Sommese v. American Bank & Trust Co., N.A.

Court properly dismissed Plaintiff's claim for statutory damages and attorney's fees pursuant to Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. Because Plaintiff's last date of payment was before effective date of amendment, Plaintiff's action for damages accrued prior to amendment to the Act. A court cannot apply amendment only to that portion of time for which Plaintiff remained unpaid after effective date of amendment. The "separate and distinct offense" began occurring after last date of payment, which was prior to amendment's effective date, and claim for damages would require impermissible retroactive application of the statute. Iowa court's dismissal of Plaintiff's claims (where Plaintiff had previously filed action) as impermissible extraterritorial request to apply Section 14(a) of the Act was a final adjudication on the merits for purpose of collateral estoppel. (GORDON and REYES, concurring.)