Plaintiffs filed a legal malpractice complaint seeking reimbursement for punitive damages the plaintiff paid in the underlying action that it alleged it would not have had to pay but for the professional negligence of its attorneys. The circuit court denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss but certified a question pursuant to SCR 308 asking whether Illinois public policy barred recovery of punitive damages in a legal malpractice case under the circumstances alleged. The Supreme Court answered the question in the negative, explaining that if the punitive damages in the underlying action were found to be proximately caused by the alleged negligent conduct then they are an element of compensatory damages and that recovery of punitive damages as compensatory damages in a malpractice action does not violate section 2-1115 of the Code of Civil Procedure or public policy. (ANNE M. BURKE, THEIS, MICHAEL J. BURKE, and CARTER, concurring. OVERSTREET and HOLDER WHITE took no part in the decision.)
Illinois Supreme Court
Civil Court
Punitive Damages