Cook Au Vin, LLC v. Mid-Century Insurance Co.

Plaintiff appealed from the trial court’s dismissal of its class-action complaint alleging that the defendant violated the Illinois eavesdropping statute. Plaintiff argued on appeal that the trial court erred in dismissing the complaint where plaintiff was a party to a phone conversation between its attorney and a representative of the defendant and where the complaint alleged that the defendant surreptitiously recorded the phone call without the plaintiff’s consent. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the record established that the defendant openly recorded the conversation and informed plaintiff that the conversation was being recorded as soon as it “had the opportunity to do so.” The appellate court also found that plaintiff did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. (McBRIDE and REYES, concurring)