Walker v. Chasteen

In a class action lawsuit, plaintiffs sought the return of statutory fees imposed in connection with mortgage foreclosure actions, which the Illinois Supreme Court held in a prior appeal were unconstitutional. The circuit court dismissed the refund claim on the basis that it was against the State and barred by sovereign immunity. The appellate court reversed, holding that the circuit court has jurisdiction to order the refunds under the officer-suit exception to sovereign immunity. The Illinois Supreme Court held that the officer-suit exception initially gave the circuit court jurisdiction to enjoin enforcement of the fee as facially unconstitutional, but once the courts declared the fee statute unconstitutional and enjoined its enforcement, plaintiff’s claim for a monetary award to redress a past wrong was the type of claim that belonged in the Court of Claims. (THEIS, OVERSTREET, HOLDER WHITE, CUNNINGHAM, and O’BRIEN, concurring. NEVILLE took no part in the decision)