Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against three defendants alleging various causes of action arising out of her purchase of a boat from one of the defendants. Most of the claims proceeded to a jury trial and the jury entered a verdict in favor of the defendants. Two remaining claims were tried in a bench trial and the trial court also found in favor of the defendants. Plaintiff appealed and argued that the trial court erred when it declined to instruct the jury on its summary determination that the boat was “not new” and changing that determination sua sponte, that the trial court erred when it refused to give non-pattern jury instructions offered by the plaintiff, and that the trial court erred when it applied equitable principles to divide escrow funds from the subsequent sale of the boat equally between the plaintiff and one of the defendants. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s order dividing the escrow funds but dismissed all other claims for lack of jurisdiction, explaining that plaintiff did not file a post-trial motion within 30 days of entry of the final judgment as is required by section 2-1202(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure. (ELLIS and COBBS, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Jurisdiction