Catledge v. Dowling

Plaintiff filed a complaint seeking administrative review of an order of the acting director of the Illinois Department of Insurance upholding the cancellation of Plaintiff’s homeowners insurance policy. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss claiming that Court did not have jurisdiction to review the administrative order, since Plaintiff did not first exhaust his administrative remedies where he failed to request rehearing before filing his complaint in the trial court. Court granted Defendant’s motion. The Administrative Code provides that an insured may seek rehearing of the Director’s order by filing a motion for a rehearing within 10 days of the date of mailing of the Director’s Order. Plaintiff was required to exhaust this remedy before filing his complaint, and thus Court did not err when it dismissed his complaint for lack of jurisdiction.