Motion To Reconsider Does Not Toll 30-Day Deadline To Petition For Interlocutory Appeal

Defendant Mortgage Exchange allegedly sent unauthorized faxes to solicit business. Plaintiff CE Design, apparently annoyed at receiving the faxes, sued under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. CE attempted to make the case a class action, but its motion to certify a class was denied.

CE moved for reconsideration of the order denying class certification within 30 days. That motion was denied more than three months later. CE then petitioned for leave to appeal pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 306, which allows discretionary interlocutory appeals of denials of class certification motions.

Mortgage Exchange moved to dismiss the petition, arguing that the petition was filed more than 30 days after the order denying class certification, thus depriving the appellate court of jurisdiction. CE argued that its motion for reconsideration tolled the time to petition for an appeal.

The Illinois Second District Court of Appeals granted the motion to dismiss. The general rule is: “[M]otions to reconsider that are directed at interlocutory orders identified by certain subsections of Rule 306(a) do not toll the running of the 30-day deadline to petition for leave to appeal those orders.” The appellate court declined to make an exception for orders concerning class certification.

Read the whole case, CE Design v. Mortgage Exchange, No. 2-07-0318 (7/22/07), by clicking here.

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