Victory For CenterPoint and Just Say No To NorthPoint

An Appellate Court overturns a Will County Circuit Court decision in the case over NorthPoint approval. The ruling says the case shouldn’t have been dismissed and the injunction had merit. The Appellate Court ruled that the City of Joliet violated the Memorandum of Understanding in the case of CenterPoint vs the city of Joliet and Eastgate Properties which owns NorthPoint. The ruling came down last week on July 5, 2023.

According to the court filing, The circuit court improperly dismissed plaintiff’s complaint upon finding its allegations failed to state a breach of an intergovernmental contract. Contrary to the court’s finding, not all of plaintiff’s allegations lacked contractual basis.

The MOU restricts the City and County’s ability to create alternative truck access points to the complex.

In summary, plaintiff’s verified complaint is sufficient to withstand dismissal. Plaintiff’s allegations fail to state a claim with respect to sections XII(G) and XII(B)(2) of the MOU but are sufficient with respect to section XII(B)(3). While we do not believe the court abused its discretion in postponing the July 2022 preliminary injunction hearing to rule on the City’s motion to dismiss, plaintiff has sufficiently alleged a violation of the MOU and should be allowed to present evidence on whether it possesses a clearly ascertainable right in need of protection. On remand, the court should conduct a hearing on plaintiff’s preliminary injunction request without delay.

Case to go back to court.

To read the entire ruling click on the image below.