Schenk v. Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp
Key Takeaways
- 1 Foreign plaintiffs' forum choice gets 'somewhat less' deference, but defendants must still show factors strongly favor transfer.
- 2 Absence of supporting affidavits and proximity of forums defeated forum non conveniens transfer from Cook to Lake County.
- 3 Relevant for medical malpractice and civil litigators handling forum non conveniens motions in Illinois multi-county disputes.
Summary
Michael and Vanessa Schenk filed a medical malpractice complaint in Cook County on January 4, 2024, alleging negligent failure to timely diagnose and treat Michael's heart attack at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Lake County. The Schenks reside in Lake County, and all alleged negligence occurred there. Defendants moved to transfer to Lake County under forum non conveniens, but the Cook County circuit court denied the motion, finding defendants failed to show the relevant factors strongly favored transfer. The appellate court granted defendants' Rule 306(a)(2) petition and affirmed.
On appeal, defendants argued the circuit court applied too much deference to plaintiffs' forum choice and misweighed the private and public interest factors. The appellate court held that the circuit court's formulation — that plaintiffs 'don't get as much deference' — was consistent with the 'somewhat less' deference standard applicable to foreign plaintiffs. On the private interest factors, the court emphasized that defendants submitted no affidavits demonstrating hardship, the two physician defendants failed to answer forum non conveniens discovery, and the approximately 40-mile distance between the forums substantially reduced any claimed burden. On the public interest factors, the court found Cook County has some legitimate interest in the litigation because Advocate operates numerous facilities and treats patients in Cook County.
Practically, this decision reinforces that Illinois defendants seeking forum non conveniens transfer must support their motion with concrete affidavit evidence of hardship. Bare assertions of inconvenience, without supporting affidavits, will not satisfy the heavy burden of showing that relevant factors strongly favor transfer, particularly when the two forums are in adjacent counties.
Key Holdings
1. A plaintiff's choice of a forum that is neither the site of the alleged negligence nor the plaintiff's county of residence receives 'somewhat less' — but not minimal — deference, and the circuit court's use of 'don't get as much deference' language satisfies this standard.
2. Defendants seeking forum non conveniens transfer bear the burden of showing relevant private and public interest factors strongly favor transfer, and failure to submit supporting affidavits demonstrating hardship is fatal to that showing.
3. The approximately 40-mile proximity between Cook and Lake County substantially diminishes the weight of private interest factors such as witness travel costs, distinguishing cases involving more distant forums.
4. Cook County retains some public interest in litigation against Advocate Health and Hospitals Corporation because Advocate operates multiple medical facilities and treats patients in Cook County, even when the alleged negligence occurred exclusively in Lake County.