Injured man urges court to rule on admissibility of personal wealth

As reported on page 1 of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

SPRINGFIELD - A retired Will County man suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet wants the Illinois Supreme Court to keep evidence of his wealth out of his personal-injury case.  Robert E. Valle was a volunteer at St. Thomas the Apostle Church on Oct. 7, 1999, when he was applying sealant to the surface of a concrete statue of St. Thomas.  The statue fell on him and crushed his left leg.  According to court documents, Valle required multiple surgeries, including reconstructive surgery and other operations on his left femur, all of which cost more than $120,000.

Valle and his wife, Kathleen, sued the church, advancing a claim for diminished earning capacity.  They are now asking the Illinois Supreme Court to rule on three certified questions, which center on whether evidence regarding Valle's personal wealth may be used at trial to belie his assertion that an economic slowdown led him to want to return to the workforce following his injury.

Valle had retired from a corporate job in June 1999 at age 56.  He asserts that, "Due to a downturn in the economy and resultant downturn in his personal assets," he would have left retirement in late 2000 to assume a job in his field.  He contends, however, that his injuries kept him from doing so and are thus the basis for a diminished earning capacity claim.

In January 2004, the church asked for information regarding Valle's assets, income, investments, bank accounts, net worth, credit card accounts and personal financial condition.  Valle objected, calling the request "irrelevant, immaterial and highly prejudicial."  Circuit Judge Amy M. Bertani-Tomczak ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on March 10.

A similar request for personal financial information was made in May 2005.  Before the case went to trial on Sept. 12, the plaintiffs submitted motions in limine to Circuit Judge Susan T. O'Leary (Bertani-Tomczak had made her rulings as a motion judge) to determine the admissibility of the financial evidence.  The court granted certain motions but allowed for some of the evidence "to the extent that Mr. Valle opens the door by indicating that the reason for him to return to work was because of a 'downturn in the economy' or his personal financial situation." 

The court also allowed the defendants to collect certain financial information that Bertani-Tomczak had deemed off-limits. 

Although the Will County court certified three questions for interlocutory appeal pursuant to Supreme Court rule 308, the 3d District Appellate Court declined to hear the case.

In his petition to leave for appeal, Valle's attorneys ask whether "the long-recognized rule in this state against injecting personal wealth or poverty into a compensatory, non-punitive damages case can be overcome where a retired party making a diminished earning capacity claim indicates that he wanted return to work due to changed economic circumstances, but could not return due to his injuries."

Valle's attorneys contend that personal wealth should not be used as evidence that Valle's needs to return to work.

"Illinois ... recognizes the long-established rule that a litigant's personal wealth or poverty cannot be made an issue in a strictly compensatory, non-punitive damage case such as this, as being irrelevant and prejudicial," the plaintiff's attorneys contended, citing LID Associates v. Dolan, 32 Ill.App.3d 1047 (2001).

If the high court declines to decide whether Valle's personal wealth can be used against him, he has asked the justices to order the Appellate Court to answer the questions certified for appeal.

Valle is represented by Oak Lawn lawyer William S. Wojcik, Chicago lawyer Timothy Michael O'Brien, Naperville lawyer Robert G. Black and Michael W. Back of Crown Point, Ind.

The case is Robert E. Valle et al. v. Bishop Joseph Imesch, etc. et al. No. 101916.