Find Court Cases > Go Back to List > Chicago Limousine Service Inc., v. City of Chicago

Chicago Limousine Service Inc., v. City of Chicago

Case Date: 11/12/2002
Court: 1st District Appellate
Docket No: 1-00-4149 Rel

FIRST DIVISION

November 12, 2002




No. 1-00-4149

 

CHICAGO LIMOUSINE SERVICE, INC., ) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court of
                        Plaintiff-Appellant,  ) Cook County.
)
v. )
) No. 97 CH 12428
THE CITY OF CHICAGO, a Municipal )
Corporation, and CAROLINE O. )
SCHOENBERGER, Commissioner of the )
Department of Consumer Services,  ) Honorable
) Paul P. Biebel,
                       Defendants-Appellees.  ) Judge Presiding.

 

JUSTICE GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:

The instant cause of action stems from a complaint filed by Chicago Limousine Services,Inc. (plaintiff), against the City of Chicago (defendant) related to livery licenses issued bydefendant from 1987 through the pendency of this suit. In the complaint, which had six counts,plaintiff alleged that: (1) livery licenses issued by defendant after April 1, 1987, were unlawful inthat they exceeded the statutory limit and were issued without a public hearing where it wasdetermined that public convenience and necessity warranted their issuance; (2) the licensesshould be declared null and void; (3) defendant breached a contract with plaintiff when issuingthe additional licenses; (4) even if a contract was not in effect, plaintiff substantially relied ondefendant's representations concerning the number of licenses that could lawfully be issued, andtherefore, the issuance of additional licenses was inequitable and unjust; (5) plaintiff has vestedproperty rights in its livery licenses and the issuance of additional licenses violated plaintiff'sconstitutional rights without due process of law or just compensation; and (6) plaintiff'scontractual right to a fixed amount of livery licenses was unconstitutionally impaired bydefendant's failure to conduct a public hearing regarding the issuance of additional licenses. Although the complaint alleged six counts of wrongdoing on the part of defendant, plaintiff onlyappeals the dismissal of counts III and IV in this appeal, which related to contract breach andpromissory estoppel, respectively. Plaintiff now asserts that counts III and IV were improperlydismissed because both alleged viable causes of action. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm thejudgment of the trial court.

BACKGROUND

The facts of this case are largely undisputed. In 1951, the City passed the publicpassenger vehicle ordinance (the ordinance or livery ordinance), which set forth procedures forissuing livery licenses in the City of Chicago and limited the number of licenses available forissuance to 370. The ordinance provided that additional licenses would not be issued "unless,after public hearing, the council [Chicago city council], by ordinance, shall determine that publicconvenience and necessity require additional service." Chicago Municipal Ordinance