The City of McHenry v. Suvada

Defendant was found subject to a mandatory fine of $25 per day for violating City building code, and court determined that property was in violation for 84 days. Court awarded City $1500 in attorneys fees, even though City expended $27,000 in attorney fees, noting that Defendant had been cooperative and City did not need to resort to aggressive litigation. As Code provisions at issue use general qualifying terms open to interpretation, court may find that a building is no longer "dangerous" once tenants have been removed or owner has taken significant step toward repair. Court's findings as to attorney's fees were reasonable, as City began litigation strategy before sending notice of potential violation to Defendant. (HUDSON and BIRKETT, concurring.)