(Court opinion corrected 1/28/16.) Parties lived together, unmarried, for years. Plaintiff filed suit claiming that Defendant has been unjustly enriched by funds he contributed to purchase of a house titled solely in her name and in they lived together until she required him to move out. Court was within its discretion to impose a constructive trust to the extent of $7,000, the amount of the down payment his parents made on the house presumably as a gift to him. A trust in any greater amount was an abuse of discretion, considering that mortgage payments were made out of a joint account and that any amounts Plaintiff had deposited into that account were gifts from him to Defendant. Court erred in finding that parties were in a fiduciary relationship, as no evidence that Defendant exercised undue influence over Plaintiff or was in position of superiority over him. (HARRIS and STEIGMANN, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Unjust Enrichment