County of DuPage v. Arjmand

Defendant was issued a building permit to construct a residence on his property, but the permit expired prior to the completion of the construction and the residence remained vacant. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit alleging numerous ordinance violations including common law public nuisance and dangerous and unsafe conditions that warranted demolition or repair of the residence. The trial court entered summary judgment for the plaintiff and defendant appealed, challenging not just the summary judgment order, but also the subsequent demolition order, the imposition of fines, and the denial of his motion for recusal. The appellate court affirmed in part and reversed in part, finding that the demolition order was not in error where defendant had “more than” a reasonable opportunity to repair the residence and affirming the entry of summary judgment, but reversing the entry of fines where they were based on potential future violations and remanded for recalculation of fines pursuant to its instructions. (HETTEL and BERTANI, concurring)