Seyfarth Synopsis: The Illinois
Supreme Court recently
affirmed a state appellate court's holding that in class
action lawsuits, an effective tender made before a named plaintiff
files a class certification motion satisfies the named
plaintiff's individual claim and moots the plaintiff's
interest in the litigation.
For employers facing workplace class actions in Illinois and
other states with similar statutes involving tenders of complete
relief, this opinion provides an excellent framework for how to
moot and defeat a class action lawsuit prior to class certification
briefing.
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Case Background
In Joiner v. SVM Management, LLC, 2020 IL 124671 (Ill.
Feb. 21, 2020), the plaintiffs rented an apartment in a large
residential apartment complex from the defendant. Although the
defendant returned the plaintiffs' full security deposit, the
defendant did not pay security interest on that deposit at any
time. Thereafter, the plaintiffs filed a three-count
