Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Statute of Repose
(Court opinion corrected 1/18/13.) Plaintiff, a village police officer, sued construction company for injuries sustained when he fell or stepped off unguarded retaining wall while on patrol. Plaintiff's claims related to original 1990 construction of retaining wall (which was "an improvement to real property") are barred by 10-year construction statute of repose. Work done to rebuild retaining wall after it collapsed in 1994 does not constitute "construction of an improvement to real property" within meaning of statute of repose, but was mere repair of an existing structure, and rebuilding of wall did not add anything to property but returned it to its condition prior to damage from heavy rain.(SPOMER, concurring; CHAPMAN, dissenting.)