Illinois Prejudgment Interest Update: Appellate Court Finds Prejudgment Interest Statute Constitutional

Wilson Elser has reported extensively on the passage of the Illinois prejudgment interest statute, 735 ILCS 5/2-1303(c).*

The statute took effect on July 1, 2021, and was quickly challenged on constitutional grounds in cases pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County. One of those cases – Cotton v. Coccaro, 2023 IL App (1st) 220788 – has reached the Appellate Court – First District, and that court has held the prejudgment interest statute is constitutional.

Cotton v. Coccaro

In Cotton, the plaintiff filed suit for medical malpractice, alleging that the defendant radiologist and others did not timely diagnose her breast cancer. The case proceeded to trial and the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $6.528 million. The trial court entered judgment on the jury verdict, but denied plaintiff's motion for prejudgment interest. The plaintiff filed a post-trial motion seeking an award of prejudgment interest; the briefing on this motion focused