Castlewood Terrace Homeowner’s Association v. Public Building Commission for the City of Chicago

Plaintiff filed a lawsuit alleging that the defendant’s proposed construction of a gymnasium annex to an existing elementary school violated the restrictive covenants on the land of the proposed building site. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss and the trial court dismissed the complaint with prejudice finding that it was barred by res judicata because the plaintiff previously had sought to prevent the construction of the elementary school on the same grounds. Plaintiff appealed, arguing that the trial court erred when it found res judicata applied to the current lawsuit, in dismissing the complaint with prejudice, in dismissing the complaint without ruling on a zoning ordinance violation claim in a proposed amended complaint, and in denying the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the trial court did not err in dismissing the complaint on res judicata grounds, explaining that construction of the annex was an extension of the decision the circuit court previously made regarding the legality of construction of the school. (MITCHELL and MIKVA, concurring)