Court Opinion

ID: 9522927
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:33:45.379043+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:04:17.985247
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE HARRISON, dissenting: I respectfully dissent, because I agree with defendants’ contention that plaintiffs’ exhibit No. 16 was hearsay and improperly admitted in evidence. Plaintiffs’ exhibit No. 16 was merely a bill prepared by plaintiffs showing charges for extra work. As the majority indicates, this bill was prepared by Mr. Kern, who testified that the charges on the bill were taken from weekly and daily records that were prepared on the job site. He testified that he prepared the bill a month after completing the job. This court has recently ruled in A.J. Davinroy Plumbing & Heating v. Finis P. Ernst, Inc. (1980), 87 Ill. App. 3d 1047, 409 N.E.2d 372, that such a cost summary is not admissible as a business record. Under Supreme Court Rule 236 (87 Ill. 2d R. 236), for a writing or record to be admissible as evidence of the occurrence of the work in question, it must be shown that such writing or record was made in the regular course of business and that it was in the regular course of business to make such record at the time of the occurrence or within a reasonable time thereafter. The bill in the case sub judice does not meet these requirements, because it was not shown to have been made in the regular course of business and it was not shown to have been made at the time of the occurrence or within a reasonable time thereafter. In fact, the bill was shown not to be a record of original entries but a compilation made from original entries. Also, the bill could not properly be admitted as a past recollection recorded. When a witness testifies that he has made a report or memorandum of the occurrence at or near the time of its happening, but upon examination of the writing he has no independent recollection of the matter contained thereon except he knows that it is correct, then such a report is admissible in evidence. (Healy v. City of Chicago (1969), 109 Ill. App. 2d 6, 11, 248 N.E.2d 679.) There was simply no proper foundation for a past recollection recorded made in this case. Since plaintiffs relied on plaintiffs’ exhibit No. 16, the bill, to show the extra work which they claim to have done and have failed to introduce any evidence as to its preparation and correctness other than inadmissible hearsay, the bill was not admissible in evidence. Therefore, I would reverse this cause and remand for a new trial.