par. 68.3(1), Committee Comments, at 270 (Smith-Hurd 1968). We agree that because of Supreme Court Rule 366(b)(3)(ii), no post-trial motion is necessary in a civil nonjury case to preserve for review the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence to support the judgment on appeal. That is significant in two aspects here. First, that interpretation of Rule 366(b)(3)(ii) makes clear that the rule’s effect is not limited to making unnecessary the citing of error in a post-trial motion when that issue has already been raised in the trial court. Clearly, the rule enables a party to raise certain issues on review for the first time. Secondly, the issue in dispute here is closely related to the question of the sufficiency of the evidence. The issue can be accurately stated in terms that the evidence is insufficient to support the judgment absent findings. The majority would limit the application of Supreme Court Rule 366(b)(3)(ii) to issues raised before judgment in the trial court or errors of substance, as distinguished from procedure, which appear for the first time in the final judgment. I would agree that the raising of many matters, such as that involved here, in the trial court would save judicial time and resources. Perhaps Rule 366(b)(3)(ii) should be amended to so provide. However, to make a dividing line between those matters which must be raised by post-trial motion and those that do not depending upon whether the error is one of procedure or of substance creates the problem of deciding in which category a claim of error fits. In any event, neither the wording of Rule 366(b)(3)(ii) nor case precedent called to our attention makes such an exception. I conclude that existing Illinois law does not require the issue in dispute here to have been raised in the circuit court to be before us. I would either remand to the circuit court to make findings, as the majority suggests as an appropriate procedure if the issue was before us, or reverse and remand to the circuit court for the court to make an appropriate order. If the latter procedure was adopted, the circuit court would be in a position to change its judgment if it decided it could not make sufficient findings to support the present judgment.