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Dewan v. Ford Motor Co.

Case Date: 09/30/2003
Court: 1st District Appellate
Docket No: 1-01-3259 Rel

THIRD DIVISION

Date Filed: September 30, 2003

No. 1-01-3259


JOHN DEWAN, Indiv. and on Behalf
of All Others Similarly Situated,

               Plaintiff-Appellant,

                v.

FORD MOTOR COMPANY,

               Defendant-Appellee.

 

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)		 Appeal from the
Circuit Court of
Cook County.



 No. 98 CH 15909 

Honorable
Stephen A. Schiller,
 Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE HALL delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff, John Dewan, appeals from orders of thecircuit court of Cook County dismissing his complaint against thedefendant, Ford Motor Company (Ford), denying him leave to amendhis complaint and denying his motion to set a briefing scheduleand hearing date for his petition for attorney fees.

During the pendency of this appeal, Ford filed a motion tostrike those portions of the plaintiff's appellant's briefdealing with the dismissal of his complaint and the denial ofleave to file an amended complaint on the basis that thosematters were barred by the doctrines of res judicata and/or lawof the case. We ordered Ford's motion taken with the case.

Ford also raises an issue as to this court's jurisdiction tohear this appeal.

For reasons set forth in this opinion, we conclude that wehave jurisdiction of this appeal. However, we do not reach themerits of the issues raised by the plaintiff as to the dismissalof his complaint and the denial of his request to file an amendedcomplaint because the July 6, 2000, order, denying him leave tofile an amended complaint, was not final and appealable in theabsence of a finding pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 304(a) (155Ill. 2d R. 304(a)).

The jurisdictional questions raised by this appeal requirethat we set forth the procedural history of this case in somedetail.

Circuit Court Proceedings

On November 17, 1998, the plaintiff, on behalf of himselfand all others similarly situated, filed suit against Ford,alleging a breach of the warranty Ford provided to car purchasersand violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal TradeCommission Improvement Act (Magnuson-Moss) (15 U.S.C.