Page 1122
Appeal
from the Circuit Court of the 12th Judicial Circuit, Will
County, Illinois. Circuit No. 16-MR-1985, The Honorable John
C. Anderson, Judge, presiding.
Mark S.
Morthland, of Decatur, for appellant.
James
W. Glasgow, States Attorney, of Joliet (Philip A. Mock,
Assistant States Attorney, of counsel), for appellee.
Panel
JUSTICE McDADE delivered the judgment of the court, with
opinion. Presiding Justice Schmidt and Justice Lytton
concurred in the judgment and opinion.
OPINION
McDADE,
JUSTICE.
[434
Ill.Dec. 597] [¶ 1] In December 2012,
plaintiff, Dome Tax Services Company (Dome), purchased a
property in Homer Glen, Illinois, in a tax sale. In January
2015, the property owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
and, subsequently, filed a motion for declaration of sale in
error. The trial court entered an agreed order declaring the
sale of the property was in error as a result of the
bankruptcy filing, and Dome received a refund on the amount
paid on the certificate of purchase and subsequent taxes from
defendant Will County Treasurer. In July 2016, Dome filed a
complaint for declaratory judgment, arguing that the
treasurer miscalculated the refund. The parties later filed
cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court ruled in
favor of the treasurer and against Dome, finding that the
treasurer properly calculated the refund. Dome appeals, and
we reverse for a recalculation of the refund.
[¶
2] I. BACKGROUND
[¶
3] On December 6, 2012, Dome purchased 16424 S.
Alberta Court in Homer Glen, Illinois, in a tax sale. The
purchase included the propertys unpaid 2011 taxes. On
September 24, 2013, Dome paid the 2012 property taxes and on
September 22, 2014, paid the 2013 property taxes.
[¶
4] On January 8, 2015, the property owners, Paul and
Katherine Kirchner, filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of
the United States Bankruptcy Code. On July 24, the couple
filed a motion for declaration of sale in error pursuant to
section 21-310 of the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/21-310
(West 2014)). The court entered an agreed order declaring
that the sale was in error as a result of the bankruptcy
filing. On September 17, 2015, defendant, Will County
Treasurer, issued two checks to Dome refunding the amount
paid on the certificate of purchase and the subsequent 2012
and 2013 property taxes. The first check was in the amount of
$78,783.83 and the second check was in the amount of
$12,111.21, totaling $90,895.04.
[¶
5] On July 29, 2016, Dome filed a complaint for
declaratory judgment, arguing that the treasurer
miscalculated the interest on his refund in violation of
section 21-315 of the Property Tax Code (id. § 21-315) and
that it was entitled to an additional $3000 in interest. The
treasurer filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that
the interest was properly calculated under sections 21-315
and 21-320 of the Property Tax Code (id. § § 21-315, 21-320).
The treasurer explained that Dome purchased the 2011 property
taxes on the
Page 1123
[434 Ill.Dec. 598] Homer Glen property after a bid for
redemption at a penalty of 1% for six months. Dome then paid
the 2012 and 2013 property taxes at a statutory rate of 12%
for six months of each year. After the court entered the
agreed order, the treasurer calculated Domes refund as the
following: the amount paid for the certificate of purchase
with penalty interest at the rate of 1% per month, or 6% for
six months, totaling $29,099.15; the amount paid on the 2012
taxes with interest at a rate of 1% per month from the
purchase date to the date Dome was notified of the
bankruptcy, totaling $31,906.16; and the amount paid on the
2013 taxes with interest at a rate of 1% per month from the
purchase date to the date Dome was notified of the
bankruptcy, totaling $29,889.74.
[¶
6] Dome filed a cross-motion for summary judgment,
arguing that the treasurer was statutorily required to
calculate all the interest under the same statutory formula
and requested that the refund be recalculated. The trial
court ruled in favor of the treasurer and against Dome,
finding that the treasurer ...