Bradley v. The City of Marion Illinois

Plaintiff employee was injured in work-related vehicle accident in which a third party was at fault. Circuit court correctly ruled, sua sponte, that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to decide controversy in declaratory judgment action filed asking court to decide whether Plaintiff could seek additional benefits under Workers' Compensation Act, following Plaintiff's settlement of a third-party tort claim that arose from workplace accident. Issues of Plaintiff's entitlement to workers' compensation benefits and Defendants' (City and its workers' compensation insurer) defenses to claim fall within exclusive jurisdiction of Workers' Compensation Commission. Circuit court's jurisdiction in this controversy is "appellate only", not concurrent.(SCHWARM and MOORE, concurring.)